This Sunday, two Galway clubs will look to qualify for the All-Ireland final in their respective grades as they contest the senior and intermediate semi-finals. Senior champions Kilkerrin Clonberne make the trip up north to play Clann Eireann in Armagh at 2.30pm, while Annaghdown have home advantage against Munster champions O'Donovan Rossa from Cork in the Intermediate semi-final at 2 o'clock. Both games are live on the Galway Bay FM website as part of a special online show from 1 o'clock on Sunday that also includes ALl-Ireland senior and intermediate Camogie semi-final action.
Senior: Clann Éireann (Armagh) v Kilkerrin Clonberne (Galway); Clann Éireann GAA, Armagh, 2.30 pm Sunday.
With seven successive Connacht titles in the bank, Galway’s Kilkerrin-Clonberne are now chasing a fourth successive All-Ireland Senior title. Mayo’s Westport showed enough in the provincial decider to suggest that the gap is closing but Kilkerrin-Clonberne still eased to victory when the chips were down. Now they face Armagh’s Clann Éireann for an All-Ireland Final slot – and the Ulster champions have home advantage. Clann Éireann will feel they have some making up to do after losing out by 0-5 to 1-10 against Waterford’s Ballymacarbry in the 2023 semi-final. They’ll look for a much-improved performance 12 months on but this is the ultimate test. Kilkerrin-Clonberne have Nicola Ward, the TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year and All-Star, and twin sister Louise in their line-up, along with the Divilly sisters Niamh, Siobhan and recently-crowned All-Star, Olivia. Clann Éireann will be no pushovers, however, as they’re anchored by county team captain Clodagh McCambridge, who’ll be joined by the likes of Roisin Mulligan, Dearbhla Coleman, Cait Towe, Niamh Coleman, Niamh Henderson, Tiarna Grimes and Niamh Murray, who has been in excellent attacking form. These are players with inter-county experience and every ounce of that will be needed against the visitors.
Clann Éireann: C Lawless; E Melanophy, C McCambridge, G Carville; R Mulligan, M McCann, D Coleman; C Towe, N Coleman; A Donohue, N Henderson (capt.), T Grimes; E McConaghy, N Murray, M McCambridge.
Kilkerrin-Clonberne: L Murphy; C Costello, S Gormally, N Divilly; K Mee, N Ward, H Noone; S Divilly, A Madden; O Divilly, L Ward (capt.), L Noone; E Noone, A Morrissey, C Miskell.
Intermediate: Annaghdown (Galway) v O’Donovan Rossa (Cork), Annaghdown GAA, 1 pm Sunday.
Annaghdown were All-Ireland Intermediate club champions in 2016 and the Galway champions are now targeting another Final appearance. After landing the county title, Annaghdown went on to clinch the Connacht crown before seeing off Dunedin Connollys in Edinburgh in last weekend’s All-Ireland quarter-final. Bronagh Quinn netted twice, while Isabella Killalea and Ciara Hegarty also scored goals as Annaghdown completed a comfortable win. Waiting in the long grass and preparing for a trip to the West are Cork’s O’Donovan Rossa, the 2023 All-Ireland Junior champions. The step up to Intermediate football hasn’t fazed them in the slightest and they now have the chance of making it to back-to-back national deciders. They’ve carried their 2023 momentum into 2024 and more county success was followed up by a Munster Final victory over Limerick opponents St Ailbe’s. Éabha O’Donovan, player of the match in the 2023 Junior Final, scored four points in the Munster Final but this was also an exceptional defensive display – and it will need to be again.
Annaghdown: E Lynch; R Fahy, I Claffey, M Canavan; Chelsie Crowe, Chloe Crowe (capt.), B Quinn; S O’Grady, R Naughton; R Quinn, C Hegarty, J Burke; E Keane, C McCarthy, B Naughton.
O’Donovan Rossa: E Hayes; M Donnellan, A Whooley, A Tobin; F Leonard, S Hurley, E McCarthy; L O’Mahony (capt.), T
Murphy; J Beechinor, K O’Donovan, L Harte; E O’Donovan, F O’Driscoll, M O’Neill.
