Tuam Cortoon and Kilkerrin Clonberne turn focus to Connacht Championship

Galway senior ladies football captain Kate Geraghty has also played a key role in the Tuam Cortoon defence throughout their championship campaign.

It has been a busy few weeks for Tuam Cortoon, who have continued to build momentum since their county final victory over Bearna. They followed that success with Connacht championship wins over Kiltubrid and Moy Davitts to move within one victory of provincial honours.

The winners of this weekend’s Connacht Intermediate Ladies Football Championship final will also progress as the province’s representatives in the All-Ireland series.

Tuam Cortoon now look forward to a Connacht final meeting with Padraig Pearses on Sunday at Tubbercurry (1pm). The Roscommon champions booked their place in the decider with an impressive 4-11 to 0-11 victory over CT Gaels in their semi-final.

Galway senior champions Kilkerrin Clonberne are also back in Connacht championship action this weekend when they make the trip to Leitrim to face Glencar Manorhamilton on Saturday (1pm). Boyle host Knockmore in the other semi-final on Sunday (1pm).

Willie Ward’s side will look to continue their quest for a ninth consecutive provincial title and, judging by their form throughout the Galway championship, Kilkerrin Clonberne will take some stopping. They have registered an impressive 12-95 while conceding just 0-11 throughout their championship campaign.

Ward can call on plenty of inter-county experience, including sisters Louise and Nicola Ward, Siobhan, Niamh and Olivia Divilly, and Hannah, Lynsey and Eva Noone, along with Ailish Morrissey and Aisling Madden. They will also be aiming to get their hands on a sixth consecutive All-Ireland title this year.

Following their 2-21 to 0-3 county final victory over Claregalway, Ward was delighted with the performance his side produced.

‘‘I thought we had a very complete performance,’’ he said. ‘‘We felt after the group games and even the semi-final, that we had a few bits to tidy up on. But I thought the girls really took all our advice on board. The performance today was so comprehensive all over the field; I really thought all of our players did their job excellently today.’’

Ward also highlighted the importance of maintaining their concentration throughout games as the level of opposition increases.

‘‘We always aim for everyone to keep concentrating for the whole game, I think it's very important. Even there in the last minute, our full back line were getting blocks in and throwing themselves in front of balls to prevent any scores from going in. You always need to maintain that because as you progress, the competition gets better.’’

‘‘We know it's going to get tougher as we go on, so you need to have that 100% performance in you every day you go out. I really thought today we were well on the way to delivering that, with the way that everyone played,” concluded Ward.

Meanwhile, Galway junior champions Grainne Mhaols exited the Connacht Championship following a two-point defeat to St Brigid’s of Leitrim at the semi-final stage.

Grainne Mhaols narrowly trailed 0-5 to 1-1 at the interval, but the Leitrim champions produced a strong second-half performance to defeat the West Galway club by 2-10 to 3-5.