On a mild December afternoon in Croke Park fans flocked from south and west to support their respective parishes as Athenry came from six points down against St. Finbarr’s of Cork city to send the AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Final to a replay. The sides will meet again in January as sixty minutes couldn’t separate the teams.
The intermediate final between Camross and Ballincollig served up a thrilling precursor to the senior decider. And then came the main event. There were rivalries renewed as many had faced off last August in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Final, most notably Orlaith Cahalane of St. Finbarr’s and Dervla Higgins of Athenry, who played out a thrilling battle of skill and grit.
Both teams came into the game with different pressures, Athenry in search of their first title since 1977, while St. Finbarr’s dismissed talk of bonus territory in the lead up to their first ever outing on club camogie’s biggest day.
Opening Exchanges
Fumbles and throw-balls clouded the opening proceedings as early nerves were evident among both sides. The westerners led by 0-03 to 0-01 after ten minutes, with Therese Donohue and Jessica Gill winning their battles early on.
The first-time finalists steadied the ship to level the match with fifteen minutes gone, easing their way into the showpiece. The Leesiders then stormed into the lead, before penalty claims were dismissed when corner forward Hannah O’Leary and Athenry goalkeeper Laura Freeney collided in the large rectangle.
This only spurred them on, with the score of the half courtesy of Orlaith Cahalane after a tidy first touch and an evading jink from Athenry’s captain Dervla Higgins before slotting over from a tight angle. The teams exited for half-time with the score at 0-08 to 0-06 in favour of St. Finbarr’s, leaving it all to play for in the second period.
The Third Quarter
A good start is half the battle, and Athenry got just that with a score right after the restart from substitute Eva McGlynn. However, the blue and gold of St. Finbarr’s proved to dominate the third quarter with three unanswered points in response. The pressure and intensity in defence was also impressive from the Munster hopefuls, turning over Athenry at will, as well as forcing an uncharacteristic wide from McGlynn and an illegal pick-up from Galway county star Sabina Rabbitte.
A calamity of wides lulled the crowd into a subdued state, eventually resuscitated by traded scores between Therese Donohue and Kate Wall. In a contest focused on inside forward aces, the half-back lines made their mark as Sinead Feeney of Athenry and Aoife O’Neill of St. Finbarr’s made darting runs out of their defences acting as the springboard for attacks.
A slick score from impact substitute Eimear Hurley after a monster free from Sorcha McCartan left daylight between the teams with time running out for the maroon and white of Athenry, with a six-point gap to bridge. All the momentum seemed to be with the Corkonians, the game being played increasingly in Athenry’s half.
Late Comeback
But the Galway side gave themselves a lifeline. Anna Jordan doubled on the sliotar after it came off the St. Finbarr’s goalkeeper’s hurley, rattling in a goal to reduce the margin to three points. The pendulum shifted almost instantly, as Athenry won the next puck out and St. Finbarr’s were starting to make unforced errors.
Athenry were well and truly on the front foot, and they could have had another goal when Jessica Gill prompted a brilliant save from Ciara Hurley. The public announcement of four minutes of additional time echoed around the stadium, with Athenry hungry for scores and St. Finbarr’s increasingly anxious to see full-time.
There was only one point between them after a Sabina Rabbitte free. Athenry then won a crucial breaking ball between the forty-five and sixty-five metre lines, powering forward in search of the leveller. Talisman Therese Donohue battled a barrage of challenges before offloading the sliotar, eventually fed to wing forward Kayla Madden, who held her nerve to send the ball between the posts with virtually the last puck of the game.
The full-time whistle sounded after a titanic struggle in the capital, with two clubs desperate to write their own history, but they must now wait until the new year to dream of sporting immortality. The game ended on a scoreline of 1-12 to 0-15 (15-15), with a much-anticipated replay set for the first weekend of January 2026.
