Lismore Are 60 Minutes From Croke Park Date

McDonough Park in Nenagh is the setting for this Sunday’s All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Club Semi Final between Waterford Senior Champions Lismore and Athenry from Galway who are County and Connacht Champions in the Intermediate grade.

The girls from the Tribes County will go into this game in fine form beating Mountbellew Moylough 1-10 to 0-10 in the Galway County Final back in mid October and then beating Athleague from Roscommon 2-9 to 1-5 in the Connacht Final at the end of that same month.

Indeed 2017 was a great year for the Galway Club as they ended it undefeated in competitive games, winning the League and Intermediate Championship at County Level and a provincial title, winning the latter with being able to call on Jessica Gill and Ciara Cunniffe.

Despite going under to an early score in the Connacht Final to an early score, the Galway side hit back with points from Noreen Coen a member of the Galway senior inter county team who scored 1-4 over the course of the game and Therese Donohue the scorer of 1-3 which helped them to a 2-5 to 0-4 lead at the break.

In addition to their chief scorers in the win over Athleague, Lismore will know that there be plenty of other threats to them within the Athenry team including Niamh Donnellan, Eimear Keane, Gina Glynn and Megan Waldron, while Jessica Gill and Dervla Higgins are also inter county standard.

Lismore are a side that we here in Waterford will know all about.

They won this year’s ultra competitive County Senior Camogie Championship, beating Gailltir in the final, the side that had won the title twelve months earlier in a final between the same two sides.

After that win Lismore beat Tipperary Intermediate Champions Silvermines in the Munster Semi Final on a 4-6 to 1-10 score line and they continued their recent run of good results against opposition in the Munster Final when they had five points to spare over Newcestown.

After Lismore’s recent run of games Caithriona McGlone made all the netting seven goals in four games, in which time she helped her side win a fifth Munster title since 2010.

But Lismore are by no means a one woman team as right throughout the side they have players of the highest quality, many of whom have played for the county at different levels.

Coached by former inter county Goalkeeper Brendan Landers, he and his management team will be able to call on the likes of Ellen and Shona Curran, Marie Russell, Ruth Geoghegan, Grainne Kenneally, Nicola Morrissey, Shauna Kiernan, Aoife Hannon (who is considered a doubt this weekend due to injury) as well as Aoife and Johanna Houlihan.

Like their opponents this weekend, Lismore are an experienced side and have won League and County titles to go with their Provincial crown.

Whichever of these two sides advance to next month’s All-Ireland Final will do so on merit, but only one can do so.

This will be Lismore’s fifth All-Ireland semi final appearance this decade. They lost out to Eoghan Rua in 2011 and Ardrahan in 2012, before making it third time lucky beating Liatroim Fonetenoy in 2014 after which they beat Ballyhale Shamrocks in the All-Ireland Final after a replay and twelve months later they beat Oranmore/Maree before losing out to Piltown from Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Final at Croke Park.

Lismore will have to be fancied as you have to think their experience amassed since 2010 when they won the first of their provincial titles has to count for something, also should be the experience of many of their sides who have played in two All-Ireland Club Finals plus one replay, but it could well prove to be their toughest date in the 2017 competition.