Longford ladies at home to Limerick in the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship

Longford ladies football is going through a transition period at the moment with the drop down into the Junior grade for the first time since 2016 when the TG4 All-Ireland title was won in a blaze of glory.  

Kenagh native Pat Tiernan is the current manager and after playing a total of 10 competitive fixtures already this season between the National League Division 4 campaign and the Leinster Junior Championship the focus now switches to the All-Ireland Series.

First up in the group stage of the Tier 3 competition are Limerick who come to Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Sunday (2pm) and the visitors will be hoping to go one step further after losing out to Down, 1-8 to 0-7, in last year’s All-Ireland Junior final at Croke Park. 

Longford drew away to Limerick when the teams clashed in the National League this season and after springing a big surprise to defeat Leitrim in the league semi-final the girls from the Treaty county are clearly All-Ireland title contenders despite losing to Carlow (1-7 to 0-6) in the Division 4 decider.

Longford cannot afford to slip up against Limerick in view of the extremely tough task to come at home to the generally regarded All-Ireland favourites Louth on Sunday June 30th while also pitted in the group are the no-hopers Kilkenny.

The top two teams will qualify for the semi-finals with Carlow, Fermanagh, Sligo, Derry and London competing in the other group.

The Longford line-out in the 2-13 to 1-8 defeat against Louth in the recent Leinster Junior Championship clash in Darver: 

Riane McGrath (Killoe); Leah Shannon (Carrickedmond), Eimear O’Brien (Longford Slashers), Grace Kenny (Longford Slashers); Ciara Mulligan (Carrickedmond), Orla Nevin (Longford Slashers), Caoimhe McCormack (Carrickedmond); Sian Gallagher (St Brigid’s Gaels Ardagh, 0-1), Shauna Hagan (Dromard); Joanne Whyte (St Brigid’s Gaels Ardagh), Grace Shannon (Longford Slashers, 0-3), Katelyn McKeon (Clonguish); Clodagh Lohan (Longford Slashers, 0-1), Niamh Brady (Killoe, 1-3), Kamille Burke (Clonguish). 

Subs (second half):- Fumni Talabi (Mostrim) for C Mulligan; Elle Lynn (Mostrim) for K McKeon; Edel Sheehy (Mullinalaghta) for K Burke; Caoimhe Lohan (Longford Slashers) for J Whyte; Anna Hayden (St Brigid’s Gaels Ardagh) for S Hagan.

Pictured at the launch of the 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championships in Croke Park are Ard Stiúrthóir TG4 Alan Esslemont and Uachtarán Cumann Peil Gael na mBan, Mícheál Naughton along with players from the nine Junior counties including Longford's Niamh Brady (Killoe).
All roads lead to Croke Park for the 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Junior, Intermediate and Senior Finals on Sunday August 4 as the Ladies Gaelic Football Association also gets set to celebrate its 50th anniversary on July 18 Photo: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile