St Patrick's College Maghera lose out in All-Ireland camogie semi

Ursuline’s Thurles 1-04 ... St Patrick’s Maghera 0-04

It isn’t often that a goal and four points are good enough to win an All-Ireland camogie semi-final at any level. On Saturday it was enough for Ursuline Thurles to reach their second national camogie final in a week!

The Tipperary side beat holders St Patrick’s Maghera in an arm-wrestle in Loughmore-Castleiney to reach their second Corn Gobnait final where they will face Loreto Kilkenny, the school they beat in 2022 to lift the trophy for the first time.

Last week the Ursuline senior team set up a final against Loreto by beating Ulster champions Cross & Passion Ballycastle with a late flurry of scores. On Saturday it was more a slow grind to the finish line in cold but firm conditions where both defences stood out.

Orla McKenna was outstanding for St Patrick’s and drove out of defence time and again. The rest of the defence fought hard and held their shape throughout. Restricting their opponents to five scores is no mean feat.

However equally impressive on the day was the Thurles defence. The half back line of Claire Fitzgerald, Rosie O’Brien and Rosanna King proved very difficult to break down over the hour. They were also very disciplined in the tackle and Maghera struggled to get shots near the target never mind take scores.

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It took fully eight minutes before Mel Flannery opened the scoring and another seven before the same player added a second point.

Rose Quinn responded with a point from a free for Maghera, but a goal from Clíodhna Farrell put daylight between the teams at the break 1-2 to 0-1.

Quinn added another couple of frees during the third quarter. Molly Jones responded with a point for the Munster champions and, although Maghera sub Saoirse McCullagh added a point after her introduction, Mel Flannery fired over a free five minutes from time to give her side a little breathing space.

The plaudits go to both defence for a superb performance, but it’s Ursuline Thurles v Loreto Kilkenny over the next two weekends with two All-Ireland trophies at stake.

Scorers:- St Patrick’s: R Quinn 0-3 fs, S McCullagh 0-1. Ursuline: C Farrell 1-0, M Flannery 0-3 (1f), M Jones 0-1.

St Patrick’s: Karen Birt, Médb McMullan, Annie Bradley, Tierna Cartin, Charlotte O’Hagan, Orla McKenna, Niamh Duggan, Iona Tohill, Rose Quinn, Clodagh McIlvar capt, Ríonach McNally, Gracie Diamond, Eva Scullion, Brianna Donaghy, Éadaoin Bradley. Subs: Eva Diamond for G Diamond, Saoirse McCullagh for É Bradley.

Ursuline: Lara Shanahan; Lorna Ryan, Laura Millea, Orla Pamplin; Claire Fitzgerald, Rosie O’Brien j-capt, Rosanna King; Kate Duffy, Saoirse Deegan; Anna Hackett, Emma Bevans, Jessie Shanahan j-capt, Mel Flannery, Clíodhna Farrell, Molly Jones. Sub: Meadhbh Lonergan for S Deegan, Shona Murray for C Farrell.