Old Leighlin claim 12th senior county title
Old Leighlin, Carlow Senior Ladies Champions 2026. Photo: Aisling Hyland.
Old Leighlin successfully defended their crown on Saturday afternoon, as they had ten points to spare over Bennekerry-Tinryland in the TelLab Senior Football Championship Final at a sun-drenched SETU Carlow.
For the tenth year on the bounce, these two sides squared off in the showpiece of ladies football in Carlow, in what has evolved into one of the county's most fiercely contested rivalries.
With a host of inter-county stars and Carlow icons on display on both teams, this was expected to be another instant classic. However, unlike what has happened in previous years, this was an unexpectedly one-sided final, with Old Leighlin showing their superiority right across the pitch from practically the very first whistle.
Barry Hayes' charges stamped their authority on the game early on, leading by six points after the first quarter and extending that their advantage to nine by half time. They scored another 1-5 in the second half to see off their bitter rivals and claim an unprecedented 12th senior county title.
Old Leighlin started the brighter of the two teams and took the lead in the fifth minute when captain Caoimhe O'Neill set up Kate Burke for the opening score.
Bennekerry-Tinryland enjoyed plenty of early possession around the middle third, but the defending champions were playing far more direct and raised a green flag with just eight minutes on the clock thanks to a superb solo run and finish from Rachel Sawyer.
Burke landed a free to extend the lead to five points, but that was soon cancelled out as a free from Cliodhna Ni She opened the Bennekerry-Tinryland account in the 12th minute.
Old Leighlin then survived a goal-mouth scramble and wasted no time in working the ball down the other end of the pitch and added a couple of quick scores courtesy of Sawyer and Gemma Carpenter to push their side out to 1-4 midway through the half.
Sawyer was on top form and surged through the middle again before splitting the posts, while Bennekerry-Tinryland were struggling to convert territory, possession and scoring chances into points on the board.
Ni She did eventually convert a free for Chris Townsend's team, but Old Leighlin followed that with their second goal of the afternoon when some great work down the line from Amy Hanley gave Sawyer the opening she needed to raise another green flag in the 22nd minute.
Ruth Bermingham played in Sinead Thompson, who's point was just reward for her tireless running up and down the Bennekerry-Tinryland right wing.
Old Leighlin soon wiped out that score through midfielder Amy Farrell, but it was goalkeeper, Nicole Hanley who ended the half receiving the plaudits after she made three crucial interventions to deny Bennekerry-Tinryland a goal as her side left the field at half time leading 2-6 to 0-3.
Bennekerry-Tinryland were fastest out of the traps at the start of the second half, but it was Old Leighlin's Bronagh Nolan who drew first blood with a great score, followed by a free from Kate Burke and another Nolan point to push her side out to 2-9 within five minutes of the restart.
Sarah Nolan got things going down the other end with a lovely ball inside for Sinead Hayden to split the posts, followed by Ni She converting another free. However, Old Leighlin's Siofra O'Neill added her name to the scoresheet midway through the half to leave her side 11 points better off approaching the fourth and final quarter.
A Kate Burke free was cancelled out by a brave score from the falling Elaine Ware, but by the time she was up again Old Leighlin had broken away, with O'Neill gathering the ball and taking it around Shannen Cotter to raise a third green flag in the 55th minute.
Bennekerry-Tinryland kept going with Cliodhna Ni She adding 1-1 in the closing stages, both from frees, as she managed to loop the ball over the head of Nicole Hanley and into the net. That was the end of the matter, however, as the day belonged to Old Leighlin, who are once again back-to-back champions.
R Sawyer 2-2, S O'Neill 1-1, K Burke 0-4 (3f), B Nolan 0-2, A Farrell and G Carpenter 0-1 each.
C Ni She 1-4 (1-4f), S Thompson, S Hayden and E Ware 0-1 each.
Nicole Hanley; Liadh Nolan, Anne Roche, Beibhin Nolan; Amy Hanley, Niamh Forde, Katie Garry-Murphy; Amy Farrell, Caoimhe O'Neill; Helen Roche, Siofra O'Neill, Bronagh Nolan; Gemma Carpenter, Rachel Sawyer, Kate Burke.
Jackie Prendergast for Carpenter (48), Keeva Collins for L Nolan (52), Muireann O'Neill for R Sawyer and Jenny Sawyer for Farrell (both 55), Jane Kavanagh for Garry-Murphy (58).
Shannen Cotter; Chloe Ryan, Grace Lawlor, Leah Mullins; Ruth Bermingham, Marie Cranny, Sinead Thompson; Elaine Ware, Katie Bullen; Aoibhinn Webb, Cliodhna Ni She, Tara Webb; Sarah Nolan, Roisin Byrne, Sinead Hayden.
Ciara Kelly for Thompson (38), Sophie Moran for Bullen (44), Sarah Whelan for T Webb and Anna Mulhall for Byrne (both 55), Siofra McMahon Lawlor (61).
