By Kevin Egan
GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND INTERMEDIATE SEMI-FINALS
Antrim 3-10 Meath 0-12
Laois 1-17 Kerry 2-7
Antrim booked their place in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Intermediate final while the Premier Junior showpiece will be an all-Ulster affair after a thrilling day of semi-final action.
Antrim will play Laois in the Intermediate decider on August 9, while the Premier Junior final will see Armagh take on Cavan to kick off the action in three weeks’ time.
Goals were the difference in Antrim’s game against Meath at Breffni Park, with Éabha McAllister first to hit the net for the Saffrons. Clíona Griffin did most of the heavy lifting with a sensational run down the right wing and after she broke a robust challenge and advantage was being played, McAllister was free to take the pass and go for twine, picking out the bottom left corner from 15 metres out.
Playing into a strong breeze, Meath responded well, kicked off by a monster free from distance from Aoife Minogue. Emma Regan fired over three in succession to draw them level and it took an inspirational strike from Maeve Kelly to wrest the initiative back Antrim’s way.
The game was still in the melting pot five minutes into the second half when McAllister hit the net a second time, surgically placing the ball inside the near post from a tight angle and Antrim kept five or six between the teams until Griffin struck the clinching goal in a 3-10 to 0-12 win.
Seven points was the margin in Tullamore for the other semi-final as well, but it felt much more comprehensive as Laois conceded a goal at the start of each half and still eased to a 1-17 to 2-7 win.
GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND PREMIER JUNIOR SEMI-FINALS
Armagh 4-19 Roscommon 2-19
Cavan 2-12 Kildare 1-9
Armagh, the beaten team in the 2025 final, went into this year’s campaign as the overwhelming favourites and they showed all their class in a high-quality, high-scoring semi-final win over Roscommon, 4-19 to 2-19.
Roscommon did their best hurling in the first half, inspired by a wonderful performance from Orla Connolly, who finished with 1-9 on the day.
Player of the match, Sinéad Quinn found the net from a long range shot while Rachel Trainor notched 0-7 in the first half alone, but turning around with the wind at their backs, Roscommon were well poised when they trailed by just two (1-11 to 0-12) at half-time.
This game was effectively decided in the five minutes after the interval when Armagh scored 2-3 unanswered, the goals coming from Rachel Trainor and Corina Doyle.
Roscommon rallied late and reduced the gap to three points briefly on the back of Connolly’s goal and a Rachel Dooley point, but Armagh won the next puckout as Quinn set up Trainor for the decisive score of the game.
Cavan’s group form made them heavy favourites over Kildare in the other semi-final, but the Lilywhites pushed their opponents all the way in Tullamore before losing out by 2-12 to 1-9.
Hannah Fitzsimons gave Cavan a perfect start with a sideline cut that was deflected to the Kildare net and they were seven points ahead midway through the half, only to be reeled in and overtaken by a sensational Kildare second quarter. Caoimhe Ní Bhuirceall found the net and late points from Aoife Stynes and Aoife McDermott put two between them at half-time.
The second half was one-way traffic however as Kildare couldn’t get going up front in the face of a dominant Cavan half-back line of Aideen Coyle, Alannah Tierney and Rebecca Fitzsimons, while Niamh Keenaghan’s 1-1 and two Shanise Fitzsimons points backboned Cavan’s surge to victory.
