Camogie and Ladies in All Ireland Finals

Way too many frees given to make it enjoyable to watch, there should be more contact allowed.

Kildare will have their keeper to thank if they hang on.

Great win. . Not sure how, but the goalie must have stopped at least 5 goals.. fair play to her, and great speech.

Great result for the Ladies! Went down to the wire but they had just enough to hold off the Clare pressure!

I thought they had 'blown it' on a number of occasions but very well done to all the ladies involved and to Alan Barry and his backroom team. A magnificent achievement all round.

Were wobbling a few times, Hulgraine saves were critical, Holton and Moolick really stood up - hope at least a couple of the older girls hold on because it's a very young squad apart from those five or six and you'd like that bit of experience back up in the first year at senior anyway. They gutted it out brilliantly though, well done.

Well done to the ladies and a special mention to my own neighbour and clubmate Ashling Holton.

However, I have to say I find it very hard to watch as a game.......the rules differences are just stupid and the refereeing does not help..........in their semi final there were numerous sin binnings yet only one yesterday and yet the fouls and challenges looked exactly the same to me.

Don't know how you could not enjoy those games yesterday or the semi finals.

Yes the rules are different and frustrating at times and the quality of play can be quite poor at times if you're comparing with a senior men's game.

But the heart, effort and guts shown by all the teams is something I'd love our men's team to watch and learn from. Aisling Holton - wow what a player to lead a team. Awesome display yesterday she just keeps driving at the opposition non-stop.

Well done to the team and mentors. Big step up next year but great to see them back at senior.

Well done to the team for keeping going right to the end. I actually thought it was very enjoyable and the standard of the womens game has improved hugely since the 90's.
The goal they scored was as good as any I've seen scored by a Kildare player in many years in both the build up and the final shot. On the down side the ease with which Clare ran through us down the middle particularly in the second quarter was worryingly familiar. It must be in our genes!

Great win for the girls yesterday. Certainly did it the hard way, any time they pulled away Clare managed to drag themselves back into it.

Some really impressive attacking play, runners in space, quick handpassing from the Kildare forwards and they weren’t afraid to take their shots on under pressure, massive score from Holton in the last few minutes. Questionable refereeing much like the semi final though, just after Savage was given a yellow Kildare were awarded a free around the 21 yard line for what looked like an identical foul and no card was given.

3 very entertaining games yesterday overall, hard to enjoy the Kildare one too much though until the final whistle went.

Enjoyed watching that yesterday, they were hanging on by their finger nails for long spells but jaysus the guts shown was something we don't see often enough in a white jersey. Holton winning that last kickout was immense. Great win by a great team lead by a great captain

Here's an interview I did with Aisling Holton for the Irish Examiner on Saturday - some incredible family history back to All-Irelands with Dublin, 1916 and Bloody Sunday - and a word record attempt next Sunday.

She will be some loss to Kildare but she's given half her life to the seniors.

Great to hear her talk about the impression '98 made on her as an 11-year-old, and made her want to wear the white jersey. Also, how hard it was in the past to stand side-by-side with players you couldn't trust because they hadn't done the work. A true warrior.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/football/aisling-holton-ploughing-on-through-adversity-for-her-family-and-kildare-422658.html

Ogie wrote:

Here's an interview I did with Aisling Holton for the Irish Examiner on Saturday - some incredible family history back to All-Irelands with Dublin, 1916 and Bloody Sunday - and a word record attempt next Sunday.

She will be some loss to Kildare but she's given half her life to the seniors.

Great to hear her talk about the impression '98 made on her as an 11-year-old, and made her want to wear the white jersey. Also, how hard it was in the past to stand side-by-side with players you couldn't trust because they hadn't done the work. A true warrior.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/football/aisling-holton-ploughing-on-through-adversity-for-her-family-and-kildare-422658.html

Great interview, really enjoyed that. A true warrior.

Great piece, Ogie, very enjoyable read. Hard to believe she's retiring, she was the fittest player by a mile in the last 5 minutes on Sunday.

