"We had our eyes set on a Leinster Final" – Lenehan
Kildare LGFA captain Laoise Lenehan Photo: ©INPHO/Leah Scholes
The Kildare LGFA senior team will appear in a TG4 Leinster LGFA Senior Final for the first time since 2009 when they take on Dublin in the 2026 decider in Croke Park on Sunday next. The game will act as a curtain raiser to the men’s Leinster senior final between Westmeath and Dublin and will have a 12pm throw in. Dublin will be looking for their 13th successive Leinster title.
A tall order for this young Kildare team but inspirational team captain, Laoise Lenehan, says this is where Kildare want to be.
“We knew we wanted to reach a Leinster Final. You go into every League and Championship campaign wanting to reach the Final but there was no doubt in our minds, though. We definitely had our eyes set on the Leinster Final,” the Kill club player told The Kildare Nationalist this week.
Kildare opened their Leinster Championship campaign with a four-point win over Meath in Summerhill Round 1 but lost out by six to Dublin in Round 2. They then had to wait for the Dublin V Meath result in Round 3 on Sunday last before they knew if a Leinster Final appearance was on the cards. A Dublin win, a drawn game or Meath to win by less than three points and it was a first ever senior Final appearance for the Lilywhites. As it happened Dublin were convincing 1-11 to 0-5 winners over the Royals to set up a Final against the Lilywhites. Speaking of being in a first ever Leinster senior Final Lenehan said:
“It’s just amazing to be honest. It was a bit of a tricky one because we had to wait for the result on Sunday and we then watched quite eagerly to see could Dublin beat Meath and we could then contest the Leinster Final. To be part of the team to reach the Leinster Final for the first ever time feels really, really special.” Lenehan and her teammates were philosophical about having to wait for the Dublin V Meath result. “I think before the Dublin game we knew that if we didn’t win, we were going to have to wait anyway. We did our best against Dublin. We felt wounded not to get the result and to lose by six but I suppose we were just hoping that Dublin would win (against Meath) and we were thinking as well about the score difference. If Meath had won by three points, we wouldn’t have made the final so the last-minute goal that Aoife Murnane scored (against Dublin) actually did us a favour as Meath did need to win by three.”
“We just trained as normal this week and again on Sunday morning. We didn’t want to say we were in a Final next Sunday but we didn’t want to disregard it as well. It was a little bit unspoken. We just worked hard for the training sessions we had and thankfully we have Sunday to look forward to now,” the Kildare captain added.
While Kildare teams have been used to appearing in Croke Park in recent times manager Pat Sullivan has had to more or less build a new team over the last two years around the likes of Mia Doherty, Ruth Sargent, Lara Curran, Hazel McLoughlin, the Wheeler sisters and Lenehan herself.
“It’s actually interesting because with the turnover there’s actually only a handful of us who were there for the Intermediate title and with the Division 2 title in 2024. Only a handful have played minutes in Croke Park but it’s really exciting, especially for the younger girls to reach Croke Park so early on in the season. It’s only May and it’s usually August before you’re looking to Croke Park but that’s what we have to look forward to over the next few days,” Laoise told us enthusiastically.
Rebuilding from a team that won Leinster and All Ireland intermediate titles as well as back-to-back promotions from Division 3, to Division 2 to Division 1 wasn’t an easy task according to Laoise Lenehan but she is very happy with the performance of the new members to the squad.
“They are an absolute credit to themselves the way they’ve come in this year, played Division 1 football at a high standard, played the best teams in the country, played against the best players in the country. I’m delighted for them that they get to showcase their talents in Croke Park next week,” she said.
Looking forward to Sunday’s Final the Kildare captain told us.
“We were disappointed with the loss against Dublin but we’ve learned lots from that as well and we know better how to play them now. We know Dublin have played there loads of times (in Croke Park) and they are experienced and that bit older than us but we’ve a young team and there is a good buzz around. Hopefully they will go out and play with no fear and play to the best of their ability and not let the occasion get to them.”
Kildare have beaten Dublin in the League, Meath in the League and Championship, Armagh in the Championship, have drawn with Cork and Waterford in the League and gave Kerry a scare in the League and Championship over the last two years so there is no reason to doubt that they can claim a first ever Leinster LGFA senior title if they can perform to the heights of the talent within the squad.
• Rachel Fennin (Athy), • Aine Mernagh (Eadestown), • Emma Wheeler (St Laurence’s), • Lisa Shaw (Naas), • Hazel McLoughlin (Eadestown), • Ruth Sargent (Eadestown), • Laoise Lenehan (Captain) (Eadestown), • Aisling Irhue (Sarsfields), • Gillian Wheeler (St Laurence’s), • Lara Curran (Milltown), • Ciara Wheeler (St Laurence’s), • Molly Aspell (Kilcullen), • Aoife Rattigan (Cappagh), • Mayah Doyle (Ballymore Eustace), • Alannah Prizeman (Naas), • Corla Nallen (Leixlip), • Jessica Harney (Eadestown), • Abaigh Cahill (Eadestown), • Amy Mahon (Ballymore Eustace), • Aoife Murnane (Maynooth), • Meabh McDonagh (Maynooth), • Siofra Galvin (Sarsfields), • Ruth Dillon (Suncroft), • Mia Doherty (Leixlip), • Lia Reilly (Sallins), • Aoife Mulligan (Cappagh), • Sarah O’Sullivan (Kilcock), • Saoirse O’Gorman (Sallins), • Megan Cooney (Balyna), • Nanci Murphy (Kilcullen), • Kate Kealy (Celbridge), • Emma Earls (Leixlip), • Eimear Behan (Rathcoffey), • Aine Mulligan (Cappagh), • Ciara Moran (Na Fianna).
Pat Sullivan – Manager. Noel O’Connor – Mentor. Cillian Moore – Physio. Margaret Kealy – FLO.
Team Officials - Brian Williams, Richard Bowles, Ciaran Burke, Andy Corbett, Paul Cox, Joe Cleary.
