Fortune finally favours Laois

For most of September it had appeared that Croke Park would see out the season with nothing but lob-sided football matches. Then the senior women of Laois and Mayo came along for their say, and ended up producing one of the most intensely exciting games that the GAA's headquarters has ever witnessed.

Laois would go through the whole range of emotions before eventually claiming their first-ever senior title. They had last graced the final in 1996 and lost, suffering the same fate as their previous appearances in the decider.

Yesterday, though, they kept trying and trying until finally, with the last kick of the game, Mary Kirwan edged them the decisive point ahead of Mayo.

In a cruel twist of fate, it was Mayo's stand-out forward Cora Staunton who was involved in the free that set up that last-gasp winner for Laois.

Just moments earlier, Staunton had fired over a typically majestic point to bring the sides level at 2-13 to 1-16. With just over a minute left on the countdown clock, the sides had seemed destined for another day's meeting. And even more so when Laois saw two late, late chances run out wide.

Mayo goalkeeper and captain Denise Horan then kicked out for what was sure to be the final piece of action. Receiving the ball was Staunton, who was back in defence, a typical feature of her tireless running in the game. But she also took the ball inside the 20-metre line - one of those illegal but frequently abused movements - and thus Sligo referee Martin Duffy whistled for the free.

Up stepped Kirwan, without a hint of pressure evident, and by calmly splitting the posts, she sent her Laois counterparts into wild celebrations. No one needed to hear the stadium horn to know the game was over.

Rarely will concluding emotions be more contrasting, but there were frequent occasions in the previous hour when Laois themselves looked doomed to defeat, most notably in the period before and after the break.

From the throw-in, their determined and well-supported attack was piercing much of the Mayo defence, and though the sides were level at 0-6 apiece after the first quarter, Laois would soon taking over the scoring honours. Sue Ramsbottom, at her fiery best from the start, shot from a long way out to put Laois in front. Two frees from Kirwan reinforced that advantage and even though Staunton and Diane O'Hora responded, the momentum was clearly with Laois.

Five minutes before the break, a typically slick attack ended with Kathleen O'Reilly rifling the ball to the net and so Laois led by five points. They also had their first real thoughts of winning.

Mayo, however, started on a remarkable comeback that would see them take a grip on the proceedings. Three successive points from Staunton, the second coming from play after one of her trademark destructive bursts, were followed by the most inventive goal of the match.

Emma Mullin had cut through the right wing of the Laois defence and slipped the ball inside to the fast-approaching midfielder, Clare Egan. She coolly finished off the goal, and Christina Heffernan added a point in injury time so that Mayo were back in front by two points, 1-10 to 1-8.

A minute after the turnaround, Staunton chipped over another free, followed not long afterwards by another Christina Heffernan special, and the lead stretched to four. Laois must surely have feared defeat.

But here's where their real determination kicked in. The defence bucked up, particularly corner back Anna Connolly and wing backs Angela Casey and Grβinne Dunne. At midfield, too, Aileen O'Loughlin and O'Reilly reached new heights.

Mary Kehoe and then Kirwan hit two vital points so that only a goal separated the sides going into the last 10 minutes. And then they were level again, after Kirwan, dragged down in the area, converted her own penalty with stunning power.

Incredibly, Laois quickly jumped into a two-point advantage and so Mayo were the ones staring defeat in the face. Cue one last assault by a Staunton-led Mayo, starting with her ninth point.

Connolly also found herself clearing a ball off the Laois goal-line as the reigning champions threw everything into their quest for a third successive title.

Ramsbottom helped settle some Laois nerves with one more say from play but Staunton was now unstoppable, hitting a free and then a point in the final two minutes - by then five minutes into injury time - to draw the sides level at 2-13 to 1-16.

Still there was more to come, even after those last two Laois attacks fell short. Cool as ice, the 20-year-old Kirwan would make history for the county and finally end that harrowing saga of Laois losing all seven of their previous final appearances.

LAOIS: T Swayne; M Phelan-Mulhall, P Fogarty, A Connolly; A Casey, C Casey, G Dunne; A O'Loughlin (0-1), K O'Reilly (1-1); S Ramsbottom (0-4), T Lawlor, L Brennan; M Kehoe (0-1), L Carroll, M Kirwan (1-7, six frees). Subs: G Weston for C Casey (35 mins), C O'Loughlin for Carroll (46 mins), G O'Connor for Brennan (49 mins).

MAYO: D Horan; A Bohan, H Lohan, E Biggins; O Casby, N N∅ ShΘ, M Staunton; C Egan (1-0), C Heffernan (0-2); J Moran, E Mullin, D McDonagh; D O'Hora (0-3), M Heffernan, C Staunton (0-11, eight frees). Subs: C McDermott for M Heffernan (35 mins), M Garvey for Casby (41 mins), M Heffernan for McDonagh (47 mins), I Mullarky for Bohan (55 mins).

Referee: M Duffy (Sligo).