Royal Gaels go back to back in Ladies SFC finale

Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels won their second successive ladies senior championship on Saturday

Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels 1-10

St Peter’s Dunboyne 0-10

Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels recovered from a slow start and defeated St Peters Dunboyne to claim a second successive Ladies senior title on Saturday afternoon at Pairc Tailteann. Dunshaughlin’s full forward line were in fine form with the two Niamhs, O’Sullivan and McEntee alternating free-taking duties and combining for 0-5. Ciara Gorman took over the mantle when she was introduced and secured two points from dead ball opportunities.

The real star of the show though was corner forward Meadhbh Byrne. Byrne’s electric pace and energy caused St Peter’s full-back line countless issues and she bagged 1-1 for herself in the contest.

Some fantastic first-half saves from St Peter’s netminder Allison O’Sullivan and a fine performance from the ever-reliable Emma Duggan meant that St Peter’s held a nice margin of five points heading into the closing stages of the first half.

A Meadhbh Byrne goal gave Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels a lift at halftime with St Peter’s holding a two-point advantage. The third quarter was hotly contested with neither side being able to pull away from the other. However, Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels secured the final four points of the finale to retain their ladies senior title.

Karla Kealy opened the scoring for the defending champions before Niamh McEntee had an opportunity for an early goal. The St Peters defence did well to snuff out the danger. Some good link-up play between Emma Duggan and Saoirse Quinn led to Annie Moffat opening St Peter’s account. Opposing corner forwards Quinn and McEntee traded points before Duggan made her mark by rattling off the next four points, two of which came from play.

During the period of Duggan domination, Alison O’Sullivan pulled off two fantastic saves. First O’Sullivan denied the dangerous Meadhbh Byrne after she had linked up well with Elena Kennedy before taking on the shot. A couple of minutes later Byrne put Niamh O’Sullivan through on goal only for her to also be denied by the St Peter's keeper.

Caragh McCarthy put St Peter’s five points to the good. Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels were not perturbed by Alison O’Sullivan’s heroics and again went in search of a goal only this time Byrne was fouled inside the rectangular square.

Byrne stepped up herself to take the penalty but once again, Alison O’Sullivan pulled off a remarkable save however this time Byrne managed to scramble the rebound and bury the ball to the back of the St Peter’s net.

The sides went in at halftime with St Peter’s Dunboyne leading 0-7 to 1-2. The third quarter was all about the two full forwards on either end. Niamh McEntee’s early free was the only point in the 15-minute spell that wasn’t scored by either Emma Duggan or Niamh O’Sullivan. The pair traded point for point with both players adding 0-3 to their respective sides’ tally and in both cases, two points came from frees.

With 12 minutes left in the contest, Meadhbh Byrne broke the Duggan/O’Sullivan sequence but more importantly, drew the sides level with a well-taken score. From here, Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels closed out the game well and substitute Ciara Gorman made a huge impact with two well-taken frees. Gorman’s scores were split by a point from Laura Murray as St Peter’s struggled to find any success moving forward in the closing stages.

A late red card for Anna Moyles made no real difference in the end and Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels held on to secure what the village will hope is the first leg of what potentially could be a fantastic double. Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels crowned senior ladies champions once again in 2024.

Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels – Michelle O’Hare; Ronnique Kato, Laura Quinn, Sarah Duffy; Keva McTigue, Sadhbh O’Muiri, Karla Kealy (0-1); Niamh Gallogly, Ella Moyles; Anna Moyles, Laura Murray (0-1), Elena Kennedy; Niamh McEntee (0-2, two frees), Niamh O’Sullivan (0-3, two frees), Meadhbh Byrne (1-1). Subs – Ciara Gorman (0-2, two frees) for McEntee 39m, Kristina Troy for Kennedy 44m, Petra Reilly for Murray 59m.

St Peter’s Dunboyne – Alison O’Sullivan; Rachel McDermott, Sarah Wall, Hannah Nolan; Honor Hickey, Shelly Melia, Niamh Williams; Louise Pearl, Kate Bermingham; Caragh McCarthy (0-1), Annie Moffat (0-1), Rachel Norman; Fiona O’Neil, Emma Duggan (0-7, four frees) Saoirse Quinn (0-1). Subs - Aoife Delaney for Norman, Anna Kane for Moffat both 43m, Amy Bermingham for Quinn 59m.

Referee - Paul Collins (Seneschalstown)