Dec 14,2024
FIXTURES
SATURDAY 14 DECEMBER
AIB All-Ireland Intermediate Club final
Annaghdown (Galway) v Bennekerry/Tinryland (Carlow), Croke Park, 3pm
AIB All-Ireland Senior Club final
Kilkerrin-Clonberne (Galway) v Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin), Croke Park, 5pm
SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER
AIB All-Ireland Junior Club final
Mungret St Paul's (Limerick) v Na Dúnaibh (Donegal), Parnell Park, 2pm
ONLINE
Reports on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app
WATCH
Senior and intermediate finals live on TG4 and TG4 Player. Junior decider on Spórt TG4 YouTube channel.
RADIO
Updates and reaction on Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
WEATHER
Saturday: Mainly dry and bright for a time, with good spells of sunshine. There'll be a few scattered showers around in the morning, mainly in coastal parts of the north and west. It'll become increasingly cloudy though from the northwest through the afternoon and evening, with some patchy light rain and drizzle spreading from the northwest, along with some mist and hill fog. Highest temperatures of 5 degrees in the east and up to 10 degrees in the west in mostly light to moderate west to southwest winds.
Sunday: A mostly cloudy day with some patchy outbreaks of light rain and drizzle, along with some mist. There'll be a good deal of dry weather too. It'll be a little milder and breezier than of late with highest temperatures of 10 to 12 degrees in moderate to fresh and occasionally gusty southwest to west winds, strong at times in some northern and western coastal parts. For more go to met.ie.
Kilkerrin-Clonberne eyeing a fouth title on the spin
GAA HQ will be the venue for what is a repeat of last year's All-Ireland semi-final.
On that occasion, the sides were inseparable after 60 minutes before Kilkerrin-Clonberne found a kick in extra-time to get over the line.
This is familiar territory for the westerners, as they prepare for a fifth successive All-Ireland Final.
Having suffered pre-Covid heartbreak against Mourneabbey in 2018 and 2019, the Galway outfit got the better of their Cork rivals in the 2021 final, before following up with big day wins against Monaghan's Donaghmoyne (2022) and Ballymacarbry (2023) to annex three successive titles.
Kilkerrin-Clonberne claimed a seventh successive Connacht title this year and now face opposition in Kilmacud Crokes, who won Leinster for the third year in a row.
In their provincial decider, Westport gave Kilkerrin-Clonberne plenty to think about but the holders had enough nous and know-how to get through.
That set up a trip to Lurgan and a clash with Armagh and Ulster champions Clann Éireann.
Goals from Aisling Madden (above) and Ailish Morrissey paved the way for a 2-11 to 1-09 win
A day previously, Kilmacud Crokes had booked their place in the final, scoring a comfortable 5-11 to 1-5 victory over Kerry's Castleisland Desmonds.
This was a real statement of intent from Crokes, who had been equally impressive in their Leinster final victory over Kildare outfit, Eadestown.
Cork native Niamh Cotter led the way for Crokes against Desmonds, collecting 2-04, with Amy Conroy, Michelle Davoren and Mia Jennings also raising green flags on home soil.
Both finalists can boast pace, power and class all over the pitch and the respective starting line-ups read like a 'who’s who’ of inter-county stars.
Crokes can call upon Galway pair Dearbhla Gower, an All-Star nominated goalkeeper, and Galway captain Ailbhe Davoren, who claimed a maiden TG4 All-Star award recently.
Cotter and Donegal’s Niamh Carr are others who have worn their respective county shirts while the Crokes team is also littered with past and present Dublin stars, including the likes of Aoife Kane, Molly Lamb, Grace Kós, Lauren Magee, Davoren and Éabha Rutledge.
The Kilkerrin-Clonberne line-up is well stacked, too, with captain Louise Ward, nominated for an All-Star this year, joined by twin sister Nicola, who recently picked up an All-Star and the TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year award.
The Divilly sisters – Niamh, Siobhan and Olivia, another recently-crowned All-Star – continue to exert a huge influence, as do the Noone sisters, Hannah, Lynsey and Eva.
There are potential match-winners on both sides.
Kilkerrin-Clonberne: L Murphy; C Costello, S Gormally, N Divilly; K Mee, N Ward, H Noone; S Divilly, A Madden; O Divilly, L Ward (capt.), L Noone; E Noone, A Morrissey, C Miskell.
Kilmacud Crokes: D Gower; N Carr, E Sweeney (capt.), P Greene; A Kane, M Lamb, K Murray; G Kós, L Magee; N Cotter, A Davoren, M Jennings; A Conroy, M Davoren, É Rutledge.
A Carlow first
Annaghdown and Bennekerry/Tinryland will get proceedings underway at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon.
There's history in the making forBennekerry/Tinryland, as they become the very first club from Co Carlow to appear in a women's club decider
Annaghdown have been here before, back in 2016 when a team containing current selector for former Galway star, Niamh Duggan, claimed the intermediate club title with victory over Armagh opponents Shane O’Neills.
Duggan was captain on that occasion and she’ll be hoping to help mastermind another landmark national success eight years later.
Annaghdown: E Lynch; R Fahy, I Claffey, M Canavan; Chelsie Crowe, Chloe Crowe, B Quinn; S O'Grady, R Naughton; R Quinn (capt.), C Hegarty, J Burke; E Keane, C McCarthy, B Naughton.
Bennekerry/Tinryland: S Cotter (capt); C Mahon, L Corcoran, L Mullins; R Bermingham, N Mohan, M Cranny; E Lowry, E Ware; A Webb, C Ní Shé, L Dwyer; O Woods, S Nolan, S Hayden.
North v South
Clubs from Munster and Ulster will battle it out at Parnell Park in the junior final
Flying the flag for Limerick and Munster are Mungret St Paul's, who will take on Donegal and Ulster representatives, Na Dúnaibh.
Mungret St Pauls are just the third Limerick team to reach an All-Ireland Club Final, and they’re following in the footsteps of Murroe-Boher (2014) and Gerald Griffins (2000), who were both successful on Junior Final day.
Na Dúnaibh, meanwhile, will become the very first Donegal club to line out in an All-Ireland Junior club Final when they grace the Donnycarney venue.
Mungret St Paul's: C Bateman; C O'Neill, L Dunne, C Moloney; J Buckley, S Burke, M Clancy; Á Ryan (capt), C O’Meara; E O’Rourke, F Morrissey, A Morrissey; J Casey, G McKenna, N Crowley.
Na Dúnaibh: C Shevlin; J Roberts, C Hay, M Doherty; N Gallagher, E Trearty, M Wilkin; J Trearty, C McLaughlin; A McLaughlin, M.T. Boyce, S McBride (capt.); D Doherty, S McGroddy, L McBride.
