August 30th ‘11
Monaghan Camogs retain All Ireland Title
Monaghan 1 – 12
Wicklow 1 – 07
Monaghan never looked in danger when they defeated Wicklow to claim the” Maire Ni Chinneide” Cup and their second consecutive All Ireland Junior B Championship title, in Donaghamore, Ashbourne on Sunday last. Playing with the wind Monaghan picked up a 4 point lead at the interval and keeping their foot firmly on the pedal they outplayed Wicklow in most areas of the pitch. Not allowing their opponents to get the ball past middle of the field until half way through the first half, together with 3 early points from Marie Greenan and Karen Boyle, gave Monaghan the confidence to settle into this game .
Having narrowly defeated Wicklow on their last outing to Avondale and dividing the spoils on the return leg, Monaghan knew that this was no cake walk but from the onset they quickly took control with the forward line up of Karen Boyle, Mairead Mc Carron and Eleanor McQuaid continually pressurising the Wicklow defence.
Wicklow found it difficult to penetrate the sound Monaghan defence of Joanne McSkeane, Mary Meehan and the Kieran sisters Edel and Isobel and it wasn’t until the 20th minute that their free taker Laura Manley got their first score of the match followed by another minutes later. Marie Greenan replied with a converted free. Monaghan’s Siobhan McKenna and Michele Morgan were now dominating the midfield area and Roisin McKenna took off a brilliant save where Eleanor McQuaid collected and laid it off to Marie Greenan who tapped it over in the 23rd minute.
Marie Greenan eased Monaghan further in front from a free in the 29th minute while Wicklow replied with a point following Isobel Kieran being handed a yellow card to leave the half time score: Monaghan 0 – 7, Wicklow 0 – 3.
Wicklow who were anxious for scores went on the rampage from the throw in of the second period but had to be content with a converted free. Monaghan’s Eleanor McQuaid who was now in full flight for goal was stopped in her tracks where Marie Greenan converted the free in the 7th minute and once again Wicklow’s Manley replied from a free.
Six minutes on and Monaghan were on a roll where Michele Morgan collected and McQuaid tapped it over the bar and within a minute Greenan did likewise. Siobhan McKenna who was sweeping everything up around midfield sent the ball to Michele Morgan who got Monaghan 3rd point from play at the end of the 3rd quarter. Then came the icing on the cake, when Morgan laid the ball off to her namesake Nicola Morgan who in turn rattled the net in the 18th minute.
Now it was the turn of Wicklow who sent over a point a minute later, a tussle ensued and their centre half back Sinead Byrne was issued with a yellow card Marie Greenan was replaced with Mary Mc Elroy and with 8 minutes remaining disaster struck when Monaghan were reduced to 14 players when Isobel Kieran got her second yellow card but Monaghan held their composure and the opposition continued to poach for goals but were warded off by the Monaghan goalkeeper Roisin McKenna and had to settle for a Mary Whelan point. Shauna Finnegan added another point for Monaghan just before the whistle and Wicklow got in for a goal in injury time but a little too late and Monaghan ran out victorious to claim the Maire Ni Chinneide Cup.
President of the Camogie Association, Joan O’Flynn then paid tribute to both teams on a fine match performance and before presenting the Captain Siobhan McKenna with the cup, she added that Monaghan had made history in the fact they were the first team to win the trophy for two consecutive years. Michele Morgan was then presented with” Player of the Match “award .
The Management team of Malachy Trainor, Geraldine Clarke and Trainer, Paul Monaghan would sincerely like to thank Stephen Marron for his generous sponsorship of sports drinks for the final.
Monaghan Team :
Roisin McKenna, Louise O Connell, Aisling Greenan, Joanne McSkeane, Edel Kieran, Isobel Kieran, Mary Meehan, Michelle Morgan(0-1) Siobhan McKenna(Capt.) Mairead McCarron, Shauna Finnegan(0-1)Eleanor McQuaid(0-2)Nicola Morgan(1-0)Marie Greenan(0-7)Karen Boyle(0-1). Mary Mc Elroy, Catherine Tomany, Donna McKenna, Emma McKenna, Kellie Fisher, Carmel McSkeane, Aideen Greene, Hannah Tedore, Bernie McGahon, Michaela McGinn.
Club Championship
On the domestic front The Board wish Clontibret the best of luck in the Club Championship which takes place in Clontibret on Sunday next at 1pm.,when they take on Tyrone Champions, Dungannon.
Club News
Truagh
Seniors: A text will be circulated regarding training.
