2025 AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship Final Replay – Athenry (Galway) 0-14 St Finbarrs (Cork) 0-12

AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Final Replay

Athenry (Galway) defeated St Finbarrs (Cork) by 0-14 to 0-12 in the AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship Final Replay on Saturday January 3rd at FBD Semple Stadium Thurles.

Athenry defence lays foundation as late rally breaks Barrs’ hearts once more

Report By Kevin Egan at FBD Semple Stadium

Athenry (Galway) 0-14 St Finbarr’s (Cork) 0-12

The third day out of 365 it may be, but if there is a more enthralling, engaging contest than this played in the remainder of 2026, it’ll be a special one.

On a pitch divided by the shadow of the Kinane Stand, the coating of frost divided Tom Semple’s field from one goal to the other where the kiss of the winter sun didn’t get to make the contact needed with the grass.

The visual impact for those in Thurles and those watching on RTÉ was striking and the clubs played to that motif, each having their spell in the ascendancy in a contest that barely gave supporters the chance to draw a breath of the biting, winter air.

It’s Athenry who will make their way home as AIB All-Ireland senior club camogie champions after Clodagh Burke’s point and an insurance free in injury time from Jessica Gill wrapped up a sensational final quarter where they outscored St Finbarr’s by 0-7 to 0-1.

But at a time of year when flowers are hard found in the ground, this was one to give every blossom around to the Athenry backs.

The first point for the Barrs was every defender’s nightmare come true for conditions like this, and it illustrated perfectly the challenge facing the two teams on firm but frost-covered ground.

Orlaith Cahalane – who would be a boogieman for a full-back on any terrain – was given a perfect diagonal ball from Sorcha McCartan and she duly got out in front and turned past Dervla Higgins, leaving the Athenry captain and 2025 player-of-the-year nominee unable to get the traction to get her bearings. Cahalane did what she does, bisecting the uprights, and while the white flag flew, the warning flags were there for backs on both sides.

What followed for the next 25 minutes was an immaculate display of foot-perfect defending from the Athenry rearguard, building the soundest of foundations from which the westerners could establish a strong position.

At the other end, Burke was lively and sharp picking off two extra points, Kayla Madden was ravenous on the breaks and Therese Donohue rolled back the years – or to be more accurate, proved once again that for her, they never rolled forward in the first place.

But by any measure though, the heroes were at the back. Higgins brushed off her early setback to keep a tight rein on Cahalane, Lisa Casserly and Sinéad Feeney were imperious in the half-back line with Olwen Rabbitte driving out purposefully and forcefully, and Laura Freeney was flawless in goal. There were no saves to make, but one treacherous delivery after another was seized and returned without mistake by the custodian.

Still, six first half wides – two after Hawkeye intervened to say níl – contrasted with the Barrs; perfect strike rate of five from five shots, Kate Wall hitting two to keep the Munster champions in the game.

Wall’s second to make it 0-7 to 0-4 was the first of eight in a row for the Togher women either side of half-time.

It wasn’t that Athenry stopped being effective defensively, it was that their workload in that sector was doubled. They might as well have been hurling into a handball alley for the third quarter as they couldn’t relieve the pressure and make the ball stick at the Killinan End.

McCartan sent rockets sailing over the bar from 55 and 65 metres out, and one point from Cahalane felt like a hammer blow. Tarron Kilkenny made a superb and brave block, the ball came straight back. Olwen Rabbitte cleared the next one, the ball came straight back. Again it was spoiled, but this time a Barrs’ hurl got a touch, and Cahalane pointed.

Further back down the pitch, All-Ireland semi-final hero, Ciara Golden had transformed the Barrs’ fortunes at midfield after her half-time introduction, having only returned from a skiing holiday 24 hours earlier and McCartan’s point to make it 0-11 to 0-7 looked like a match-winner, a classy strike over the shoulder that sailed into the night sky after traversing the black spot from the left wing.

