Saturday 14th April 2018
Lidl All Ireland Post Primary School Senior A Final – (Result on the Day)
Loreto, Clonmel, Tipperary v Loreto, Cavan, 3.00pm, Coralstown/Kinnegad, Westmeath
The Lidl PPS senior A final is a novel all-Loreto pairing.
Loreto Clonmel, from county Tipperary, tackle their Cavan counterparts in what should be a cracking game at Coralstown/Kinnegad.
Both teams have come through a tough route to reach the prestigious decider, as Loreto Clonmel, who were beaten All-Ireland B finalists last year, claimed Munster A glory in 2018 after playing four games.
They defeated Scoil Mhuire, Carrick-on-Suir (Tipperary), St Augustine’s, Dungarvan (Waterford), 2017 All-Ireland champions John the Baptist (Limerick) and Intermediate School Killorglin (Kerry) en route to the provincial title.
In the Munster final, Ava Fennessy scored 1-5 for Loreto but she was just one cog in an impressive wheel, as the likes of player of the match Kellyann Hogan, team captain Cora Maher, Niamh Martin and Sadhbh Hallinan also impressed.
Loreto were then pitted against highly-rated Leinster champions Scoil Chríost Rí (Portlaoise) in the All-Ireland semi-finals but a powerful second half display earned them a 3-14 to 2-9 win.
Fennessy helped herself to 1-8 with Anna Carey scored 2-2 as they upped the ante after half-time to book a place in the A final, and in their very first year in the highest grade.
Loreto Cavan, meanwhile, defeated Mount Lourdes Enniskillen (Fermanagh), Loreto Omagh (Tyrone), Coláiste Oiriall Ard Fea (Monaghan), St Ronan’s Lurgan (Armagh) and finally Our Lady’s Castleblayney (Monaghan) to claim Ulster honours.
In the All-Ireland semi-final against Presentation College Tuam (Galway), Aisling Walls scored three vital points after coming off the bench down the home straight.
This was a hugely-entertaining encounter but goals from Áine Reilly and Ally Cahill would prove crucial for the winners.
It’s a very first All-Ireland final appearance for Loreto Cavan in the senior grade – and the scene is set for an enthralling clash.
Lidl All Ireland Post Primary School Senior C Final – (Result on the Day)
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, Claregalway, Galway v Scoil Mhuire, Trim, Meath, 1.00pm, Coralstown/Kinnegad, Westmeath
This could be the start of a very special week for Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, from Claregalway in county Galway.
On Saturday, they contest the Lidl PPS senior C final and seven days later, the school will also appear in the junior B final, against St Brigids, Killarney.
Last year, Limerick school John the Baptist showed that doubles can be achieved when they won the senior A and junior A titles – and now Coláiste Bhaile Chláir will hope to emulate that feat by landing senior and junior crowns.
It’s also a feat that can be achieved by Loreto Cavan, who as well as appearing in the aforementioned senior A final, will also line out in next Friday’s junior A final against Kerry’s Intermediate School, Killorglin.
The Coláiste Bhaile Chláir senior C outfit played no fewer than six games to win the Connacht crown, seeing off schools from Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim and Mayo along the way.
They racked up some huge scores in that provincial campaign and carried that fine form into the All-Ireland semi-final against St Catherine’s Armagh, when a 7-14 to 0-6 victory was achieved.
There were two goals each for Chellene and Andrea Trill, and Niamh Moran, as Niamh Moran also netted.
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir are managed by Fabienne Cooney and Sarah Conneally, who are both Galway senior squad members, and the school won the Junior C All-Ireland crown last year.
In their quest for back-to-back national crowns, their opponents are Scoil Mhuire, Trim, county Meath, an impressive team who have also been scoring heavily.
In four matches, en route to claiming the Leinster title, Scoil Mhuire racked up a combined tally of 27-51.
Their All-Ireland semi-final opponents were Cashel Community School from Tipperary, and Scoil Mhuire registered 3-16 to seal a safe passage to the final.
This could be a high-scoring encounter and may well turn out to be one of the most entertaining of the six Lidl All-Ireland PPS finals in the senior and junior grades.
Sunday 15th April 2018
Lidl All Ireland Post Primary School Senior B Final – (Result on the Day)
Glenamaddy, Galway v Presentation, Thurles, Tipperary, 1.00pm, Duggan Park, Ballinasloe, Galway
Glenamaddy from Galway last won the senior B title in 2014 – and they’re back in another final.
Galway representation right across the board in the Lidl PPS finals is strong and Glenamaddy will be anxious to leave their mark by lifting silverware on Sunday.
Glenamaddy’s pedigree is strong, as they were also senior A winners in 2015, and it should have come as no surprise to see them make another bold quest for honours.
Hannah and Lynsey Noone were members of the Connacht team that landed the Lidl Interprovincial shield earlier this year and there’s big-day experience in the Glenamaddy ranks, as a number of players are proud holders of All-Ireland Senior A medals from three years ago.
Glenamaddy defeated Mount St Michael Claremorris in the Connacht final and that set them up for an All-Ireland semi-final with Our Lady and St Patrick Knock, Belfast.
It was a hard-fought encounter but crucially, Glenamaddy had a 2-5 to 1-2 advantage at half-time and they held out for a five-point win.
Having won the senior C title in 2017, Presentation Thurles are back in another All-Ireland final.
It’s been a remarkable run for Presentation, who followed in the footsteps of previous All-Ireland achievements in camogie, basketball, soccer and volleyball by winning last year’s title.
That winning team has remained pretty much intact and Glenamaddy will have to keep a close eye on players of the calibre of Casey Hennessy (2-4), Lauren McCormack (2-1) and Saoirse O’Meara (0-3), who all scored freely against Holy Faith Clontarf just over 12 months ago.
En route to the All-Ireland final, Presentation defeated Christ the King (Limerick), St Flannan’s (Clare) and Ursuline (Waterford) to win the Munster title, before seeing off Loreto Mullingar (Westmeath) at the penultimate stage.
Lidl All Ireland Post Primary School Junior C Final – (Result on the Day)
St Marys H.S, Midleton, Cork v St Clare's Comprehensive Manorhamilton Leitrim, 3.00pm, Duggan Park, Ballinasloe, Galway
First-time finalists St Mary’s High School, Midleton (Cork) take on St Clare’s Comprehensive, Manorhamilton (Leitrim) for the junior C title on Sunday.
St Clare’s will hope to keep the title in Connacht following on from last year’s success for Coláiste Bhaile Chláir (Galway) but they’ll get nothing easy from a St Mary’s outfit who have Cork star Emma Farmer in their backroom team.
Both teams had long paths to final day, as St Clare’s played six games in Connacht before finally reigning supreme.
They scored freely throughout and have registered at least four goals in each of their seven games in the competition to date.
On three occasions, they’ve raised the green flag six times, including the All-Ireland semi-final win against St Dominic’s, Belfast.
During the Connacht championship, they also bagged nine, ten and eleven goals in separate games.
Final opponents St Marys are no slouches in the scoring department either, kicking off their Munster campaign with a massive tally of 13-16.
They’ve failed to find the back of the net just once, and that was in a gritty Munster final victory against Kilrush CS, Clare.
That four-point victory was the lowest winning margin for High School to date, and they scored 2-17 against Athlone CS, Westmeath, to reach the All-Ireland final.
Both finalists are battle-hardened – each with seven games under their belts – and an intriguing tie lies in store.
