Laois and Tipperary both brought very strong Very League form into the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship and have carried that momentum right through the summer to set up this intriguing face-off in the decider.
The Midlanders are Division 3A runners-up (they lost by a point to Armagh in the final having beaten the Orchard girls in the round-robin) and qualified for the All-Ireland semi-final as easy winners of their group. A Cavan team that they had already accounted for quite comfortably in that round-robin phase stood in their way of a first appearance in an All-Ireland final since their 2015 success, their sole triumph at this grade, after losing the decider in the previous two campaigns.
Laois recovered from the concession of an early goal with a notable reply, the outstanding Aimee Collier to the fore as they hit 1-3 on the trot – the inspirational Collier providing 1-2 of that tally. The O’Moores were in front by seven points at the interval but had to dig deep after conceding two rapid-fire goals. Once more, the response was significant, with six consecutive points sealing the verdict.
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Tipperary, who are chasing a third title, having won most recently in 2001 but lost last year’s final, were operating at a higher level in the League, mixing it in Division 2B with the likes of intermediate finalists, Cork and Kilkenny, and Galway, who reached the quarter-final of the second tier championship. Bill Mullaney’s side drew with the Cats and indeed, went quite close to taking the ultimate honours, reaching the final against Cork and falling short by only three points.
The cruised through the group but had to go into the trenches to overcome Armagh by a point at the penultimate hurdle. Much like Laois in their semi-final, they had to overcome a slow start that saw them fall three points behind. They were in front by the 21st minute however, with a number of neat points and Jenny Grace’s accuracy kept their noses in front at the break.
Three pointed 65s by the deadly Grace gave them what proved a vital four-point cushion, as Armagh goaled in the final throes.
You often hear about county squads being like a family but that is very much the case with Laois, as they have four sets of sisters involved: Ellen and Lucy Conroy, Aoife and Laura Finlay, Fiona and Andrea Scully and Aedín and Tara Lowry.
