Captains Gather at Croke Park Ahead of Ladies Football Finals Triple Header

Captains Gather at Croke Park Ahead of Ladies Football Finals Triple Header

The captains from the six competing counties in this year’s TG4 All Ireland Championship finals were present at Croke Park today ahead of the showpiece finals which take place in GAA Headquarters on Sunday 28th September. The Senior, Intermediate and Junior finals will all take place in Croke Park on the 28th and all three games will be televised live by TG4.

 

Reigning Senior champions Cork will bid to claim their fourth consecutive All Ireland title while Monaghan make their first appearance in a Senior final since 2002.

 

This Cork side have lost just twice in nearly four years and have already claimed regained the National League title back in May beating Kerry convincingly in the final. Angela Walsh took over the captaincy from Juliet Murphy at the start of the season and the Inch Rovers star is confident her side can make it four in a row.

 

“We are in the final stages of our preparation now, we have one more training session to go and everyone is very excited about going back to Croke Park,” said Walsh.

 

Monaghan won the Ulster title and then blew Mayo away in the Championship semi-finals. They are a very dynamic side and have the arsenal to threaten Cork’s recent dominance of the game. Monaghan captain Niamh Kindlon knows her side are ready for the challenge ahead.

 

“Training has gone very well, we have no injuries in the squad so we have a full bill of health and everyone is eager to get on with the game. The support from around the county has been outstanding and there should be a lot of Monaghan support on the day,” said Kindlon.

 

National League Division 2 winners Clare will face Munster rivals Tipperary in the Intermediate Championship final and this game will be preceded by the Junior final between London and Derry. London lost last year’s Junior final to Kilkenny while Derry are seeking their first ever All Ireland title.

 

Geraldine Giles, President of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, was present at Croke Park to welcome the captains of the six participating counties and is excited by the prospect of an action packed afternoon of football.

 

“This is only the second year that we will host three major finals on the same day in Croke Park and if last year is anything to go by it will be a very special day for all involved. Undoubtedly the two best teams in the Senior grade meet in the final. Cork have yet to reach their peak but have shown their class when it was required of them while Monaghan have played some of the most attractive free-flowing football of the summer,” said Giles

 

“The Intermediate final between Clare and Tipperary will be a close affair and London return to address the heartbreaking defeat they suffered last year but Derry are in search of their first All Ireland title so all three games will be very hard to call,” continued Giles.

“The changes to the Senior Championship structure have ensured that counties have a second chance in the qualifiers. At the same time the number of games has been reduced from last year’s Champions League format which helps with the issue of player burnout and has improved the general standard of this year’s Championship games,” Giles added.

 

TG4 aired 17 Championship games this summer and all three finals will go live on Sunday. The support of TG4 is invaluable in the continuing development of ladies football.” said Giles.

 

“Following on the success of last year which peaked when 267,000 viewers tuned into TG4 for our coverage of the 2007 All Ireland Finals, this year saw a consolidation with 17 matches in all receiving live coverage on TG4 this season,” said Pol O’Gallchoir, Ceannasai, TG4

 

All three games will be broadcast live on TG4 starting with the Junior final which gets underway at 12 noon. The Intermediate final throws in at 2.00pm while the showpiece Senior final starts at 4.00pm.

 

The All-Ireland Club Sevens take place in St Sylvester’s GAA club Malahide and Naomh Mearnog GAA club Portmarnock on Saturday 27th, September. 75 club teams from all over the country will take part in the annual competition on the eve of the Championship finals.

 

ENDS

 

For more information:

www.ladiesgaelic.ie

 

David O’Siochain, Pembroke Communications – 01 649 6322/087 936 2440

Michael O’Keeffe, Pembroke Communications – 01 649 6488/087 885 4072

Information for Editors:

Senior Championship

A Qualifier System was introduced into the Senior Championship for the first time this year
Teams knocked out of the provincial championships entered the first round of qualifiers while provincial runners-up entered the second round of qualifiers
Provincial winners entered the All Ireland Championship at the quarter-final stage
One team is relegated from the Senior Championship
Waterford, Meath & Donegal will play-off to determine who will be relegated to the Intermediate Championship for 2009

Intermediate Championship

The Intermediate Championship is in its second year and is a revamp of the old Junior Championship and witnesses the junior provincial championships replaced by two national groups of five counties.
The top two team in each group qualify for semi-finals
The winner of the Intermediate Championship is promoted to the Senior Championship for the following season
The newly promoted Intermediate Champions are exempt from relegation from the Senior Championship for 2 years

Junior Championship

The Junior Championship consists of two groups with the top two teams from each groups qualifying for the semi-finals
The winner of the Junior Championship is promoted to the Intermediate Championship for the following season
The newly promoted Junior Champions are exempt from relegation from the Intermediate Championship for 2 years
The Junior Championship structure is aimed at developing emerging counties such as Antrim Wicklow and Carlow