Coláiste na Toirbhirte 4-7
Laurel Hill 0-9
COLÁISTE na Toirbhirte’s trailblazing senior camogie team has put Carbery camogie on the schools’ map after winning the Munster senior B title.
The Bandon school dethroned reigning champions, Laurel Hill from Limerick, in Mallow to get their hands on the Munster crown and also set up an All-Ireland semi-final against Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown Kilkenny at the end of this month.
‘It’s fantastic, we’ve been building over the last few years, coming close in two county finals,’ said coach Jack Meade, who trains the team alongside Eoghan Minihane. The Newcestown man continued, ‘The girls have been brilliant and stuck to the process. They got us over the line today.’
Minihane praised the girls’ ‘dedication’ and spoke about the upcoming semi-final.
‘It’s an honour to be representing Cork and Munster in the All-Ireland series,’ he said,
The Bantry man alluded to the rivalry between Cork and Kilkenny down through the years. ‘There has been a great rivalry between Cork and Kilkenny in hurling and camogie for the last number of years. It’s mighty that this rivalry continues right down to the schools.’
On a memorable day, Shóna Cronin (Valley Rovers) scored a hat-trick while captain Laura Sheehy (Kilbrittain-Timoleague) racked up 1-4. Sarah Burrows (Newcestown), Ireland U19 soccer international Niamh Cotter (Bandon) and Aine O’Donoghue (Courcey Rovers) all scored 0-1, but this was a team effort that got the Bandon school over the line.
A windy day last Saturday meant that puck-outs were travelling high and long but the Bandon school's middle third were up for the challenge. Some brilliant contesting in the air by the midfield duo of Eve O'Dwyer and Sarah Burrows kept pressure on the Laurel Hill puck out.
The wing-back pairing of Molly Hilliard and Meabh Browne collected up the breaks from the contests in the centre of the field. This possession created the first chance of the game for centre forward and captain Laura Sheehy and she made no mistake as she struck the ball over the bar. Sheehy was a constant threat throughout the game and added two more from placed balls later in the first half.
Cork City and Ireland U19 soccer star Niamh Cotter added another point for the Bandon side with a clean strike after a direct run through the centre. The girls were doing their bit on the pitch, but the crowd also had a huge part to play as their encouragement helped to drive the girls on throughout the game.
On 19 minutes, Karen O’Sullivan, who was also cleaning up under the breaks, cut in from the right side of the pitch and struck the ball between the posts. Laurel Hill had some very talented forwards, but full back Katie Twohig made sure they had little time and space when on the ball.
On 21 minutes, it looked like Laurel Hill were about to go through on goal as a long-ranged strike seemed destined for the opposition's full forward. However, a back-tracking Jess Helbrow, at full stretch got a vital touch to the sliotar which diverted the ball away from danger. Goalkeeper Aoibheann O'Driscoll’s accurate puck-outs kept possession with the convent.
Sarah Burrows made use of this possession with an excellent lobbing strike of the ball that sailed over the bar. The Limerick faithful were not going to go down without a fight and some accurate free taking saw a score of 0-6 to 0-5 heading up to the 30-minute mark. Corner forwards Anna Crowley and Áine O’Donoghue were working tirelessly to keep the pressure on the Laurel Hill backs, much to the delight of the Bandon support, who rallied the girls on.
A free just before half time from Laura Sheehy caught the Limerick side off guard as her low trajectory shot ended up in the back of the net for the first goal of the game. Referee Diarmuid Kirwan blew shortly after this for the half-time break with just four, 1-6 to 0-5, between the sides.
Coláiste na Toirbhirte coaches Eoghan Minihane (left) and Jack Meade (right) celebrate the Munster win with principal Mary Galvin and Chairperson of the Board of Management, Dr Margaret O'Donovan.
It was Laurel Hill that had the better start to the second half as they fired over two unanswered points, bringing the margin back to two. Laura Sheehy put three between the teams with arguably the score of the game after a driving run and a finish from an acute angle.
An attractive move by Laurel Hill saw them get their first real chance on goal, but Bandon were saved by the width of the post. The Bandon backs steadied the ship after this with centre back Caoimhe Craig, who was colossal throughout the game, leading the charge. She was rock solid in the middle and inspired the team with her driving runs and determination.
The introduction of Clodagh Barry brought pace and power into the contest. This new energy resulted in Bandon creating a chance where the sliotar ended up in the net, as Shóna Cronin showed strength and anticipation to react to a loose ball around the square. Ella Egan and Róisín Wilson brought a new lease of life to the match as their work-rate ensured Laurel Hill would not find an easy way back into this game. Laurel Hill added one more point to bring the margin back to six. Aoibheann O'Driscoll in goal was calm and collected and coolly dealt with several long-range efforts.
Eimear Hurley was tasked with tagging the opposition’s marquee forward who was lively throughout, but she was up for the challenge. Hurley’s strength and speed kept the number 15 at bay. On 55 minutes, a clearance in defence ended with Shóna Cronin receiving the ball just past the 45. With only one thing on her mind, Shóna powered past the last line of defence as she raised the green flag again with a bullet of a shot.
It was now looking like the cup was heading back to Bandon. Cronin wasn’t finished yet as two minutes later she had the umpire scrambling for the green flag again. A low driven finish meant a hat-trick for Cronin and victory for the convent.
Lily Murphy and Eva Nagle entered the fray to help the girls get over the line, who were now feeling the effects of the physical and frantic affair. The ref blew the full-time whistle with the game ending 4-7 to 0-9, and Coláiste na Toirbhirte were crowned Munster schools’ senior B camogie champions.
Principal Mary Galvin congratulated the girls on their accomplishment and hailed the surrounding areas as being ‘key’ to this achievement.
‘We are so privileged to have such a strong cohort of clubs around us in the surrounding parishes. It really is remarkable the extent of the talent that we have in our school community,’ she said.
‘The success of our teams couldn't happen without the commitment of our coaches, to whom we are so grateful for their hard work. We must also acknowledge the strength of volunteerism in clubs across West Cork. This is typical of the West Cork area where sport plays such a major role in people's lives.’
The Coláiste na Toirbhirte squad includes Aoibheann O’Driscoll (Enniskeane), Eimear Hurley (Kilbrittain-Timoleague), Katie Twohig (Bandon), Jess Helbrow (Courcey Rovers), Meabh Browne (Enniskeane), Caoimhe Craig (Valley Rovers), Molly Hilliard (Enniskeane), Sarah Burrows (Newcestown), Eve O’Dwyer (Valley Rovers), Niamh Cotter (Bandon), Laura Sheehy (Kilbrittain-Timoleague, captain), Karen O’Sullivan (Newcestown), Anna Crowley (Kilbrittain-Timoleague), Shóna Cronin (Valley Rovers), Áine O’Donoghue (Courcey Rovers), Louise O'Sullivan (Valley Rovers), Ella Egan (Valley Rovers), Zoe Bryan (Kilbrittain-Timoleague), Cliodhna Madden (Kilbrittain-Timoleague), Lily Murphy (Courcey Rovers), Clodagh Barry (Bandon), Rachel Crowley (Newcestown), Róisín Wilson (Newcestown), Jess Ryan (Kilbrittain-Timoleague), Eva Nagle (Kilbrittain-Timoleague), Jess Bolster (Bandon).
