SATURDAY 13 APRIL
Very Camogie League 1B final
Wexford v Dublin, SETU, Carlow, 2pm
Camogie League 3A final
Laois v Armagh, NGDC Abbottstown, 2pm
Camogie League 4 final
Wicklow v Tyrone, Louth Centre of Excellence, Darver, 2pm
SUNDAY 14 APRIL
Camogie League 2A final
Derry v Westmeath, Croke Park, 12.30pm
Camogie League 1A final
Tipperary v Galway, Croke Park, 2.30pm
ONLINE
Live score updates on on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app
TV
Live coverage of the 1A and 2A finals on The Sunday Game Live, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 12.15pm. Highlights on The Sunday Game, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 9.30pm.
2A, 3A and 4 finals live on Camogie YouTube
RADIO
Live updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport.
WEATHER
Saturday: It will start dry with sunny spells, rain will spread from the west in the afternoon, turning heavy in the north at times. Highest temperatures 11 to 14 degrees fresh and gusty southwest to west winds, strong for a time in the west and north.
Sunday: Sunny spells to start, but showers or longer spells of rain will develop from the west later. Highest temperatures 10 or 11 degrees in fresh and gusty southwest winds. For more go to met.ie.
Dublin and Wexford look to produce more 1B thrills
These two sides served up an absolute treat as they got the Division 1B programme off to a thrilling start back in February, with Wexford just edging a thriller played out in a welter of excitement at Oulart.
First-half goals from Emma Tomkins and Kate Kirwan gave the home side a ten-point interval cushion. Dublin made a decent stab at overhauling that and the character they showed as they ate into the deficit had to have pleased Bill McCormack in the 2023 TUD Ashbourne Cup winning coach's first competitive outing as manager.
Colin Sunderland has managed to negotiate the return of some experienced operators for Wexford, and after a number of years in transition, there is depth to the squad now, with the likes of All-Ireland winner, Shelley Kehoe offering prodigious work-rate and scoring power, and Joanne Dillon and Chloe Foxe very impressive options either from the start or off the bench.
Ciara O’Connor remains the chief provider of scores, while her sister Sarah and another survivor from the three-in-a-row squad of 2010-2012, Ciara Storey are indomitable defensive presences.
Former All-Star, Aisling Maher is a leader Dublin but has considerable support this year though, with Aisling O’Neill, Kerrie Finnegan, Gaby Couch, Aoife McKearney and Orla Gray among the Blues’ finest. And it will be a special day for the Gannon family, with Niamh, Claire and Aishling involved.
Laois eye another goal rush against Armagh in 3A decider
This was a four-team group and while Laois and Armagh filled the top two spots in both accounting for Roscommon and Kildare, those were very tight contests.
The semi-finals were less so, with Laois making light work of their Lilywhite neighbours, though Armagh had to dig deep to get the upper hand on the Rossies by six points.
When the teams met on 2 March, it was Laois's goal power that told the tale. Eimear Hassett was a constant threat for the O’Moores, with Aimee Collier accurate from placed balls. Hassett finished with 2-2 from play while Andrea Scully came off the bench to put the tie to bed with a goal and a point.
Sean Hughes has introduced a number of young players to the Armagh squad. Aoife Byrne, Áine Doyle and Rose Boden are talented performers, while Eimear O’Kane, Niamh Forker and Ciara Geoghegan have returned to the fold, the latter after having a baby just five months ago. Sinéad Quinn is playing a big role in attack, where Rachael Merry offers a significant threat.
Tight Division 4 clash in the offing
Tyrone finished top of the table with an unblemished record, but their round 2 clash with Wicklow at the beginning of March at Omagh's Healy Park indicated that there was very little between the top two, the home team edging it by 4-11 to 2-11.
They did so thanks to a stellar opening period, at the end of which they led by 2-8 to 0-2, Lauren Fitzgerald and Lara Devlin scoring the goals. There looked no way back for the visitors, particularly when Cara Little grabbed Tyrone’s third goal four minutes after the resumption.
Katie Tyrell was outstanding for Wicklow though and her goal, as well as scores from Poppie Rose Cullen Dunne and Nicole Curran brought them back in touch. Brendan Tobin’s Garden County representatives have good recent experience at this level of competition and last year’s All-Ireland junior A camogie title certainly buoyed the game in the Leinster county.
Tyrone have been making good strides too and Paul O’Grady has carried on that progress.
Westmeath and Derry set for a much tighter renewal in 2A showdown
It was Westmeath that finished top of the table on 13 points, to Derry's 12, but it is hard to know how much we can read into the Lakesiders’ victory in their clash at TEG Cusack Park a fortnight ago, given that the visitors were already qualified and the hosts needed something to be sure of holding off Meath. Still, a 5-09 to 1-09 triumph can hardly be viewed negatively.
Without question, the Derry defence, led by veteran skipper Aoife Ní Chaiside, will be keeping an eye on Megan Dowdall, who took them for 4-04 in that tie. Sheila McGrath and Hannah Core are two other influential operators for Pádraic Connaughton’s side, while defensively, captain, Julie McLoughlin and Muireann Scally will have big roles to play.
And that’s because of the ongoing impact of the totemic Áine Barton (née McAllister) in attack for Derry. Céat McEldowney, Lauren McKenna, Megan Kerr and Dervla O’Kane are others who have done well to this point for PJ O'Mullan’s mob. Both goalies, Niamh Gribbin (Derry) and Fiona Keating (Westmeath) will likely have a major say in proceedings, in dealing with all that’s thrown at them as well as with their distribution.
Derry won the All-Ireland intermediate championship last year but are chasing their first league crown since 2012, when they accounted for Meath in the Division 2 final – what would now be Division 1B. Westmeath’s most recent success was in Division 3 – now Division 2A - when Dublin were overcome in 2014.
Galway eyeing top-tier hat-trick
Galway have enjoyed considerable success in the league since Cathal Murray took over the reins. This is their fifth consecutive final – the competition went unfinished due to Covid in 2020 – and they are attempting to secure a fourth title in that period and a three-in-a-row.
They have recovered from losing to Tipperary at The Ragg, when Eimear McGrath plundered a hat-trick by keeping clean sheets against Kilkenny, Waterford and Cork with Róisín Black an inspirational captain at full-back and erstwhile attacker Áine Keane making a big splash at centre-back.
Carrie Dolan has excelled both from placed balls and in the loose, while Annmarie Starr has re-established herself at midfield after a lengthy absence. Niamh Kilkenny and Niamh Hanniffy are back in the fold while youngsters Ciara Hickey, Ally Hesnan and Niamh Niland have made an impact, and former Down superstar, Niamh Mallon is now a member of the squad.
It was momentous for Tipp to finally make a national final for the first time since the 2009 League decider. They are attempting to win a first title since their double-winning season of 2004. It would be a third Division 1A crown were they to succeed. Galway are in pursuit of an eighth.
Denis Kelly's crew lost their opening tie to Waterford but followed up with wins over Galway, Cork, Kilkenny and Clare to make it this far, so it is well deserved. They have done so despite being without long-time talisman Cáit Devane, who got married recently, but Karen Kennedy’s return from injury has been significant.
Clodagh McIntyre and Karin Blair have blossomed in new defensive roles but it is McGrath who has really taken up the baton.
Another interesting element of this tie is the presence of the Ferncombe brothers on the opposite coaching tickets. Dinny, who spent a number of years with Tipp, has joined Galway while Michael is now in the Premier corner.
There is a lot at stake here and one suspects the result will be in doubt right up to the final whistle.
