Loughgiel Shamrocks fall short of major upset to miss out on All-Ireland Final slot

The 2024 AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Final will be a clash between Galway side Sarsfields and Truagh-Clonlara from Clare.

At Breffni Park, Caitrin Dobbin gave Loughgiel the dream start with an early goal when she took advantage of Annie Lynn’s brave block to scoop up the loose sliotar and fire it to the net after three minutes.

The upset looked on when Roisin McCormack made it 2-01 to 0-00 with less than five minutes played, and their lead was out to nine when Dobbin played in Lucia McNaughton, with the centre-forward taking a hard hit but still sweeping the ball to the net to make it 3-03 to 0-03 midway through the first-half.

Had they held that lead for more than a few minutes, their Galway opponents might have started to feel the pressure but, instead, a Niamh McGrath free from midfield was allowed to bounce on the uneven turf, and Eimear Boyle didn’t gather it before it crossed the line. Caoimhe Kelly’s excellent score before half-time made it 3-04 to 1-06 at the break.

Kelly was also the scorer of the vital point from the left wing in the 60th minute that gave Sarsfields their first lead of the game, with Siobhan McGrath and McCormack trading frees to leave it 1-16 to 3-09 at the final whistle.

Going into the closing stages at Walsh Park, it looked like St Vincents were the more likely side to progress, but Aine O’Loughlin, Aoibhinn Marren and Becky Foley struck the last three points of the game to seal an 0-11 to 0-09 win for Truagh-Clonlara.

Sarsfields will be competing in their eighth Final in nine campaigns, while Truagh-Clonlara will hope to be the first Clare club to lift the Bill and Agnes Carroll Cup.