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Irish Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Galway camogie win: ‘There was never a doubt ... we were always going to win,' says team captain Carrie Dolan
Thousands of fans turned out at two Co Galway venues on Monday evening to welcome home the winners of this year's All-Ireland camogie title. The squad and management group, a day after pipping Cork at Croke Park by a point to capture the county's fifth senior title, were greeted by a huge crowd when they stopped at Duggan Park GAA ground in Ballinasloe in the east of the county. There was another huge turnout later in Clarinbridge, the home village of captain Carrie Dolan, as the O'Duffy Cup was welcomed to Galway for the third time in seven years. The sunshine added to the feel good factor as the squad made its way across the county. READ MORE Dolan, who landed the winning point deep into stoppage time to deny Cork a third title in a row, said the group was thrilled to return with the cup, which she was always confident they would win. Carrie Dolan meets supporters who turned out in Duggan Park to welcome home the county team. Photograph: Inpho 'It was a very special day for my family and my club,' she said. 'There was never a doubt in my mind, we were always going to win. I said it to the girls on Saturday night that we had the work done and now let's go and take what's ours.' The squad, some of whom visited Temple Street Children's Hospital before leaving Dublin, stopped in Athlone and walked across the bridge over the Shannon with the O'Duffy Cup. Eight–year–old Abigail Egan and Galway players at Temple Street Hospital with the O'Duffy Cup. Photograph: Andres Poveda The first stop in Co Galway was at Duggan Park at 5.30pm and after being greeted by a maroon and white-clad crowd on the pitch, the squad went for a meal before departing for Clarinbridge, where people had travelled from all over for what promised to be a long night of celebrations. Three members of the squad have created their own piece of GAA history, joining the late Mattie McDonagh as the only Connacht player to win four All-Ireland senior intercounty medals. McDonagh was on the Galway team which won the All-Ireland senior football title in 1956 and was on the team which completed a three-in-a-row from 1964-1966. He has been joined in the records books by Aoife Donohue, Annmarie Starr and Ailish O'Reilly, members of the victorious Galway squads of 2013, 2019, 2021 and now 2025. Galway's Annmarie Starr celebrates with Róisín Black. Photograph: Inpho Sunday's victory was also a special day for two former Galway hurlers who battled for years but never got to taste All-Ireland glory. Joe Rabbitte and Pádraig Kelly were selected as all stars during their careers but never brought home the Liam McCarthy Cup. However, they got to celebrate on Sunday as each of them had two daughters on the squad – Olwen and Sabina Rabbitte and Caoimhe and Rachel Kelly – who were central to Galway's success during the year. Camogie Association president Brian Molloy, himself a native of Galway, said Sunday was a wonderful promotion for the sport, and he hailed Dolan for the way she clinched the win. 'The senior final could have gone either way and for Carrie Dolan to stand over that last free, and if any fella took that in a hurling game, people would be talking about it for years to come,' he said. Camogie Association president Brian Molloy alongside Galway's Aoife Donohue with her Player of the Match Award. Photograph: Inpho 'She's out on the line and knowing she has to score it to win the game. And she scores it, calm as you like, and then pops up the stairs and gives one of the best speeches I've heard in a long, long time.' Galway County Council chairman Cllr David Collins said the camogie squad had brought great honour and enjoyment to the county. 'What we witnessed in Croke Park was nothing short of remarkable,' he said. 'This Galway team have shown incredible resilience and fight, bouncing back from the heartbreak of last year's final and overcoming Cork in the most dramatic fashion ... I know every parish and community in Galway will be celebrating this historic win.'