Just like in the drawn game, it was a case of when in trouble, dial T. Therese Donohue drove 40 metres to earn a free that Sabina Rabbitte finished, and suddenly the momentum changed. The younger forward was hammered going for a loose ball, got no free, but managed to get a lateral ball across towards Kerri O’Driscoll. Entering into the spirit of things, O’Driscoll threw her body into the battle, won the break, and scored.

The maroon tide was rising. Donohue held off three tackles to set up Sabina Rabbitte, then scored herself to level the game. Olwen Rabbitte hit the lead score after a brilliant intervention by Burke, McCartan scored from midfield, and more extra time loomed.

But in a game hallmarked by symmetry, two halves was enough. Official player of the match, Burke showed composure and class to get the last lead score and from the rushed puckout, Anna Jordan – the goalscorer in the drawn game – was fouled and Gill did the rest.

Referee Brian Kearney with Derula Higgins of Athenry and Stephanie Punch of St. Finbarr’s at the toss
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

SCORERS FOR ATHENRY: S Rabbitte 0-4(2fs, 1 45); C Burke 0-3; J Gill 0-2 (1f); E McGlynn, K Madden, T Donohue, K O’Driscoll, O Rabbitte 0-1 each

SCORERS FOR ST FINBARR’S: S McCartan 0-6(5fs); O Cahalane, K Wall 0-2 each; E Hurley, N Olden 0-1 each

ATHENRY: L Freeney, T Kilkenny, D Higgins, K Screene, L Casserly, O Rabbitte, S Feeney, K Madden, E McGlynn, E Keane, J Gill, T Donohue, C Burke, S Rabbitte, K O’Driscoll.
Subs: A Jordan for Keane (48), M Noone for McGlynn (52).

ST FINBARR’S: C Hurley, S Punch, A Egan, A O’Neill, G Cahalane, M Cahalane, S Daly, K McCarthy, A Shannon, N Olden, K Wall, S McCartan, E Hurley, O Cahalane, H O’Leary.
Subs: C Golden for Daly (ht), E Wigginton Barrett for E Hurley (54), L O’Donovan for Olden (59).

REFEREE: Brian Kearney (Kildare).

Match Preview

SATURDAY
AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Final Replay
Athenry (Galway) v St Finbarr’s (Cork), FBD Semple Stadium, Thurles, 5.15pm. Referee: Brian Kearney (Kildare)
Live on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player

Music buffs know all about the conundrum of the difficult second album. Film sequels don’t always deliver either. How to follow up a ground-breaking, breathtaking work of art that made people get up off their feet, elated and stunned, and wanting more?
And so too, the reputation of sporting replays is not great.

Yet Nirvana came up with Nevermind, and Radiohead delivered The Bends. Francis Ford Coppola followed up Godfather with Godrfather Part II, James Cameron gave us Aliens in the wake of the stunning Ridley Scott-directed Alien 2.

And didn’t Meath and Dublin give us four spellbinding games in a Leinster football championship in 1991? In hurling, Cork and Tipperary left those in attendance reeling, such was the incessant action, the plethora of talking points.

Replays are less frequent now in Gaelic games, with matches tending to be decided on the day but there is no reason to believe that Athenry and St Finbarr’s will not provide us with as much incident, high-class fare and shuddering intensity in Thurles tomorrow (Saturday), as they did at Croke Park before Christmas, even though for much of that, the Barrs looked to be seeing out the game in a highly professional, controlled manner.

In the end, the sides could not be separated as Kayla Madden equalised with the last stroke of the sliotar for Athenry. That completed a stunning comeback as the Galwegians had trailed by six points after Eimear Hurley, who played in goals for Dublin during the summer before transferring back home, split the posts with an excellent score in the 55th minute, after coming off the bench. Her sister Ciara, who made some smart stops, has custodian duties for the Togher outfit.

