Hannon’s Hotel LGFA Intermediate Championship final
Pádraig Pearses 3-14 Kilbride 1-8
Pádraig Pearses didn’t suddenly re-emerge as a force on the Roscommon LGFA club scene last Saturday afternoon in Fuerty, but their emphatic win over Kilbride in what proved to be a relatively comfortable county final success for the South Roscommon side was yet another milestone in what has been a long journey of redemption for this once-dominant club.
At adult level, their junior title two years ago was the first sign of a revival of the club’s fortunes, but a significant cohort of the team that played last Saturday’s county final had already stood out on the local underage scene at that point. In 2025 they pushed a good St Barry’s team hard in the county final but fell short due to their lack of physicality, and that was after edging out Kilbride in the semi-final of that championship.
The distance that the two teams travelled in the 12 months since then was plain to see in Mulhern Park. Their first-half display overwhelmed Kilbride and while the doggedness and resilience of Ollie Lennon’s troops in the third quarter briefly threatened to set up a tense finale, Pearses just slipped back into a higher gear and surged off into the sunset.
Laura Glennon continued to defy her youth to lead from the front, and it fell to Caitlin Malone and Katelyn Keogh to score the late goals that underlined their dominance on the scoreboard and cemented their momentum in advance of a Connacht Championship that starts with a trip to Kilcoyne Park in Tubbercurry this Sunday.
The first half was one-way traffic, with Pearses in control in all the key sectors of the pitch. Áine Ryan has been their primary ball-winner in the middle all year but Roscommon camogie star Sarah Dooley was their talisman and on-field general here, picking up breaking ball and putting herself into every physical contest.
Lily Finneran’s restarts were accurate and cemented her reputation as the most promising young goalkeeper in the county, Róisín O’Sullivan was central to their defensive effort and their transition play, but it was the all-teenage half-forward line where they looked unstoppable.
Esmae Halpin subtly but repeatedly added value to every attack with clever and quick use of the ball, Katie Canning took her form from the recent county U-16 final and looked right at home in adult company, and then there was Glennon, who was just a relentless scorer, adding her goal in the 21st minute and then kicking a point in first-half stoppage time, as did Chloe Mulryan, to push the lead out to double figures, 1-10 to 0-3.
Had the contest continued in that vein, Kilbride would have struggled to make peace with their efforts, even if they had been overwhelmed. The kitchen sink was thrown in the third quarter however, as Eilish Hanly fired a shot narrowly over the crossbar, Sophie Hanly earned a penalty that Aisling Hanly converted, and another couple of points from Aisling Hanly would have tested the nerves of the Pearses faithful, whose only tight battle this year was a contest in Elphin against Northern Gaels were there was nothing at stake.
At 1-11 to 1-8 and with the breeze still favouring Kilbride, the tension in Mulhern Park rose a couple of notches. Enter Glennon with a ‘solo and go’ move and finish to steady the ship with ten minutes to play, and an aggressive kickout press for the remainder of the game yielded the possession and the scores they needed to see out the win.
Pádraig Pearses: Lily Finneran; Emma McGreal, Ciara Lohan, Clodagh Powell; Róisín O’Sullivan, Katie Malone, Chloe Mulryan (0-1); Sarah Dooley, Áine Ryan; Esmae Halpin, Laura Glennon (1-10, 0-6f), Katie Canning (0-2); Katelyn Keogh (1-1), Blaithnaid Kelly, Lorraine Kenny. Subs: Caitlin Malone (1-0) for Kenny (26), Isabella Downey for Kelly (40), Sarah Killeen for Mulryan (53), Michaela Keogh for Ryan (58), Sarah Kate Goode for Canning (58).
Kilbride: Lily Mae Gavigan; Aoife Feely, Niamh Tully, Keela Kelly; Jennifer Garvey, Caoimhe Neary, Corina Gormley; Aisling Shanagher, Grace Dowling; Laura McSharry, Aoife Tully, Sophie Hanley; Ella Brennan, Aisling Hanly (1-6, 1-0 pen, 0-4f), Eilish Hanly (0-2, 0-1f). Subs used: Mairéad Tully for Brennan (35), Katie Kelly for Feely (40), Ellen Tully for Gormley (53).
Stat Attack
Wides: Pádraig Pearses 8; Kilbride 4
Cards: 0
Player of the Match: Laura Glennon (Pádraig Pearses)
