John the Baptist All Ireland Post Primary Junior A Ladies Football Champions (Bold centre under photo)
Back row from left Michelle Buckley, coach, Gillian Kemp, Shannon McCarthy, Katie Heelan, Chloe O’Dwyer, Aisling Murnane, Eadaoin Power Gallagher, Andrea O’Sullivan, Jane Casey, Laura Morrissey, Isabel O’Rourke, Sinead McElligott, Ciara Hynes, Eva Butler, Leah O’Shea and Seamus Dollery, coach. Front row from left Aisling Ryan, Emma English, Roisin Carroll, Ali Carew, Lucy Ryan, Anna Rose Kennedy captain, Emma Morrissey, Caitlin Kennedy, Ciara McCarthy, Moya Bourke, Maeve Barry and Molly Horan.
JOHN THE BAPTIST, HOSPITAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL……………………………………..……..0-14
LORETO, CAVAN………………………………………………………………………………………….2-6
The misty rolling midlands and the well-appointed St. Brendan’s Park, Birr was the setting for the latest chapter of the John the Baptist all-conquering sporting juggernaut. On Friday, the Hospital girls dug deep into their infinite reservoir of character and grit to claim the LGFA All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Junior A title.
Like the previous week when John the Baptist became the first school from Limerick to claim the A title, they are now the first school from the county to claim the junior A title and the first from Limerick to claim a senior and junior A double, thus joining a small band of schools in the history of the competitions to do so.
It is the fifth All-Ireland title in 18 spectacular days to make its way to the school’s burgeoning trophy cabinet joining the All-Ireland A title, the Senior B hurling and the Senior and Junior D camogie crowns.
Many of the girls in action in Birr were picking up a fourth All-Ireland medal during the school’s barn-storming run of success.
It was a memorable afternoon for the Limerick girls as it was a victory fashioned out of character, determination and organisation. Two points separated the sides at the end but fourteen scores to eight is a more accurate barometer of the level of mastery enjoyed by the John the Baptist girls.
The Kennedy sisters dominated the middle throughout and set up a plentiful supply to an attack that was lively and creating openings, though the finish sometimes did not match the approach play. Andrea O’Sullivan proved a handful and her carrying and holding up of the ball was an important cog in the winners’ strategy. Emma Morrissey and Sinead McElligott prospered most from O’Sullivan’s power play and each chipped in with two points.
John the Baptist used their sweeper system very well to counteract the threat posed by Áine Reilly, and did so without compromi-sing their own open, expansive, adventurous play. Huge credit to the rearguard at the way they shut out the Cavan girls in the closing stages with Loreto kicking three wides in succession late on, all due to the enormous pressure exerted by John the Baptist defenders on the kickers.
The introduction of Katie Heelan for the last quarter was a major boost. The dynamic St. Ailbe’s player had missed three All-Ireland finals because of a broken finger but was not going to be denied on this occasion. She played through the pain barrier with a cast on her finger and while her arrival was a huge psychological boost to her team mate her contribution in play in the vital last quarter when John the Baptist were closing out the game was immense.
While the four previous finals were won with some ease, not so on this occasion, John the Baptist had to pull out all the stops before seeing off a vibrant challenge from the Breffni county girls.
“It was grit and determination, the same as the semi-final, all the skill in the world was not going to win this final, it was determination, character and heart, the girls had it in spades,” was how joint team mentor Séamus Dollery saw this latest success.
Having played with the wind, John the Baptist held a precarious four point advantage at the break. “It was like the junior final two years ago when we had a lot of chances and conceded a couple of goals. We conceded a goal today that put us under pressure. The girls were comfortable enough until that happened but all the experience they have built up over the last couple of years stood to them in the end. They knew that they could play well into the wind and they trusted themselves, they carried the ball very well in the second half and dug it out,” he explained.
Séamus Dollery was quick to pay tribute to the input of the local clubs. “Their co-operation throughout the year has been second to none” he said.
John the Baptist captain Anna Rose Kennedy and Loreto’s Muireann Cusack traded early frees before the wind assisted Limerick girls landed three in a row from the Kennedy sisters, two from Anna Rose and one from player-of-the- match Caitlín, to grab an 0-4 to 0-1 lead after nine minutes.
It almost got better for the Hospital girls in the 13th minute when Loreto netminder Ciara Boylan somehow got a boot to keep out an Anna Rose Kennedy goal bound shot. Immediately after working the ball up to the other end Loreto’s Muireann Cusack hit the post with a powerful drive and the rebound fell kindly for full forward Áine Reilly who steered to the net to level matters. A minute later Eádaoin Power-Gallagher made a smart stop from Katelyn Kelly to deny the Ulster girls a second goal.
Andrea O’Sullivan and Niamh Keenaghan traded points before an Emma Morrissey double helped John the Baptist into a 0-7 to 1-2 lead after 22 minutes.
Áine Reilly pointed to halve the lead but John the Baptist finished strongly reeling off three points in a row from Anna Rose Kennedy Sinéad McElligott and Andrea O’Sullivan to take a 0-10 to 1-3 lead to the dressing room at half time.
It took Loreto with the wind at their back 6 minutess to make a first imprint on the lead – an Aisling Walls point after she was set up by Niamh Keenaghan. A well taken individual point from Sinéad McElligott restored John the Baptist’s four point cushion, but not for long as a fine individual second goal from full forward Áine Reilly made it a one point game.
Lesser teams would have wilted in the face of the onslaught but not Séamus Dollery and Michelle Buckley’s fined tuned side who reeled off three points, in a row from Anna Rose Kennedy (2) and Andrea O’Sullivan to open up a 0-14 to 2-4 lead with ten minutes remaining.
Those remaining minutes yielded just two points both to the Ulster girls who could not find fault lines in a well organised, disciplined Limerick school’s defence, the first point in the 57th minute when Eádaoin Power Gallagher somehow deflected over a powerful drive from substitute Ally Cahill and the second a late free from Muireann Cusack.
Scorers; John the Baptist: Anna Rose Kennedy 0-6, 4fs; Andrea O’Sullivan 0-3; Emma Morrissey Sinéad McElligott 0-2 each; Caitlin Kennedy 0-1.
Loreto, Cavan: Áine Reilly 2-1; Muireann Cusack 0-2, 2fs; Niamh Keenaghan, Aisling Walls, Ally Cahill 0-1 each.
John the Baptist: Eadaoin Power-Gallagher; Gillian Kemp, Jane Casey, Chloe O’Dwyer; Eva Butler, Maeve Barry, Ciara Hynes; Caitlín Kennedy, Anna Rose Kennedy (Captain); Lucy Ryan, Emma Morrissey, Sinéad McElligott; Róisín Carroll, Andrea O’Sullivan, Ashling Ryan.
Sub: Katie Heelan for Carroll (43).
Loreto, Cavan: Ciara Boylan; Áine Brady, Ciara Kellegher, Lorna O’Reilly; Lauren McVeety (Captain), Muireann Smith, Abbie Sexton; Fiona McKiernan, Darcy Beck; Niamh Keenaghan, Elaine Brady, Kate Kellegher; Muireann Cusack, Áine Reilly, Katelyn Kelly.
Subs: Áine Dennehy for C. Kellegher (29), Aisling Walls for McKiernan (34), Niamh McCorry for K. Kellegher (47), Ally Cahill for Beck (47), Niamh Brady for Kelly (57).
Referee: Niall McCormack, Laois.