Dublin are All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football champions for the second time in three years.
First-half goals from Niamh Hetherton and Nicole Owens were the foundation for a 2-16 to 10-points win against Meath.
It's the seventh time that Dublin have won the Brendan Martin Cup.
Dublin 2-16 Meath 0-10
By Daire Walsh
Hannah Tyrrell, Kate Sullivan and team captain Carla Rowe registered an impressive combined tally of 0-13 at Croke Park as Dublin regained the TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship title with a commanding triumph over Leinster rivals Meath.
Nicole Owens and Niamh Hetherton also bagged goals in a dominant opening half as Dublin ended their first season under the joint management of Paul Casey and Derek Murray with the Brendan Martin Cup back in their possession for the seventh time in history.
Needing just three points to secure the ZuCar Golden Boot for 2025, Tyrrell got the ball rolling in a repeat of the 2021 All-Ireland decider with an early 0-2 salvo.
Things got even better for the Sky Blues when Owens struck a clinical sixth minute goal and Sullivan also added her name to the scoresheet before Emma Duggan finally opened Meath’s account with a successful free on 10 minutes.
While Duggan was on hand to cancel out a score from Rowe, Dublin pushed into overdrive either side of the first quarter mark with four points on the bounce from Tyrrell (two), Orlagh Nolan and Sullivan.
The rampant Jackies then moved twelve clear when Hetherton buried a shot to the roof of the Meath net in the 22nd minute and even though Duggan contributed a brace of frees in response to Sullivan’s third from play, Dublin brought an emphatic 2-9 to 0-4 buffer into the break.
This left the Royals with an enormous uphill task on the restart, but Meath were provided with fresh impetus when Duggan kicked two more points in advance of her Dunboyne club-mate Vikki Wall posting a fine effort from play.
However, Dublin reinforced their superiority when Rowe knocked over a place-ball effort of her own and Tyrrell’s fifth point of the day meant they were once again in front by double figures (2-11 to 0-7).
With Sullivan bringing her own personal haul up to 0-4 off a subsequent attack, the Metropolitan outfit were on the brink of another top-tier crown heading into the closing quarter.
Ciara Smyth, skipper Aoibhin Cleary and Duggan (with her seventh of the tie) all found the target for Meath as the final whistle approached, but although Tyrrell was withdrawn through injury late on, points from Hetherton, Niamh Crowley and the influential Rowe (two) ensured Dublin eased towards their second All-Ireland success in the space of three years.
Scorers – Dublin: H Tyrrell 0-5 (3f), C Rowe 0-4 (2f), K Sullivan 0-4, N Hetherton 1-1, N Owens 1-0, N Crowley, O Nolan 0-1 each.
Meath: E Duggan 0-7 (6f), A Cleary, C Smyth, V Wall 0-1 each.
DUBLIN: A Shiels; J Tobin, L Caffrey, N Donlon; S Goldrick, M Byrne, N Crowley; E O’Dowd, H McGinnis; N Owens, C Rowe, O Nolan; H Tyrrell, N Hetherton, K Sullivan. Subs: S McIntyre for Owens (49), A Kane for McGinnis (51), H Leahy for Donlon (54), L Grendon for Tyrrell (55), C Darby for Sullivan (57).
MEATH: R Murray; K Kealy, MK Lynch, A Sheridan; S Ennis, S Wall, A Cleary; O Sheehy, M Farrelly; M Thynne, N Gallogly, C Smyth; E Duggan, V Wall, K Cole. Subs: K Bermingham for Farrelly (25), Farrelly for Ennis, E Moyles for Sheehy (both 42), N McEntee for Cole (49), C Lawlor for Kealy (51).
Referee: Gus Chapman (Sligo).
Tyrone 2-16 Laois 1-13
By Rónán Mac Lochlainn
Goals in either half from Aoife Horisk and Katie Rose Muldoon proved pivotal as Tyrone edged out Laois by six points to capture the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate football final at Croke Park.
Having succumbed narrowly to Leitrim in last year’s decider, it was Tyrone’s turn to celebrate on the biggest day of the year as they finished the contest strongly to deservedly secure the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup for the first time since their sole success in 2018.
Tyrone enjoyed a 1-7 to 1-5 interval lead with Horisk’s 27th minute goal cancelling out an equally superb finish from Laois’ Shifra Havill four minutes previously.
There was little to separate the teams throughout a nervy second half but the decisive moment arrived in the 54th minute as Muldoon left Laois goalkeeper Eimear Barry helpless with a shot from close range.
It was Tyrone that seized the early initiative through points from Sorcha Gormley and Cara McCrossan before Laois struck back to level parity by the fourth minute courtesy of scores from Jane Moore and Emma Lawlor.
Lawlor edged Laois in front in the seventh minute, immediately after their corner-back Faye McEvoy had produced a superb goal line clearance at the opposite end, with parity restored soon after through a Niamh O’Neill free.
Parity continued as Emily Lacey and Aoife Horisk (free) traded points by the end of the first quarter with the Ulster county re-establishing their two-point advantage thanks to Sláine McCarroll and the lively Gormley.
However, their inaccuracy up front undermined their general control as O’Neill placed her shot too close to Eimear Barry in the 22nd minute and that profligacy was punished in an instant as Lawlor worked well in releasing Havill for an emphatic finish to the roof of Amelia Coyle’s net.
Frustration continued for Tyrone in the 26th minute as Gormley was denied from the penalty spot following a foul on Horisk but the latter made no mistake a minute later as she drilled home from ten yards to edge her side two points clear by half-time.
