Tribeswomen win the TG4 All-Ireland Final

Tribeswomen prevail in TG4 Ladies senior decider

3-8 Dublin 0-11

It took a little while for Galway to get into
their top gear, but the Tribeswomen produced a
stunning second-half performance to power to victory
in the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies SFC final against
Dublin. The win hands Galway their first title
in senior ladies football, as well as the distinct
record of becoming the first county to have secured
All-Ireland championship titles in all four senior
Gaelic games codes – football, ladies football,
hurling and camogie.

PJ Fahy’s side had to dig deep to turn a game
that looked to be out of their reach back in their
favour, but goals from Niamh Duggan, Annette Clarke
and Edel Concannon saw them recover from a six-point
deficit to eventually win by six points.

Dublin looked the more composed in the first half,
and with Angie McNally, Mary Nevin and Bernie
Finlay all finding the target, saw themselves
0-7 to 0-1 ahead with only the first quarter of
the game gone. Galway looked to be struggling
for ideas, but the arrival of Concannon as a substitute
contributed to a change. Indeed, Concannon was
involved in the build-up to the first goal, with
a sweeping passing move eventually letting Duggan
through to finish to the bottom left hand corner.
A point from Clarke cut the gap to two points
at half time, 0-7 to 1-2, but soon after the restart
the sides were level. Fiona Corcoran put Dublin
three ahead, before midfielder Clarke drilled
a shot to the back of the net to bring the scores
to 2-2 to 0-8.

Dublin did retake the lead through Nevin and McNally,
but Clarke, and Gillian Joyce saw Galway take
a one-point lead, 2-5 to 0-10. Concannon then
got a third goal, after side-stepping the Dublin
goalkeeper Cliona O’Connor, before Clarke, Lissa
Coen and Patricia Gleeson wrapped up the historic
win. Boasting an attendance of 20,706, there was
the predictable on-field charge by Galway supporters
from the stands, while Fahy celebrated with his
selectors and players.

The victory also ends what had been a disappointing
week for Connacht football, with Mayo losing the
senior and U21 finals, and Sligo losing the junior
ladies decider in the curtain-raiser at Croke
Park.