Juveniles: Juvenile training on Saturday at 11am. Deirdre, Orla and Catherine are on duty this week. New players are very welcome.
Lucky Square: Congratulations to Mackie Treanor who was last weeks winner of the lucky square. Could anyone that owes for the lucky square please see Majella. Thank you to all who support.
Congratulations: to Siobhan, Mairead, Mary and the county Camogie team on their second consecutive all Ireland win. They beat Wicklow in the final on a score of 1 12 to 1 7. This is a great boost for camogie in County Monaghan and the club are very proud of you all. Well Done.
Good Luck: to Sharon McQuillan and Gerard McCaffrey who tie the knot this Saturday. We wish them a long and happy life together and we look forward to the celebrations.
Clontibret
Well the camogie celebrations that followed the winning of Corn Gael Linn for the 7th consecutive time, a fortnight ago, resumed on Sunday evening last for 11 of our senior players who were part of the Monaghan county team that captured the Máire Ní Chinnéide Cup, in the All-Ireland Junior ‘B’ final, for the second year in a row in Donaghmore-Ashbourne. Wicklow were the opponents this time round and having drawn with them and then beaten them earlier in the season the final always promised to be a tough encounter. Throw in terrible weather conditions, especially in the second half when Monaghan were facing into a blustery storm, and it was clear that that the victors would earn their win with nothing less than skill, hard slog and gutsy determination – all of which Monaghan showed in abundance especially in the last 10 minutes when they were reduced to 14 players. But hard-earned victories are all the more satisfying and savoured! (See full match report)
A special mention must be made of Michelle Morgan, the new kid on the block, who scooped Player of the Match award. Achieving this in an All-Ireland final doesn’t get much better than that and for Michelle it was the greatest moment of her playing career to date. Congratulations Michelle.
Clontibret’s representatives: Shauna Finnegan (vice-captain), Marie Greenan, Aisling Greenan, Nicola Morgan, Karen Boyle, Eleanor McQuaid, Catherine Tomany, Joanne McSkeane, Michelle Morgan, Aideen Greene and Hannah Tedore. Michaela McGinn, now in New Zealand, was also on the panel until her departure last week.
However the parties are now well over and it’s back to the training pitch in preparation for this Sunday’s encounter with Tyrone Intermediate Champions Dungannon in the Ulster Club championship. This will be another close encounter as this team caused a major upset in Tyrone seeing off a fancied Derrylaughan side in the final. The game takes place in Clontibret at 1.00 o’clock. Best wishes to our representatives.
Great to see Helen home this past few days on a well-earned break from her physiotherapy job in Reading, England. Congratulations on securing a permanent appointment recently – Clontibret’s loss is Reading’s gain! Helen however is keeping fit by resuming ladies football and her team have reached both the league and championship finals. Congratulations also to Aisling Greenan who started work as a veterinary nurse in Blackrock, Co. Louth on Monday last.
Our U-16 team lost out St.Kevin’s, Louth, in a very tough, physical match last week. They now await Collon.
It’s that time of year again when the annual pilgrimage to Croke Park takes place and on Sunday next (11th) the camogie fraternity will feast on 3 enthralling finals – Down v Waterford, Antrim v Wexford and then Galway v Wexford in a repeat of last year’s senior All-Ireland final. So lots of provincial interest there.
And just when you parents might have been considering sitting back on your laurels, Clontibret Camogie Club has been chosen for an exciting new initiative ‘Come hurl with Me’ which will commence shortly. The idea is that under-age training will take place on Saturday morning for 1 hour and while your daughter trains you, yes you, Mums and Dads, will undergo 30 minutes of basic skill coaching, exercise and then a short fun-match – with the emphasis on ‘Fun’!! It’s a win-win situation because as you get fit, or fitter, you also pick up the basics of the game your daughter is playing. Application forms will be circulated shortly and we hope to have a good response to the programme.
Finally, best wishes to all those who commenced, or are returning, to second level education this week. Lots of exciting stories were being swapped by the ‘First Years’ at training this past week!!
Inniskeen
Please check teamer.net for all challenge games fixed and training times. Training/Challenge Tuesday in Gratton Pairc at 8pm. All players to attend.
Congratulations to the Monaghan Senior Camogie team on becoming All Ireland Champions again for the 2nd consecutive year! A real inspiration to all clubs in the county.
Congratulations also to the Inniskeen Ladies Football club on winning the Monaghan Junior Championship on Friday last. Worthy recipients of a long awaited title!
By michael Tue 30th Aug