Laois wasted little time in getting back on level terms as Mo Nerney and Fiona Dooley both scored within three minutes of the restart.
Crucially, Laois were unable to get in front as this time as O’Neill (free) and Horisk responded for Tyrone, with the latter becoming increasingly influential as the contest evolved.
The same could be said for Nerney, who added two points in quick succession to bring Laois to within a point by the 43rd minute.
However, their momentum stalled ten minutes from time as Ciara Crowley was yellow-carded and O’Neill’s subsequent free helped double Tyrone’s advantage.
The contest was effectively settled as Muldoon followed up well to net after fellow substitute Emer McCanny had been denied and they pulled away by the final whistle thanks to insurance points from O’Neill, Gormley and captain Aoibhinn McHugh.
Scorers – Tyrone: N O’Neill 0-7 (3f), A Horisk 1-3 (0-1f), S Gormley 0-3, K Muldoon 1-0, A McHugh, S McCarroll, C McCrossan 0-1 apiece. Laois: E Lawlor (3f), M Nerney (3f) 0-5 each, S Havill 1-0, F Dooley, J Moore, E Lacey 0-1 apiece.
TYRONE: A Coyle; J Lyons, G McKenna, E Quinn; C Campbell, M Mallon, C Canavan; A McHugh, S McCarroll; E McNamee, S Gormley, A Horisk; N O’Neill, C McCrossan, M Corrigan. Subs: E McCanny for McCrossan (36), K Muldoon for McNamee (45), A McGahan for Campbell (53), C McCaffrey for O’Neill (58), J Barrett for Horisk (59).
LAOIS: E Barry; S Farrelly, C Dunne, F McEvoy; A Gorman, A Moore, A Moran; F Dooley, J Moore; S Havill, E Galvin, C Crowley; E Lacey, E Lawlor, M Nerney. Subs: L Kearney for Gorman (39), M Cotter for McEvoy (45), K Donoghue for Lacey (47), A Fitzpatrick for Havill (56).
Referee: Shane Curley (Galway).
Louth 0-13 Antrim 1-8
By Daire Walsh
Kate Flood kicked four points at Croke Park as Louth held off a stubborn challenge from Antrim to claim a record fourth TG4 All-Ireland junior football championship title.
It was the Ulster side who initially hit the ground running in GAA HQ with team skipper Bronagh Devlin superbly drilling a third-minute penalty into the roof of the Louth net after Theresa Mellon was adjudged to have been fouled inside the square off a Maria O’Neill free that dropped short.
Mellon followed up with a fine point for the Saffrons and even though Louth, who lost to Fermanagh in last year’s junior decider, eventually opened their account through Aoife Russell, Omolara Dahunsi reinforced Antrim’s early authority by splitting the posts at the opposite end.
Dahunsi also found the range in response to back-to-back points from Louth corner-forwards Russell and Ceire Nolan, but in the temporary absence of Bronagh Devlin for a yellow card offence, the Wee County cut their deficit to the bare minimum with impressive contributions from Flood and Shannen McLaughlin.
Although Antrim sharpshooter O’Neill was on target not long after Devlin’s return, unanswered points by captain Aine Breen and the ever-dependable Flood (two) ensured Louth brought a 0-8 to 1-4 cushion into the interval.
Antrim were still very much in the reckoning, however, and the team jointly-managed by Chris Scullion and Michael Devlin were back on level terms with a second point from O’Neill three minutes into the second period.
This effort squeezed O’Neill ahead of Hannah Tyrrell in the race for the ZuCar Golden Boot – in advance of the Dublin star’s appearance in the TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship final later in the afternoon – but centre-forward Eimear Byrne was on hand to restore Louth’s slender lead on 38 minutes.
An outstanding score from the increasingly-influential Flood left Louth two points to the good moving into the final-quarter and they were a step closer to another junior crown when Breen and substitute Mia Duffy added points in the 47th and 49th minutes respectively.
Lucy White subsequently increased Louth’s cushion and even though a late surge from Antrim produced three points on the bounce by Ana Mulholland, Mellon and O’Neill (a goal-bound effort that was deflected over the bar), the Wee County ultimately prevailed in the end.
Scorers – Louth: K Flood 0-4, A Breen, A Russell 0-2 each, S McLaughlin, L White, E Byrne, C Nolan, M Duffy 0-1 each.
Antrim: M O’Neill 0-3 (1f), B Devlin 1-0 (pen), T Mellon, O Dahunsi 0-2 each, A Mulholland 0-1.
LOUTH: R Lambe Fagan; R Beirth, E Hand, E Murray; H Lambe Sally, S McLaughlin, L Byrne; A Breen, A Halligan; L White, E Byrne, S Matthews; A Russell, K Flood, C Nolan. Subs: M Duffy for Matthews (42), L Collins for Russell (56), G McCrave for Lambe Sally, Z Sweeney for White (both 59).
ANTRIM: A Devlin; N McIntosh, M Blaney, M Mulholland; S O’Neill, C Brown, C McKenna; A Mulholland, A Tubridy; T Mellon, M O’Neill, Aoife Kelly; B Devlin, O Dahunsi, L Agnew. Subs: A Turley for Tubridy, A Monaghan for Kelly (both 39), B Nic Cathail for Agnew (47), N Jones for B Devlin, Aine Kelly for McKenna (both 56).
Referee: Kevin Corcoran (Mayo).
