2023 TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Junior Football Championship Final – Down 1-7 Limerick 0-8

Down defeated Limerick by 1-7 to 0-8 in the 2023 TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Junior Football Championship Final on Sunday August 13th at Croke Park.

Down 1-7 Limerick 0-8

By Daire Walsh

A 43rd-minute goal from substitute Orla Swail was crucial at Croke Park as Down secured their second TG4 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship crown at the expense of Limerick.

Previous winners of the competition in 2000, the Ulster side have sealed an automatic return to the intermediate grade after suffering relegation at the end of 2022. Natasha Ferris amassed an impressive tally of 0-5 to supplement Swail’s clinical finish and while Caoimhe McGrath kicked four points for their opponents, Limerick fell just short in their quest for a third junior title.

After Ferris had broken the deadlock with a routine free in the third-minute, Limerick opened their account with a superb individual point from play by McGrath. Promoted to the starting line-up following an impressive performance off the bench in their semi-final win against Fermanagh, McGrath subsequently knocked over a brace of frees to give Limerick an early two-point advantage.

Yet Ferris began this contest four points clear of Clare’s Fidelma Marrinan in the race for the ZuCar Golden Boot award and she contributed a quickfire 0-2 salvo to bring the Mourne women back on level terms.

While dead-ball specialist McGrath was on hand to restore Limerick’s advantage, Down regained control with back-to-back points from attackers Aimee O’Higgins and Ferris. This offered the Ulster champions a slender 0-5 to 0-4 cushion at the break, but this was wiped out by a Deborah Murphy point on the run straight after the resumption.

Her half-forward colleague Karen O’Leary also split the uprights moments later to move Limerick back into the ascendancy, only for O’Higgins to once again restore parity with her second of the day on 38 minutes.

In their last-four encounter with Carlow, it was a late goal by Swail that ultimately propelled Down towards victory and the Carryduff ace repeated those heroics by unleashing an unstoppable shot to the opposite net just five minutes after her introduction.

This suddenly moved Down three points ahead moving into the final-quarter and even though Iris Kennelly raised a white flag for Limerick, Graham Shine’s charges suffered a set-back when O’Leary was sin-binned on 54 minutes.

Ferris and Treaty corner-back Meadhbh McNamara traded scores in the closing moments, but Down – All-Ireland intermediate champions in 2014 – held out for a hard-earned triumph.

Scorers –
Down: N Ferris 0-5 (2f), O Swail 1-0, A O’Higgins 0-2
Limerick: C McGrath 0-4 (3f), M McNamara, D Murphy, K O’Leary, I Kennelly 0-1 each.

DOWN: A McGivern; A Greene, C Byrne, O Boyle; N McKibbin, M Doherty, O Duffy; A Laverty, A Brogan; N Scullion, V McCormack, L Duffy; E Fitzpatrick, N Ferris, A O’Higgins
Subs: C Mulvenna for McCormack (h-t), O Swail for Fitzpatrick, P Smyth for Laverty (both 38), K McKay for O’Higgins (42), E Martin for Doherty (57).

LIMERICK: C Bateman; A Quaid, Y Lee, M MacNamara; G Lee, L Walshe, L Ryan; R Ambrose, F Bradshaw; D Murphy, K O’Leary, C Mee; L Coughlan, A Ryan, C McGrath
Subs: K Heelan for Bradshaw (32), I Kennelly for A Ryan (39), A O’Sullivan for McGrath (51).

Ref: Angela Gallagher (Dublin).

Ticket Information

TG4 All Ireland Junior Championship
FINAL
Down v Limerick
Venue: Croke Park
Sunday, August 13th @ 11.45am
TICKETS: https://t.co/hK0Vt5EAoQ
Thanks to our incredible Main Sponsors: Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel & Spa, Adare @AzzurriSport @Adamsofglin #ProperFan @SportTG4 pic.twitter.com/0mvO6YmTmb

— LimerickLadiesGaelic (@LKLadiesGaelic) July 25, 2023

Match Preview

Both sides have made changes ahead of the Final. For Down, Ciara Byrne at full-back and midfielder Aoife Laverty come into the starting line-up following the semi-final victory over Carlow, with Paige Smyth and Clara Mulvenna named on the bench.

Limerick’s Caoimhe McGrath made a huge scoring impact with six points after coming on in the semi-final victory over Fermanagh, and she earns a starting place, with Iris Kennelly dropping to the bench.

It was a case of fourth time lucky for Limerick in their recent TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship semi-final victory over Fermanagh – and now the Shannonsiders are aiming to get their hands on the West County Hotel Cup for the first time since 2018.

Having lost semi-finals in 2020, 2021 and 2022, Limerick finally cracked the last four code again to book their place in Sunday’s Croke Park decider against Down.

For Limerick’s opponents from the Mourne County, Sunday’s clash will mark a first Junior Final appearance since 2000, when they got the better of Galway.

That was Down’s one and only time to contest a Junior Final, as Limerick prepare for their fourth, having finished as runners-up against Antrim in 2009, before winning the silverware in 2010 and 2018.

The sides have met previously in the 2023 Championship, in a group fixture in Newcastlewest last month.

Down, Intermediate champions in 2014, ran out 1-13 to 1-8 winners on the day but prior to throw-in, both teams had already qualified for the knockout phase.

On the day, Limerick struggled to get to grips with Down’s outstanding forward Natasha Ferris, who scored 1-8.
Ferris is the current leader in the race for the 2023 ZuCar Golden Boot award, which will be won by the player who finishes as the leading scorer across the Senior, Intermediate and Junior grades in the 2023 TG4 All-Ireland series.

To date, Ferris has amassed an individual haul of 7-26, which is two points clear of her nearest challenger, Clare’s Fidelma Marrinan.

Team News

DOWN: A McGivern; A Greene, C Byrne, O Boyle; N McKibbin, M Doherty (capt.), O Duffy; A Laverty, A Brogan; N Scullion, V McCormack, L Duffy; E Fitzpatrick, N Ferris, A O’Higgins.

LIMERICK: C Bateman; A Quaid, Y Lee, M MacNamara; G Lee, L Walshe, L Ryan; R Ambrose (capt.), F Bradshaw; D Murphy, K O’Leary, C Mee; L Coughlan, A Ryan, C McGrath.