Athenry 1-12

St Finbarr’s 0-15

FROM out of nowhere, Athenry somehow salvaged a result in Sunday’s dramatic All-Ireland Club Senior Camogie Final at Croke Park – a scenario which was a tribute to the team’s unquenchable never-say-die spirit.

Six points down with barely five minutes of normal time remaining, the Galway champions were staring down the barrel of defeat and few of their supporters could have quibbled if that outcome materialised given St Finbarr’s had the edge for much of the decider.

But Athenry caught fire when their need was greatest, reeling off 1-3 without reply to force an unlikely replay in early January, the equaliser struck by the tireless Kayla Madden after influential substitute Eva McGlynn had done the spadework.

It capped off a heroic rally by Athenry. The final had looked done and dusted, but Joe Rabbitte’s charges have been displaying admirable grit and defiance all year, and those qualities again came to the fore against their flattering Cork rivals.

In the context of the pattern of relatively low scoring up to those dying minutes, Athenry’s late siege on the St Finbarr’s posts was wholly unexpected, but when you have a camogie legend rolling back the years in the half-forward line nothing is impossible.

Therese Donohue may be in her 45th year, but what she did at Croke Park was almost supernatural. Her energy and conditioning were astounding for a player around so long. She was stuck in everything; scored three points and had a big role in the Athenry goal which changed the course of the final.

Donohue’s commitment and overall contribution defied the passage of time, and she was a most deserving Player of the Match. But this was no one woman show as the likes of defender Kate Screene, Madden and the hard-running Kerri O’Driscoll also left an indelible impact on the action.

And what about their all-action team captain Dervla Higgins. Moved inside from centre back to try and curb the dangerous Orlaith Cahalane, the current All-Star didn’t have things all her own way, but she was never better than at the finish, driving her colleagues on through sheer force of will.

Referencing that quality, how on earth did Olwen Rabbitte bravely last the 60-plus minutes with a suspected cruciate injury? The county player largely performed a sweeper role, but she never shirked a challenge. Rabbitte’s defiance of medical opinion sums up the mentality of these Athenry players.

Her sister, Sabina, may have missed a couple of chances, but she too never buckled, holding her nerve late on from critical placed balls. Teenager Sinéad Feeney endured a sticky first half on Nicole Olden, but she is a class performer on the ball – and, surely, a future Galway senior too.

Though St Finbarr’s set up with a sweeper, it was Athenry who shaded the early exchanges. Another veteran, Jessica Gill, was securing possession on the right wing and they took the lead when Eimear Keane set up Donohue to split the posts in the second minute. It was a sign of things to come.

Pictured: Athenry’s Olwen Rabbitte feels the strain against St Finbarr’s Keeva McCarthy during Sunday’s All-Ireland Club senior camogie final at Croke Park. Photos: INPHO/James Crombie.