Monaghan crown comeback year with championship glory

Glen Dimplex Junior Camogie Championship final

Monaghan 1-14 Mayo 2-10

By Kevin Egan

MONAGHAN’S decision to return to competitive inter-county camogie after a 15-year hiatus was vindicated in spectacular fashion as they edged out Mayo in a thrilling Glen Dimplex Junior Camogie Championship final, turning the tables in a match-up that had gone Mayo’s way in each of their three previous meetings this year.

The final margin may have been the bare minimum but Monaghan were the better team for longer stretches of the tie. They surged into a five-point lead before half-time and then built on that to establish a match-winning position in the third quarter, controlling the game with greater physicality, athleticism and decision-making on the ball in that phase of the game.

Niamh Kelly picked up the official Player of the Match award but the Farney County had heroes all over the pitch, including leadership roles from Mary McManus and Marie Greenan on the edge of the two squares – the latter, a seven-point contributor on the last Monaghan team to play at adult level when going back-to-back in this championship in 2011.

The others still around are Mary McManus (née Meehan) and Michelle Morgan, whose daughters, Sioneen and Codi are on the panel with her.

An all-action display from Amber Lam at midfield played a big part in the triumph, and in particular a disciplined and focussed display of marking from Rioghnach Duffy to curtail Mayo captain, Lisa Scahill was crucial.

A family gathering for Monaghan’s Morgan

Duffy wasn’t on the ball as often as is frequently the case for the Clontibret player but she played a huge part in this win by restricting the westerners’ talisman to just a single point from play.

Mayo got a serious tune out of Ava Murray and Laoise Greally off the bench as they weighed in with 2-2, but 0-4 from play from the starters wasn’t enough on a day when the ground was pristine and firm in Longford, and conditions were ideal for scoring.

Despite this it still took a while for the flags to start flying freely, and two dead-ball strikes from Greenan were the only scores in the opening ten minutes.

McManus and Kelsey Lam made two huge defensive plays to keep Mayo scoreless but once Scahill pointed a 45, they found their feet, and moved into the lead on the back of superb scores from Méabh Tunney and Niamh Greally.

Just when it looked like they were up and running however, what looked like a serious knee injury to Gráinne Delaney killed their momentum and Monaghan fired 1-2 in first half stoppage time to turn the tide.

Eileen Cullen struck a point from close range after hitting the post with a ground shot shortly before, Karen Boyle split the posts from 30 metres out and then a longer shot for a point was allowed to bounce on the hard Summer ground, running into the net to help make it 1-7 to 0-5 at half-time.

Murray fired a point with her first possession but it was in the third quarter that Monaghan cemented their strong position. Kelly and Amber Lam added outstanding individual points but it was defensively where Monaghan’s dominance was most pronounced.

It looked like time was running out for Mayo when Laoise Greally gave them a lifeline in the 50th minute, whipping the sliotar inside Rebecca Hamill’s near post after she contested a floating Scahill pass with McManus.

Points from Murray and Scahill cut the gap to just two, but a string of errors in the next ten minutes proved costly, and despite ratcheting up the pressure, it was Monaghan who added the last two points of the game through Greenan frees.

The four minutes of stoppage time that was announced by Ronan Cahill had already been played when Laoise Greally showed a lovely touch to control Tunney’s low ball and fire to the Monaghan net and though the Dublin official did throw Mayo a lifebuoy by allowing time for one last play, it did not yield an equaliser.

Their 2026 story will still be remembered as a success by any measure, as they also came back to adult competition after a year out and ended the year with an All-Ireland final appearance and a Division 3B league title.

All of that will be of scant consolation tonight when they reflect on a game where Monaghan’s greater consistency and balance means it’s the Farney women who will take over the mantle as the fairytale comeback heroes of the season, having delivered their best performance of the year, after a far longer absence, on the day when it mattered most.

SCORERS FOR MONAGHAN: M Greenan 0-7 (4fs, 2 45s); K Boyle 1-1; E Cullen, N Kelly, A Lam (1f) each

SCORERS FOR MAYO: L Greally 2-0; L Scahill 0-5 (3fs, 1 45); A Murray 0-2; M Tunney, N Greally, B Joyce 0-1 each

MONAGHAN: R Hamill, T Mayne, M McManus, L Kindlon, L Dempsey, R Duffy, K Lam, A Lam, R O’Sullivan, M Morgan, K Boyle, G Ruxton, N Kelly, M Greenan, E Cullen. Subs: K McLaughlin for O’Sullivan (48), C Morgan for A Lam (56), J Cullen for Mayne (59)

MAYO: G Robinson, M O’Malley, M Deely, G Delaney, K Scahill, C Delaney, É Delaney, N Kennedy, N Greally, M Tunney, L Scahill, A Dooley, B Joyce, C Greally, E Deely. Subs: S Lynskey for G Delaney (17), L Greally for Deely (half-time), A Murray for Joyce (ht), R Cassidy for Dooley (39)

REFEREE: Ronan Carroll (Dublin)