Dublin’s Eilish O’Dowd’s back story is unusual. A native of Ballinamore, she started out with Leitrim ladies, for whom she starred, but opted out as work commitments as a teacher had taken her to Dublin.
In 2021, she transferred to Na Fianna and this year, she was called into the Dublin squad. And a win over Meath in the National League in January saw O’Dowd claim a little piece of history.
The midfielder also had a win over Meath to her name in the days before the Royal revolution as she helped her home county to a NFL Division 3 victory back in 2017 over a Meath side featuring the likes of Vikki Wall, Niamh O’Sullivan, Máire O’Shaughnessy and Megan Thynne.
Dublin and O’Dowd have since beaten Meath twice more this year.
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Roscommon’s minor miracles
Jason Doherty’s retirement statement mentioned his minor debut in 2007. That season makes for an interesting moment in time.
In 2006, Connacht introduced a round robin for the ‘weaker’ counties. Roscommon came through it and won the All-Ireland!
In ‘07, they were in it again, meaning they had two games under their belt before facing Mayo.
Doherty, joined by future seniors such as Kevin Keane, Kevin McLoughlin, Alan Freeman and Aidan O’Shea, scored a goal but Roscommon won easily.
Managing Mayo was Ray Dempsey, who later had a spell as Limerick manager. In the Mayo News, then columnist and current senior manager Kevin McStay surmised: “Days and weeks will pass and you will still not get answers as to why a good team hit the field and just collapsed.”
The consensus was that Roscommon were even better than 2006 and Mayo minor football was at a major low. In the end, Roscommon lost the Connacht final to eventual All-Ireland champions Galway; Mayo would make the following year’s All-Ireland final.
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0-8
What Hannah Tyrell scored in the first half of yesterday’s final.
Murtaghs born to perform
As sporting pedigree goes, Kildare’s Lauren and Grace Murtagh’s takes some beating.
Lauren lined out at wing back in the Lilywhites’ win yesterday while Grace was also part of the panel.
Their father is five-time Irish champion flat jockey Johnny and their grandfather is Tipp legend Michael ‘Babs’ Keating.
In 2018, Lauren won the Player of the Match for Kildare minors in their All-Ireland B final win.
“My grandad has been the main person who inspired me to play football. Still to this day after every club or county match he would rate my performance out of 10, having him there pushing us to do my best on and off the pitch, I am very grateful for,” Lauren said in an interview in June.
All equal in juniors
The All-Ireland Ladies Junior Championship must be the most egalitarian of all inter-county Gaelic games competitions.
Since its launch in 1985, 27 different counties have won it, including London (twice winners and five-time runners-up).
It’s easier to name the counties who have not won this competition (played for the West County Hotel Cup); they are Derry, Cavan, Westmeath, Carlow, Laois and Tipperary.
Of that Junior-less sextet, Derry and Carlow are the only two not to have won the Intermediate.
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From where we came from in October, I’d be lying if I said we thought it would actually be a reality to be here.
Dublin captain Carla Rowe after the final yesterday.
