'Remarkable achievement' for St Ergnat's Moneyglass

DESPITE a solid first-half showing, the Antrim and Ulster ladies champions of St Ernat’s Moneyglass were defeated after a 15-minute second-half avalanche from holders Kilkerrin-Conberne as the Galway side scored 2-8 to 1-5 to collect their fifth successive All-Ireland title.

St Ergnat’s claimed a first Ulster title in November with an emphatic 3-10 to 0-6 final victory over Errigal Ciaran.

In a shock at the All-Ireland semi-final, they edged past Kilmacud Crokes 1-12 to 1-10.

A club spokesperson said: “Our senior ladies exceeded all expectations this year, not only becoming Ulster Senior Champions, but also earning the incredible honour of competing in an All-Ireland Senior Final in Croke Park.

“This All-Ireland Final appearance has now officially entered our club into the history books, a truly remarkable achievement for a club of our size, and a moment that will be remembered for generations to come.

“This unforgettable journey would not have been possible without the generous support of every family, business, and organisation who donated along the way.

“Your belief, encouragement, and generosity meant everything to our players and our club.

“We truly cannot thank you enough for standing behind our ladies.

“And this is only the beginning. Their journey continues, and there’s no doubt we’ll see this team competing at Ulster and All-Ireland level for many years to come.

“From everyone at St Ergnats and from each member of our Senior Ladies panel, thank you for your support and being part of something truly special.

Manager Maxi Curran maintained that there is ‘more to come’ from his young side after their All-Ireland Ladies SFC final defeat against Kilkerrin-Clonberne.

“It was disappointing, but we knew it was going to be a massive challenge.” he said.

“You don’t go on a run of five years and 53-odd games unbeaten and not have a serious level of quality in their group and that's what they have,

“Experience is a big thing and we didn't have very much of it and they have a bucketful of it, but ultimately their quality shone through in the end. We made too many unforced errors, whether that be nerves or what not but that was the difference.

“We made more mistakes, and they were clinical and whatever mistakes they did make we didn't punish them as they did to us.

“Hopefully it is the start of something. It is a very young team and a very young group, and you'd like to think there is more to come,

“We’re immensely proud of what the girls have done, they have brought a lot of pride to the parish, to Antrim and the province.

“It was a big scalp to get past Kilmacud and even Clann Eireann in the Ulster semi-final.

“When the dust settles and they look at their Ulster medals, hopefully they will feel proud of what they've done.

“Getting the Ulster monkey off our back was huge this year and that will surely give us a bit of confidence. I think the future is very bright for Moneyglass.”

The side returned to a welcome home party at the Tumbledown on Saturday, and on Sunday the club hosted a Christmas Craft Fair before heading to the Christmas Carol Service at Moneyglass Chapel.