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Carrie Dolan holds nerve to seal All-Ireland title for Galway in dramatic final win over Cork
Carrie Dolan thrust an arm into the sky in celebration well before the sliotar dissected the posts at the Davin End of Croke Park. The Galway captain knew as soon as bas met leather that she had won the senior camogie championship for her county with a terrific 63rd-minute point from a free out on the left wing. It was the Clarinbridge icon's seventh point of the day and the score that clinched just a fifth All-Ireland title for Galway, gallant Galway. FT: Galway 1-14 Cork 1-13 Carrie Dolan wins it for the Tribeswomen with a huge free in injury time Watch on @rte2 and @rteplayer #SundayGame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 10, 2025 That it went right to the wire was no great surprise as the Westerners and Cork have emerged as the game's standard bearers in recent seasons. Cork defeated Galway in last year's final, leaving them chasing a historic three-in-a-row in 2025, and Ger Manley's crew piled on the misery for Galway when they took this year's National League title too. But a Galway side with an appetite for destruction simply refused to lose again and eked out a famous win in front of 28,795. The impact of Dolan and the brilliant Aoife Donohue were central to the success as was the fact that Cork lost star midfielder Hannah Looney to a red card late in the first-half. It is a mark of Cork's incredible character that they still won the second-half despite their limited numbers, trimming a five-point half-time deficit to just one by full-time. They even threatened to win it when Orlaith Cahalane got on the end of a diagonal delivery from Saoirse McCarthy and struck a sensational equalising goal in the 60th minute. Orla Cahalane with a great, late goal to level this final at the death Watch on @rte2 and @rteplayer #SundayGame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 10, 2025 But Galway just about deserved it overall and few neutrals begrudged them what was a first title since 2021 when Dolan was fouled by Cork sub Kate Wall beneath the Cusack Stand and stepped up to convert the free. The list of Galway stars on the day was a long one with full-back Roisin Black holding their defence together while rookie Mairead Dillon struck the all-important goal and Ailish O'Reilly picked off three points from play. It will be a long winter for Cork who will wonder just how things might have panned out if they'd played that second-half with 15. HT: Galway 1-09 Cork 0-07 Cork's Hannah Looney sees red and the Leesiders will play the entire second-half down a player Watch on @rte2 and @rteplayer #SundayGame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 10, 2025 Dual star Looney opened the scoring for Cork in the fourth minute of the game but the half, and her day, would end in disaster when the red mist descended in stoppage time. She appeared to get a nudge from Dolan close to the sideline and reacted with a high hit that left referee Justin Heffernan with little choice but to issue a red card. Looney was distraught as she trudged off. The incident sparked a shemozzle among several players though Galway trotted down the tunnel for half-time soon after with broad smiles, leading by 1-09 to 0-07. The Dillon goal in the 14th minute, she was expertly fed by Donohue and blasted low past Amy Lee, put Galway into a lead they wouldn't relinquish as they hit Cork with everything they had, mixing silk with steel on a landmark day. Mairead Dillon with a brilliant goal and Galway get the first green flag of the final Watch on @rte2 and @rteplayer #SundayGame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 10, 2025 Donohue was brilliant in the first-half, scoring two early points to set the tone, winning another free that Dolan converted and dovetailing superbly with the in-form O'Reilly. Ashling Thompson was terrific for Cork at midfield too, scoring two first-half points. But when Katrina Mackey won a 13th minute penalty, and failed to convert, it was a turning point. Allied to the dismissal late in the first-half, Cork were right up against it. They came out fighting in the second-half and reduced the gap to three points several times. Amy O'Connor, their leading scorer and the hat-trick hero of the 2023 final, was off form for Cork and replaced, but Saoirse McCarthy was steady on the frees, slotting three in the second-half. And when Cahalane slammed that goal right at the death, levelling it at 1-13 apiece, it looked as if the favourites might even pinch a famous win against the head. Reigning Player of the Year Laura Hayes was brilliant for Cork, along with McCarthy, but they couldn't inspire the win their fans craved as Dolan stepped up just when Galway needed her most. Galway: Sarah Healy; Shauna Healy, Rachael Hanniffy, Roisin Black; Siobhan Gardiner, Ciara Hickey, Dervla Higgins; Annmarie Starr, Olwen Rabbitte; Niamh Mallon (0-01), Mairead Dillon (1-00), Aoife Donohue (0-02); Ailish O'Reilly (0-03), Carrie Dolan (0-07, 0-07f), Caoimhe Kelly (0-01). Subs: Sabina Rabbitte for Kelly 41, Jennifer Hughes for Olwen Rabbitte 53, Emma Helebert for Hickey 59, Ally Hesnan for Dillon 62. Cork: Amy Lee; Libby Coppinger, Pamela Mackey, Meabh Cahalane; Aoife Healy, Laura Treacy, Laura Hayes (0-01); Hannah Looney (0-01), Ashling Thompson (0-02); Emma Murphy (0-02), Amy O'Connor (0-03, 0-03f), Saoirse McCarthy (0-04, 0-04f); Katrina Mackey, Sorcha McCartan, Orlaith Cahalane (1-00). Subs: Clodagh Finn for Katrina Mackey 37, Orlaith Mullins for McCartan 41, Cliona Healy for O'Connor 49, Meabh Murphy for Healy 57, Kate Wall for Murphy 59.
