Narrow defeat for Mayo as Monaghan secure championship glory

Monaghan’s decision to return to competitive inter-county camogie was vindicated in spectacular fashion in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park this afternoon when they edged out Mayo by 1-14 to 2-10 in a thrilling Glen Dimplex Junior Championship final, writes Kevin Egan.

The result turns the tables in a match-up that had gone Mayo’s way in each of their three previous meetings this year.

The final margin may have been the bare minimum but Monaghan were the better team for longer stretches of the tie. They surged into a five-point lead before half-time and then built on that to establish a match-winning position in the third quarter, controlling the game with greater physicality, athleticism and decision-making on the ball in that phase of the game.

Niamh Kelly picked up the official player of the match award but the Farney County had heroes all over the pitch, including leadership roles from Mary McManus and Marie Greenan on the edge of the two squares, an all-action display from Amber Lam at midfield, and in particular a disciplined and focussed display of marking from Rioghnach Duffy to curtail Mayo captain Lisa Scahill.

Duffy wasn’t on the ball as often as is frequently the case for the Clontibret player but she played a huge part in this win by restricting the westerners’ talisman to just a single point from play over the course of the hour.

Mayo got a serious tune out of Ava Murray and Laoise Greally off the bench as they weighed in with 2-2, but 0-4 from play from the starting team wasn’t enough on a day when the ground was pristine and firm in Longford, and conditions were ideal for scoring.

Despite this it still took a while for the flags to start flying freely, and two dead ball strikes from Greenan were the only scores in the opening 10 minutes.

Mary McManus and Kelsey Lam made two huge defensive plays to keep Mayo scoreless but once Scahill pointed a 45, Mayo found their feet, and they moved into the lead on the back of superb scores from Méabh Tunney and Niamh Greally.

Just when it looked like they were up and running, however, what looked like a serious knee injury to Gráinne Delaney killed their momentum and Monaghan fired 1-2 in first-half stoppage time to turn the tide.

Eileen Cullen struck a point from close range after hitting the post with a ground shot shortly beforehand, Karen Boyle split the posts from 30 metres out, and then a longer shot for a point was allowed to bounce on the hard summer ground, running into the net to help make it 1-7 to 0-5 at half-time.

Ava Murray fired a point with her first possession but it was in the third quarter that Monaghan cemented their strong position. Niamh Kelly and Amber Lam added outstanding individual points but it was defensively where Monaghan’s dominance was most pronounced.

It looked like time was running out for Mayo when Laoise Greally gave them a lifeline in the 50th minute, whipping the sliotar inside Rebecca Hamill’s near post after she contested a floating Lisa Scahill pass with Mary McManus.

Points from Ava Murray and Lisa Scahill cut the gap to just two, but a string of simple errors in the next 10 minutes proved costly and despite ratcheting up the pressure, it was Monaghan who added the last two points of the game through Greenan frees.

The four minutes of stoppage time that were announced by Ronan Cahill had already been played when Laois Greally showed a lovely touch to control Méabh Tunney’s low ball and fire the sliotar to the Monaghan net and the Dublin official did throw Mayo a lifebuoy by allowing time for one last play even as the clock ticked past the 65-minute mark.

Lisa Scahill won possession on the stand side of midfield from the puck-out but with a morass of bodies around her, she couldn’t work the ball out of trouble and once Monaghan secured the turnover, that was to be the last Mayo touch of the afternoon.

Their 2026 story will still be remembered as a success by any measure as they also came back to inter-county camogie and ended the year with an All-Ireland final appearance and a Division 3B league title.

All of that will be of scant consolation tonight, however, when they reflect on a game where Monaghan’s greater consistency and balance means it’s the Farney women who will take over the mantle as the fairytale comeback heroes of the season having delivered their best performance of the year on the day when it mattered most.

Mayo: G. Robinson; M. O’Malley; M. Deely, G. Delaney; K. Scahill, C. Delaney, É. Delaney; N. Kennedy, N. Greally (0-1); M. Tunney (0-1), L. Scahill (0-5, 3f, 1 45), A. Dooley; B. Joyce (0-1), C. Greally, E. Deely.

Subs used: S. Lynskey, L. Greally (2-0), A. Murray (0-2), R. Cassidy.

Monaghan: R. Hamill; T. Mayne, M. McManus, L. Kindlon; L. Dempsey, R. Duffy, K. Lam; A. Lam (0-2, 1f), R. O’Sullivan; M. Morgan, K. Boyle (1-1), G. Ruxton; N. Kelly (0-2), M. Greenan (0-7, 4f, 2 45), E. Cullen (0-2).

Subs used: K. McLaughlin, C. Morgan, J. Cullen.

Referee: R. Carroll (Dublin).