Conleth's eye redemption as new final challenge awaits

ST Conleth’s will face different opposition in the Laois LGFA Senior Football Championship final for the first time in five years when they take on St Joseph’s in Saturday’s decider at Laois Hire O’Moore Park.

St Conleth’s have reached the county final for a sixth successive year, having won the Lulu Carroll Cup in 2021 and 2024. For the last four years, St Conleth’s have faced Portlaoise in the final, but St Joseph’s have broken that run by reaching their first-ever senior final.

St Conleth’s booked their place with a narrow one-point victory over Timahoe in the semi-final, a result manager Mick O’Connell was delighted with given the quality of the opposition.

“Of course thrilled to come out on the right side of it, gets us to a county final. We knew it was going to be hard after the league final we played against them. We had the girls prepared all week for a battle. It was never going to be easy; there was always going to be a score or two in between teams. Our girls worked their socks off all game long and we knew they had that performance in them,” O’Connell said.

Having lost last year’s final, O’Connell said there was never any concern about motivating his players for another championship campaign.

“No, not with these girls, they know their abilities. They know they left it behind them last year maybe, or didn't get the rub of the green on the day of the final. A few things went against them. Injuries, sending off, an illness- so all those things didn’t help on the day. These girls come back determined and all year long, they’ve put in the effort,” he added.

Captain Aimee Kelly believes the disappointment of last year’s final defeat has provided an added motivation for the group this year.

“I think sometimes when you lose a final, it drives you on more so than if you win it because it's such a last opportunity, something you left behind. This group and the core players there have been there the last few years for all the finals we have been in. We're lucky this year, we've got some young ones coming up as well, which have really added to our panel and our team. It's definitely driven us on even more. We've got those additional girls and the core ones have always been there, making us a strong panel again,” she said.

Kelly also believes the changing landscape of the senior championship is a positive development for Laois football.

“It really is. Like, if you go back the years, Timahoe would have been so dominant and then Sarsfields. Ourselves and Portlaoise have competed in the last number of finals. Whereas if you look at it this year, it's Joseph’s first one. They played Ballyroan; it would have been their first if they won. I think it was just such an open championship this year, which is a great sign really for Laois football. It means that there are so many good teams that are competing for the top spot and there are so many good players across those teams. It's really, really positive for Laois football and hopefully we see that now come through in the inter-county panel over the next few years,” Kelly said.

One of the St Conleth’s players who has played a key role in the club’s success in recent years is Marie Byrne, who hails from Gracefield in Offaly. Byrne explained how she ended up playing her club football in Laois after coming through underage alongside many of her current teammates.

“Underage, we would have been playing with the lads in Gracefield and then coming up; then there was no girls' team playing in Gracefield. We were in school in Coláiste Íosagáin and all the girls I was playing with in school would have been playing with St Conleth’s. So we just naturally followed them out to St Conleth’s. My mam’s from O’Dempsey’s as well, so there's the roots there as well to play with St Conleth’s and Courtwood as well. We've played with the girls from under 14, under 16 and we've won plenty of finals underage. We've come up through the ranks together, so we're kind of a tight-knit group,” Byrne said.

Her Offaly roots have occasionally made her the subject of some friendly club banter.

“Not too many people say it on the pitch. You get plenty of slagging outside, nothing too bad on the pitch. Mostly from my own club,” Byrne said.

St Conleth’s now face a St Joseph’s side that has already beaten them twice this year, in both the league and championship. Manager O’Connell knows his side will have to improve on their most recent meeting if they are to reclaim the Lulu Carroll Cup.

“It would mean everything to me, to the girls, and to the club for the effort they've put in all year. They know what they have to do. St Joseph's have beaten us twice already this year, in the league and the championship, so they know they're going in as favourites. We have to plot their downfall and try and play a little bit better than we did the last day against them and see where it takes us. It would mean everything to the club. We're here to win titles, not just to compete in them. We've lost too many, so we don't want to lose another,” O’Connell concluded.