With Méabh Cahalane, captain Stephanie Punch and Aisling Egan resolute in defence, the Barrs had held the team that accounted for All-Ireland champions Sarsfields in the Galway decider to just nine points, and time almost up.

At the other end, Sorcha McCartan was deadly from frees, regardless of distance, while Nicole Olden had slotted three from play in the first half.

Athenry skipper, Dervla Higgins was having a right old battle with Orlaith Cahalane though, managing to restrict the artistic playmaker to two points and even more importantly, from pulling the strings that have made the Togher side’s attack so dangerous all year.

But the westerners’ offensive unit just was not able to make any real inroads. Kerri O’Driscoll pointed twice in the first half, as did the remarkable Therese Donohue aka Therese Maher.

The 44-year-old mother-of-three finished with three points and had some hand in all but three points of Athenry’s final tally of 1-12. It was her shot that rebounded off the crossbar for super sub, Anna Jordan to pounce for the 56th minute goal that turned the game right on its head.

Sabina Rabbitte, who had struggled to get involved around the scoring zone, showed all her leadership when converting a difficult free from 55m straight after. Another stalwart, Jessica Gill had a rasper turned around the post by Ciara Hurley for a 45 that Rabbitte converted.

And after Donohue careered through the heart of the Barrs’ defence before being dispossessed, the ball was recycled brilliantly to Madden, who showed remarkable composure and excellent technique to level things up.

Joe Rabbitte and Brian O’Sullivan will have had different challenges as managers of Athenry and St Finbarr’s respectively, in the meantime. Nothing was won or lost and any hint of such notions that may have lingered in either dressing room in the immediate aftermath of the drawn encounter, will need to have been eradicated.

Both camps possess loads of experience and proven depth of character, however.

It would have been easy for Athenry to fall off after finally accounting for their bogey side and winning a first county title since 2009. Sarsfields had won four of the previous six All-Irelands but a couple of goals from Eimear Keane led to their demise, for this season at least.

Olwen Rabbitte tore her ACL at the very end of that game too but despite her absence, Athenry chiselled out a victory over 2023 champions Dicksboro (Kilkenny) in the semi-final, when Gill struck the key goal and 2025 POTY nominee, Higgins excelled.

Remarkably, with an operation scheduled for next week, the younger Rabbitte played the entire 68 minutes or so of the drawn encounter.
The Barrs have been on the brink of defeat a few times. After needing two periods of extra time against Newcastlewest (Limerick) in the provincial semi-final, they were two points Down with time almost gone in the decider against De La Salle (Waterford) when Kate Wall grabbed a goal to crown a spectacular individual performance that yielded 2-4.

Wall was supposed to be in Australia this weekend but the planned lengthy stint of travelling was happily postponed. Her twin brother Philip, lines out for Kilbrittain in the All-Ireland junior club hurling final at Croke Park next Saturday.

The Barrs used up a few more lives in the All-Ireland semi-final when finally overcoming Loughgiel Shamrocks (Antrim) in the last moments again, of a second period of extra time, Ciara Golden slotting the winner.

It is a bit like the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. This time though, something has to give.

Match Coverage

The game will be live on RTÉ 2 from 5pm. It will be available to watch on the RTÉ Player anywhere in the world.

Team Panels

Athenry panel: Laura Freeney; Tarron Kilkenny, Kate Screene, Niamh Feeney; Lisa Casserly, Dervla Higgins, Sinead Feeney; Isabel Fleet, Olwen Rabbitte; Kayla Madden, Kerri O’Driscoll, Eimear Keane; Eva McGlynn, Sabina Rabbitte, Clodagh Burke.

St Finbarr’s panel: Ciara Hurley; Stephanie Punch, Aisling Egan, Grainne Cahalane; Aoife O Neill, Meabh Cahalane, Sofia Daly; Ciara Golden, Aisling Shannon; Sorcha McCartan, Kate Wall, Keeva McCarthy; Orlaith Cahalane, Nicole Olden, Hannah O Leary.