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Ladies’ Semi-Final Preview: Armagh stand between Kerry and a third shot at glory

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1 year ago

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Mary O'Connell of Kerry is tackled by Aimee Mackin of Armagh during the league final in April. Photo: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile.

LGFA All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Final

Kerry v Armagh

Saturday 7.15pm

O’Connor Park, Tullamore

Live on TG4

The Kerry ladies are just 60 minutes away from their third All-Ireland final in a row but they will have to bring their ‘A’ game to overcome the challenge of Armagh at O’Connor Park in Offaly later today.

The Kingdom have been installed as competition favourites after beating Meath (and after champions Dublin lost to Galway) in the quarters and they should be in confident form following that victory over the Royals in Tralee a fortnight ago.

However, they are unlikely to have it all their own way against an Armagh side who have beaten them twice already this season, in the league in March and then in the league final in Croke Park in April.

Losing star player Aimee Mackin to an ACL injury in the Ulster final came as a tremendous blow to the Orchard County. Mackin scored 2-6 (2-5 from play) and 1-4 (1-2) from play in the two games against Kerry this year so her teammates will have to make up the difference in her absence.

Kerry, meanwhile, have been buoyed by the return from an ACL injury of Síofra O’Shea, who scored 0-3 off the bench against Meath. The skilful trio of Danielle O’Leary (1-28, 3f), Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh (2-15, 9f) and Emma Dineen (4-5) have accounted for the bulk of the team’s scores this season with Hannah O’Donoghue and team captain Niamh Carmody also capable of finding the target.

Managers Declan Quill and Darragh Long will be hoping that this attacking threat coupled with the teak tough defending of Eilís Lynch, Deirdre Kearney and Aishling O’Connell will be enough to see them over the line. With the dependable Ciara Butler between the sticks, Kerry have kept three clean sheets in their last four games which is a record they would love to improve upon today.

Armagh, who haven’t played in a senior ladies’ football All-Ireland final since 2006, arrive at the semi-final stage on the back of wins over Meath and Mayo. Eve Lavery is their top scorer to date with 0-11 (7f) to her name. Blaithin Mackin, younger sister of Aimee, has chipped in with 1-5.

Kerry v Armagh will be preceded at O’Connor Park by the other All-Ireland semi-final between Galway and Cork. The Rebels last made the final in 2020 while The Tribeswomen are aiming to reach their first decider since 2019. Both counties lost to Dublin in those respective finals.

Galway v Cork starts at 5pm. Both matches will be shown live on TG4.

Kerry team to play Armagh: C Butler; E Lynch, K Cronin, C Murphy; A O’Connell, D Kearney, A Dillane; M O’Connell, A Galvin; N Carmody (captain), D O’Leary, N Ní Chonchúir; H O’Donoghue, E Dineen, L Ní Mhuircheartaigh.

Armagh: A Carr; G Ferguson, C McCambridge (captain), R Mulligan; C Towe, L McConville, D Coleman; N Coleman, C O’Hanlon; E Druse, A McCoy, B Mackin; E Lavery, N Henderson, K Mallon.

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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4 weeks ago

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7 November 2025

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Paudie O’Connor National Cup (Round 1)

Utility Trust St Paul’s v GCU Brunell

Saturday 7.30pm

Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

The St Paul’s women’s team will be hoping to get their National Cup adventure off the ground on Saturday when they welcome 2024 champions Brunell to Killarney. Tip-off in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre is at 7.30pm.

Paul’s have displayed some fine early season form, although their unbeaten start in the Super League came to an abrupt end last weekend when they lost to the Trinity Meteors in Dublin. James Fleming’s side weren’t at their best on the day but they were well in contention heading into the final quarter with the scores at 47-45 in favour of the hosts. The Meteors pushed on in the fourth, however, eventually running out 63-53 winners.

St Paul’s scorers on the night were Maisie Burnham (13), Tara Cousins (12), Lorraine Scanlon (12), Lovisa Hevinder (9), Denise Dunlea (5) and Leah McMahon (2).

The Killarney club are now joint second in the table alongside the Meteors with both teams holding a 4-1 record. Killester are top having won each of their first five games.

Paul’s opponents on Saturday, Brunell, have won three out of five league matches so far.

LAKERS

The Utility Trust St Paul’s Lakers have now won three of their last four games in Division 1 of the Men’s National League following an impressive home victory over Moycullen in Killarney.

Eoin Carroll and Jack O’Sullivan made significant contributions of the Boys in Black; Carroll hit 17 points and collected 13 rebounds while O’Sullivan had 14 points, 12 rebounds and some spectacular blocks.

Steve Kelly posted 30 points and the durable Sam Grant played every second, adding 21 points along the way.

The Lakers started well before the visitors found their footing and the sides went in level at the half-time break after scores by home captain Carroll. There was still nothing to separate the teams entering the fourth quarter (68-65) but buckets by Carroll, Pablo Murcia and Grant opened up a nine-point lead. Moycullen fought back admirably, however, cutting the deficit to just four, but Luke O’Hea’s charges held firm to prevail by eight (88-80).

Next up is a cup tie against the Tipperary Talons, a side they defeated by 30 points just a couple of weeks ago. The cup can be very different to the league, though, and they will need another solid performance to advance to the next round. Tip-off in in Killenaule is at 6.30pm on Saturday.

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Chances of Kerry v Cork Munster final in 2026 decrease as Munster GAA delay seeding plan

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4 weeks ago

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7 November 2025

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After facing a backlash from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipperary players, Munster GAA have postponed their plan to keep Cork and Kerry separate in the 2026 Munster Football Championship.

The new seeding system – which gives the two highest ranked Munster teams in the National League byes to separate semi-finals – will now come into play in 2027, twelve months later than initially planned.

This will give Clare and Limerick a chance to earn promotion to Division 2 of the league, potentially overtaking Cork if the Rebels were to get relegated to Division 3.

Despite traditionally being the two main contenders for Munster football honours, Kerry and Cork haven’t met in a provincial decider since 2021. The Kingdom have won each of the finals since then (one versus Limerick and three versus Clare) by an average margin of 15.75 points.

More high-profile Kerry v Cork finals might be desirable for fans of those teams, businesses in Killarney and Cork, and neutrals alike but Munster GAA’s plans to effectively keep the great rivals on opposite sides of the draw understandably drew criticism from the other participating counties. A statement by the GPA confirmed that players from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipp had met via Zoom to discuss the matter. They were said to be “deeply disappointed and concerned” by the decision.

The 12-month delay will at least give two of those disaffected teams an opportunity to benefit from the new seeding process.

The draw for the 2026 Munster Football Championship will take place on November 27 under the old rules. As 2025 finalists, Kerry and Clare will get byes to the last four (but they will not necessarily be kept apart).

Nine members of Kerry’s squad are up for All-Stars at tonight’s awards ceremony in Dublin with Joe O’Connor and David Clifford also in contention for the prestigious Footballer of the Year award.

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