The blue riband of ladies club football in the county will be fought for
and decided on Sunday next when perennial champions Ballymacarbry take on their
near neighbours from the other side of the Comeragh mountains , Comeragh
Rangers in what promises to be an intriguing final. This a repeat of last
year’s final when the teams had to meet on two occasions when due to a serious
injury to Comeragh Rangers full back, the referee Timmy Organ had no option but
to abandon the match. In the re-fixture Ballymac showed the experience and
craft which has been built up over the years to once again break Comeragh
hearts and win the County Senior championship for a 34th consecutive
season. The teams have already met once in the championship and this game ended
in a welter of excitement with Comeragh Rangers coming back in the closing
minutes to draw the match on a final score line of Comeragh Rangers 2-7
Ballymacarbry 1-10.This sets up the county final nicely when both teams will be
giving their all to take home the Edith Kennedy Cup.
Both teams approach this final with confidence and have very contrasting
histories. Ballymacarbry were founded in July 1970, possibly one of the first
clubs in the country with Winnie Hallinan being their first chairperson. Their
first ever match was against Clonmel County Council staff and at the end July
of the same year they beat near neighbours Newcastle in a match which attracted
over 500 spectators. Comeragh Rangers in contrast are a much newer club being
set up in 1999 and has gone from strength to strength in recent years.
Both clubs have the distinction of being the only two clubs in the
county fielding adult teams at two different levels. Ballymac having won Junior
B last season contested the Junior A semi final where they lost out to a very
strong Dungarvan team. Comeragh’s second adult team has won the Junior B and
Junior A championships in consecutive years 2014 and 2015 and has contested the
Intermediate final this season against Abbeyside.
Ballymacarbry’s roll of honour at senior level is very impressive by any
standards, this year they are looking to win their 35th
county senior championship in a row, the club also leads the list
with a total of 10 All Ireland club titles won back in the golden days of
Waterford football from 1987-1998.Comeragh’s first adult county title was in
2005 when they beat Ballyduff in the junior grade with Marie Hogan scoring 4-1
in the final and the following year they followed on this success with a win
over Brickey Rangers in the Intermediate final which gave the club senior
status for the first time.
The two clubs have invested well in a youth policy in the last number of
years and as a result have a conveyor belt of young good players who have been
expertly coached and the fruits of this are very evident in both squads for the
final. Both squads are filled with players with county experience at both adult
and under age levels.
Both teams have many players who have inter- county experience at the
highest level. The Ballymac team contains many well known names who have
performed for the county, including the Ryan sisters, Michelle, Louise and
Sinead, the Walls, Linda, Mairéad who captains the team, and Aileen, the McGraths,
Michelle and Karen, Laura Mulcahy, Becky Hogan, as well as Tipperary inter
county player Lauren Fitzpatrick. There is a nice mix of experience and youth
in the Ballymac team with Lauren Guiry, Becky Desmond, Marion Ryan and Treasa
McGrath all ready to play their part for the girls from the Nire Valley.
Comeragh come into the final on the back of a good win against
Stradbally and have many stars of their own. The Murray triplets have made
their county intermediate debuts last season with tremendous success and are
now an important part of the County Senior and Minor set up. The team is backboned
by the Dunphys, Nora, Anne, Ciara and Shauna and well backed up by Kate and
Aisling Hahessey. Geraldine, Mairead and Eibhlin Power bring a wealth of
underage experience to the table as does Aoife Dunne. Ruth Kirwan is a very
able forward and an excellent freetaker and will need close attention Comeragh
are led by their captain Eileen Power who will be anxious to make sure that the
cup crosses the Comeraghs for the first time.
Neither team will be lacking in confidence as their players have experienced
much success at County and National level. Both clubs have represented
Waterford with distinction in provincial championships and the back bone of
Scoil Mhuire Carrick on Suir’s winning All Ireland team this year comes
from the Comeragh Rangers club. Eight members of the Ballymac team have
played senior for the county this year, Comeragh have four representatives on
the same team as well as having ten members of last year’s county minor panel.
Both management teams are very astute, Joe Murray, Stephen Fitzgerald
and Declan Hahessey are on the Comeragh bench while Ballymac’s management team
of Mike Guiry, Catherine Ryan and Gerry McGrath aided by two ladies who need no
introduction to Waterford Ladies Football supporters Áine Wall and Caitríona
Casey bring a wealth of experience to the table and will be doing their best to
keep the title in Balymac for another year.
While these clubs rivalry in senior finals has only developed in the
last five years, their paths have crossed many times at under age level with
honours being shared pretty evenly. Comeragh’s first county final was in 1999
when they contested the first ever under 12 final where they were narrowly
beaten by Ballymac.
This game is very hard to call as there are so many possible scenarios
that will only pan out on the day, and so many personal duels all over the
pitch. Will the experience of the Ballymac girls be too much for the Comeragh
girls or will the lessons learned by Comeragh Rangers in past number of senior
finals be well learned and put to good use. It promises to be an intriguing
encounter and the answers to all these imponderable questions will be revealed on
Sunday next at 1:00.Venue will be confirmed early in the week and will be
announced on WLR FM and on Waterford Ladies Football Facebook and Twitter
pages.
County Junior A final Dungarvan v Na Déise
This match between Dungarvan and na Déise provides the curtain raiser
for the senior final and throws in at 11:00.This will be a well contested tie
between two good footballing sides. Last season Dungarvan will be looking to
make a quick return to the Intermediate ranks having been relegated last season
and Na Déise will be looking to atone for their final loss last season when
they lost to intermediate finalists Comeragh Rangers with two late goals.
Both teams have performed well this season so far and possess many
players who are capable of outstanding performances. Na Déise have a good mix
of youth and experience in their squad. They are very strong all over the field
and can call on players of the calibre of Mary Kate Morrissey, Trish Kiely,
Katie Buckley along with under age county players Bronagh Condon, Abbey Dalton,
Mary Kate Curran, Mairéad and Anne Marie O Brien. Dungarvan are
playing a good brand of football at the moment with a very sharp attacking
outfit ably led up front by Lauren mc Gregor, Lucie O’Shea and Ciara and Beckie
Hurley. Their defence is tight marking and give very little away with Anne
Marie Tutty and Katie Hayes leading the way by example. In the middle of the
field Aisling Baumann and Aoife Nagle pull the strings and set up many attacks.
Like the senior final this will be a good and close contest and some of the
individual battles will be intriguing. This game throws in at 11:00 as a
curtain raiser for the senior final and promises to be an entertaining day’s
football.
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