Liffey Celtics see off tough Oblates to clinch DLBB Senior One League title
Liffey Celtics Senior 1 League Winners 2025 Photo: Sean Brilly
After having fallen just one step short of both NICC Women’s National Cup and DLBB Senior Cup honours, Liffey Celtics finally managed to secure some silverware this year after they edged out Oblates in their closing game of the regular season in Confey GAA Club on Monday night to clinch the 2024/25 DLBB Senior One League title.
Ongar Chasers had denied Celtics in the NICC Cup decider back in January and they were waiting in the wings to inflict more heartbreak on the Leixlip side by pinching the Senior One crown if Liffey slipped up against Oblates.
Erin Bracken’s depleted side certainly had to dig deep to ensure such a scenario did not unfold, as a tenacious Oblates whittled down a 14-point half-time gap to a mere three late in the final quarter, Celtics just managing to hold out with the help of two late free throws by Claudia Canuto.
Her 11-points on the night, together with the game-high 18 that Shauna Curran served up, went a long way to seeing the Kildare side hold firm in the face of a strong challenge from the visitors that was fuelled largely by Claire Quinn-Nealon’s 13 points and the combined 14 from Kerrie O’Neill and Elizabeth Dunne.
“I'm delighted for our girls to have something to show for the season” beamed Liffey Celtics head coach, Erin Bracken.
“Ongar and Killester were in contention for the league and they were the two teams that we lost to in the National Cup and in the Dublin Cup finals.
“But this was fully in our hands these last couple of weeks even though we've been so short-handed all season.
“We haven't been at full strength really since the beginning of the season, and so the girls have just battled through adversity all year in terms of injuries and losing players.
“For them to be as consistent as they were in the league, it’s just great. We didn't lose a league game since our first game of the season when we played Ongar away and were missing players.
“I knew when we lost that game that we were only going to go from strength to strength and I’m so super proud of them.
“I know they were very disappointed to lose the National Cup and Dublin Cup, because in fairness, the core group of players who have been here for the last couple of seasons have been used to winning.
“We've won an awful lot and you probably take that a bit for granted, but this has still been a really positive season” she told The Kildare Nationalist.
Celtics tore from the blocks on Monday night, as they racked up the opening 12 points of the game, starting with a Karen Mealey deuce that was quickly followed with two from the free-throw line by Ailbhe Harrington and back-to-back threes from Shauna Curran.
Oblates did finally open their account almost four minutes into proceedings, compliments of Sarah Byrne, at which point, it was all about just staying in touch with their hosts.
They managed to do that and more, as a Kerrie O’Neill bucket helped close the gap to four points, only to see a free-throw from Aoife Tiernan and a buzzer-beating three from Niamh Masterson double Celtics’ advantage (20-12) by the close of the first quarter.
The homeside kept their opponents at bay throughout the second period, enlarging the deficit to 14 points (36-22) by the half-time recess.
They were helped by an eight-point run that included another two efforts from downtown by Curran along with a basket from Rachel O’Carroll.
Oblates, however, were not going away and remained in touch with their Leixlip rivals throughout the third, during which Quinn-Nealon and Dunne combined for 10 points.
Still, the visitors had an 11-point gap (45-34) to make up heading into the final quarter, but they set about doing just that, starting with six unanswered points from Rachel Moore, Quinn-Nealon and O’Neill that reduced their arrears to five.
Quinn-Nealon picked up another two from the free-throw line to leave just three between the sides with 2:54 remaining on the clock, but Canuto calmed the Liffey nerves when she responded in kind with 31 seconds to go, effectively sealing the crucial win for her side.
Janka Smalec, Rachel O’Carroll, Claudia Canuto, Aoife Tiernan, Niamh Masterson, Sarah Bradley, Karen Mealy, Ailbhe Harrington, Shauna Curran.
Shauna Curran (18), Claudia Canuto (11), Niamh Masterson (7), Karen Mealy (6).
Aoife Meehan, Elizabeth Dunne, Claire Quinn-Nealon, Kerrie O’Neill, Sophie Doyle, Ines Arsic, Sarah Byrne, Selina McMahon, Meaghan Carr, Tammy O’Neill, Rachel Moore, Marta Florecka, Bia Castro.
Claire Quinn-Nealon (13), Kerrie O’Neill (8), Elizabeth Dunne (6).