Thanks lads - as usual with these things, like the corner-forward whose good or bad game depends on the supply or lack of it, the good feature depends on the subject and the subject's openness.

Physically, Aisling could play another four or five years, although she has had a few different injury problems she's played through the last few years. Incredible engine and desire. But she's on that team since she's 16 - the whole thing of leaving a friend's wedding early, or not going on holiday during the summer, only Hawkfield and the gym and so on is wearing thin I suppose. And in women's Gaelic games, they spend a lot more time with their clubs than their male counterparts. She'll be a huge loss if she does pack it in, particularly with so many kids going into senior for the first time. Watch her becoming a quality camogie player next year!

Yes Ogie, she is a massive person and we would all love to see her continue, alongside Savo, Moo, Paula, Mary Hul & Noelle........ Senior will be a big task and they could give so much. But as you said Ash & others have already given huegely............. They put in so much time and it costs them, for proper nutrition, travelling to training & gym etc and they dont get a cent expences yet I never heard any player complain, they just get on with it.

So I just want to add my congratulation to the Team, Management, County Officers and all those who helped achieve the brilliant victory.......

With the All Ireland Under 14 also in the bag this year the future is bright, might even be White,,,,,,,,,,

Mark murnaghan new minor manager

The below begs 2 questions:

1.    Whats going on here and 2. why are they only going back training 3 weeks before the league starts.


The Kildare ladies gaelic football are without a manager just three weeks before they are due to begin their National League campaign after William O'Sullivan stepped down from the role following the first meeting of the team in Hawkfield on Friday night.

The Kerry native was appointed to the role in December to take the place of All-Ireland winning manager Alan Barry, but he has made the decision to step away due to a lack of numbers at the first training session. O'Sullivan, who would have been travelling up from Kerry to take charge of the team, cited the lack of numbers as the reason behind his decision, and he then suggested that the Kildare LGFA should look towards appointing someone local to manage the side and oversee the development of the team.

There were just 15 players at the session on Friday night -O'Sullivan's first night in charge- and many of the players who were involved with last year's team have made the decision to step away from intercounty football.

The Kildare LGFA are now focusing on appointing a new manager and there is a chance that an interim manager may be installed until a more permanent successor is found. A planned training session will still go ahead in Hawkfield tomorrow morning at 9am as the girls gear towards the opening National Football League Division 2 encounter against Laois in three weeks time.

Something similar happened with Down a few years back.... After battling for a few years to win the Intermediate 20 or so of their panel decided to retire or take time out.... Thus a team consisting of 3 "real seniors" with the rest either minors or on their first year up were annihilated in the National League and in Championship for a few years..........

Lets hope most of the All - Ireland winners can be prevailed upon to return even if 4 or 5 of the more experiences ladies take a break for another month or 2..... There are also 5 or 6 ( or possibly even a few more) who missed last season who would add yo the strength....... I will not name names here but their clubs know and a lot will depend on the level of encouragement.......

Hardly up to clubs to encourage players to play inter-county kelf.

In fairness, some of the girls signposted even before last year's final that they would be retiring.

But this happened to Kildare before too, after winning the junior at the end of six or seven years of trying. It is why I wasn't mad about the idea of choosing to drop down a grade.

No doubt the positive was giving our young players role models and a glimpse of the possibility of playing at Croke Park. But this was the next inevitability, and it's worse because you have a group of young girls who are going to have a very, very tough time. It might harden them and galvanise them. But the experience of what has happened here and happens in most counties and clubs, is that they'll walk away. That, I guess, is why so many clubs choose not to play games at all when they're weak, and why Kildare would have chosen to drop a grade.

It's a pity. Because the development squads need the shop window to be attractive, although given the way they are treated as full-time inter-county squads in their own right, as against development squads, a lot of them will be browned of it by the time they become senior anyway.

Thought it was worth a mention here today that Aisling Holton has announced her retirement. A brilliant player and will be sorely missed.

Say the ladies will get a few trimmings in the senior grade this year