St Bridget’s prove way too strong for The Harps

Camogie Intermediate Championship s/f 

St Brigid’s 6-14 

The Harps 1-6 

By Barry McEvoy 

THE 2022 Laois Intermediate Camogie champions St Brigid’s will make their return to the final after an emphatic 23 point victory over The Harps in the LOETB Centre of Excellence on Saturday afternoon.

The game was played concurrently alongside the other semi-final which saw Camross overcome O’Moore’s, setting up a repeat of the ’22 final which saw St Brigid’s claim their first title since 2004.

St Brigid’s were defeated in the four finals previous to that before eventually getting over the line after a thrilling contest, but they were duly knocked out by Camross in the semi-final stages of 2023 after extra-time, but Camross themselves were pipped by O’Moore’s who would go on to reach the Leinster final.

Brian Bowe’s charges looked like a team with a point to prove on Saturday, and it’s unfortunate for an up and coming team from The Harps that they were the ones in their path as St Brigid’s were ruthless in front of the posts and didn’t allow their opponents any time to dally on the ball.

Eimear Hassett burst onto the scene in 2022, culminating in a Player of the Match performance in the final against Camross and her stock has only risen since then, as once again she showed her excellence on Saturday by slotting 2-8 for the victors, with 2-4 coming from play.

It wasn’t just Hassett who impressed however, as Amy Daly was a late addition to the starting line-up in place of Aisling O’Dea and she notched 1-2 from play, which will undoubtedly cause a selection headache for the final, while stalwart Laura Dunne made some excellent saves and captain Grainne Hyland showed fantastic work rate and strength in the middle of the field.

Clodagh Tynan, Jessie Quinlan were all outstanding among other as St Brigid’s defended brilliantly when required but also showed plenty of danger in transition to attack.

The Harps began the game brightly with a slight wind advantage and took a two point lead in the opening minutes thanks to Lucy O’Connor and Lisa Kirby, but thee lead was short lived once St Brigid’s settled and the pair were level on seven minutes via scores from Daly and Hassett.

St Brigid’s took the lead for the first time in the eighth minute when Hyland played a good pass inside to Daly and she rifled it into the net.

Hassett soon followed with an excellent score on the turn and added two more from frees which saw St Brigid’s lead by 1-5 to 0-2 after 20 minutes.

A quickfire double from The Harps saw Alice Walsh and Catherine Kirby fire between the sticks, both stemming from long balls inside, but the replies would soon come.

Aoife Finlay fired over from distance and Hyland got St Brigid’s second goal with a powerful effort into the top corner, stopping any momentum from The Harps.

Hassett traded scores with Eimear Fitzpatrick late in the half as St Brigid’s would go in at the break with a commanding 2-7 to 0-5 lead.

Any thoughts of St Brigid’s slowing up in the second half were immediately quashed as Jessie Quinlan tore forward from the throw in and laid off to Daly who pointed.

The game was all but over just five minutes into the half as Aiva Coss, Daly and Hassett combined excellently to work the ball up the field and find Aoife Finlay in space to rattle the net for their third goal.

Laura Finlay added another point after good work by Hyland high up the field before Coss slotted a well-deserved score.

Eimear Fitzpatrick briefly stemmed the flow of scores from St Brigid’s with a pointed free, but it was in vain as Hassett struck her first of two second half goal when she was quickest to react as Niamh Coss saw a shot bounce back off the post.

Three points from Hassett soon followed, two being excellent scores from play and Jessie Quinlan added another as the clock ticked over into the final 10 minutes of the game.

St Brigid’s fifth goal came in the 24th minute as Hassett returned the favour by firing a low pass inside to Niamh Coss and she finished from close range.

Despite the scoreline the intensity levels of the contest didn’t drop as both sides continued to press for scores and The Harps would get a goal back when Alice Walsh fired the ball towards the posts and it deceived everyone, including the St Brigid’s backs as it dropped into the net.

However, Eimear Hassett would have the final say of the game when The Harps failed to clear at the other end and she hit the net for her second and St Brigid’s sixth goal to cap off a fantastic performance.

SCORERS:

St Brigid’s: Eimear Hassett 2-8 (0-4fs), Amy Daly 1-2, Aoife Finlay 1-1, Grainne Hyland and Niamh Coss 1-0 each, Laura Finlay, Jessie Quinlan and Aiva Coss 0-1 each.

The Harps: Alice Walsh 1-1, Eimear Fitzpatrick 0-2 (one free), Lisa Kirby (free), Catherine Kirby and Lucy O’Connor 0-1 each.

ST BRIGID’S: Laura Dunne; Danielle Healy, Amy Quinlan, Aoife Carroll; Roisin Kilmartin, Clodagh Tynan, Sarah Creagh; Laura Finlay, Jessie Quinlan; Tiegan Reilly, Aoife Finlay, Aiva Coss; Amy Daly, Grainne Hyland, Eimear Hassett.

Sub: Niamh Coss for Reilly (35m, inj).

THE HARPS: Cara Henderson; Kayla Dwyer, Elaine Spencer, Muire Fitzpatrick; Grainne Phelan, Roisin Phelan, Aoife Gee; Eimear Fitzpatrick, Catherine Kirby, Lisa Kirby; Rachel Deegan, Lucy O’Connor, Alice Walsh.

Subs: Amy Lacey for L Kirby (ht), Roisin Fitzpatrick for M Fitzpatrick (33m), L Kirby for O’Connor (47m, inj), Joan Dollard for Bergin (58m).

Referee: Alan Doheny (Castletown)