Aoife and the Saints determined to make it two in a row

COUNTY champions St Conleth’s are in a familiar place, one that they’ve been in for the last five years, with them set to face familiar opposition, Portlaoise, for a fourth year in a row in a Laois LGFA Senior county final.

Captain Aoife Kirrane says her side can’t wait to compete in yet another final.

“We're absolutely delighted to be back in another final this year, a fifth in a row. Preparations are going well, we're very excited, and looking forward to the day. A week to go now, so just knuckling down and working hard with the group,” Kirrane said.

St Conleth’s have never won the championship two years in a row, with Portlaoise beating them in the final in 2022 and 2023. Last year, saw them get past Portlaoise for the first time in the final.

“We would love to go back-to-back; we've never done it in the history of the club. We hadn't been in a final until five years ago, so it would definitely be another first for this group and for the club, so we're really hungry for it,” Kirrane added.

It hasn’t been plain sailing for Kirrane and her side as they were beaten by Ballyroan in the group stages before they met again in the last four, and St Conleth’s got their revenge. Kirrane believes that this year’s championship was the strongest it’s been for years.

“We knew coming into the championship that it's really strong this year, probably even stronger than it had been last year with Joseph's up in senior this year. We were under no illusions at the start of the year that it was going to be a walk in the park for anyone at all, and it was going to be really competitive. Not surprised that we got beaten in a group game be it by Ballyroan or anyone else. We learned from our defeat in the first game and then we went on to the semi-final, and we beat them so it was great for us to learn from our mistakes and move on and get into another final,” Kirrane ended.

Aine Haberlin has been an integral part of the St Conleth’s panel for many years, having also worn the blue and white of Laois in the recent past.

Haberlin commented on the strength of their panel and how much of a boost the county girls gave them once they returned from having such a good campaign in 2025. She also praised the younger girls on the team for stepping up in the absence of their county stars.

“It's great to be playing with this group of girls, to be honest. Like the girls coming back in from the county for them to have that experience and bring it to our team. They brought strength, commitment and the focus that they had at county, which was just amazing. When they came back into the fold after the All-Ireland, it was just an injection of speed and energy, and it was just brilliant to have.

“Then the younger girls have been absolutely amazing this year. We've had so many girls make their senior debut, and they've made them in unbelievable fashion; they have been brilliant. There's been great competition for places, which is exactly where you want to be when you’re defending a senior championship. You want to have that competition for places, and that's absolutely been the case. The younger girls have been driving us on at training; they've been really putting us through our paces, and yeah, it's been absolutely brilliant to have that mix,” Haberlin said.

Haberlin is hoping her side can get over the line on Saturday and that they can make that first step in the Leinster Championship. In their two previous Leinster campaigns, they were beaten by Wicklow’s Tinahely on both occasions in 2021 and in 2024.

“It would mean a huge amount. To be in a fifth county final is just an amazing achievement, and to go back-to-back would be amazing as well. We’d love to get a win in Leinster, it’s not something that we’ve managed to do yet, but to be honest, we're just focusing on our next challenge over the next two weeks and trying to get ourselves right and to focus on that next game,” Haberlin ended.

Manager Chris Lynch is getting ready to lead St Conleth’s into their second County Final under his management. He feels that Portlaoise are the favourites for this year’s decider.

“We know it's a new year. Portlaoise are actually a lot stronger this year than they were last year in the championship. They're unbeaten, whereas we lost a game in the championship. Portlaoise are the form team here, so we know we have a battle on our hands,” Lynch said.

St Conleth’s suffered a blip in the group stages as Ballyroan defeated them 6-6 to 3-9. Lynch credited the leaders in his group who helped St Conleth’s get back to another final “We've a lot of leaders there, even from young girls to some of the older girls, they all stood up and were accounted for. We got ourselves together again and just built from there, and thankfully, we’re in another county final, which is great,” Lynch added.

Lynch had to delve into his panel for a lot longer this year due to the Laois Ladies getting to an All-Ireland final. He believes that his side wouldn’t be where they are had it not been for the girls who stepped up when they were without their inter-county contingent.

“I've always said that's where our panel comes in. Our panel brought us through the league stages and the early stages of the championship, so it's great that we have such a good panel. Only for those girls, we wouldn’t be here today. Getting the Laois girls back was great as they bring good quality, but like we've quality right through our panel, so it's great that they just added to it,” Lynch commented.

When asked about news on the injury front, Lynch says they’ve a clean bill of health apart from Alanna Havill and Aimee Kelly for different reasons.

“This time of year, the girls will be tired. All the Laois girls have been going since last November. Unfortunately, we lost to Alanna Havill, our captain from last year, and Aimee Kelly for two different reasons. They are two big losses for us, but no clean bill of health, so hopefully, please god, two weeks to go, so we'll see how we're fixed,” Lynch said.

Looking ahead to the final, Lynch knows what Portlaoise will bring to the decider and feels his side will have to improve if they’re to be crowned county champions for the second year in a row.

“We're always trying to improve. We know what Portlaoise are going to bring. They're going to bring hunger and determination. We know we have to up our game to the next level, but in fairness, the girls are working hard. We’re in this together for the next two weeks, so we're ready for a battle and we’ll see where it takes us,” Lynch ended.