Moneyglass and St John's claim Antrim ladies' football titles
St Ergnat's Moneyglass secured a sixth consecutive Antrim Senior Ladies' Football Championship title with a 4-11 to 1-07 victory over St Brigid's at The Bear Pit. The win maintains their dominance in the county competition.
St Brigid's opened the scoring through Abigail Carleton in the third minute, but Moneyglass responded when Cliona Griffin levelled in the seventh minute. Maria O'Neill then scored the first goal of the match in the ninth minute, and Cathy Carey added a second two minutes later to put Moneyglass in control.
St Brigid's kept in touch through scores from Ellie Murphy, Laura Agnew, and Emma Ferran, but Moneyglass finished the first half strongly with points from Ruby McErlain and Orlaith Prenter and another from O'Neill, leaving them ahead 2-06 to 0-05 at the break.
In the second half, Aileen McDonnell cut the deficit for St Brigid's in the opening minute, but Moneyglass answered through McErlain. Agnew scored for St Brigid's before Prenter added two points for Moneyglass. Cliodhna Logan scored a goal for St Brigid's in the 20th minute, but Prenter struck Moneyglass' third goal two minutes later. O'Neill added a point, and McErlain completed the scoring with a fourth goal in the 26th minute.
Moneyglass outscored St Brigid's 2-05 to 1-02 in the second half and will now compete in the Ulster Ladies' Senior Club Football Championship.
In the intermediate final at Davitt Park, St John's defeated Gort na Móna 3-6 to 1-11. St John's, playing into a strong wind in the first half, took an early lead through Hannah McAllister and Luisne Adams. Gort na Móna responded with points from Ciara Maguire and Debbie Boyd, but St John's then scored three goals before the interval: the first from Hannah Mead mid-way through the half, followed by a second from McAllister and a third from Adams approaching half-time.
Gort na Móna's Niamh Nic Ionnrachtaigh scored a goal to keep them in contention, but St John's led 3-3 to 1-5 at half-time. In the second half, Adams added points from frees, and Anna Adams and Ellen Bradley also scored to maintain St John's advantage. Gort na Móna continued to press, with Maguire, Boyd, Blaithin Nic Cathail, Casey Meighan, and Alyssa Davidson all contributing, but St John's held on to claim the championship.