Emma Lawlor and Chris Lynch react as St Conleth’s make it third time lucky against Portlaoise

Emma Lawlor has been a standout player for St Conleth’s all season, consistently delivering crucial scores. After their thrilling victory, she expressed just how much the win meant to her and the team.

"It's unbelievable. I'm kind of speechless, I still can't believe it. When that final whistle blew, it was just like the whole world stopped for a minute, and you just felt this relief. It was such a tough match. It was literally a battle to the very, very end. We only went ahead for the first time in the last five minutes, but we just kept going. We dug deep, we knew we could, and we got over the line. I'm just so happy we did,” Lawlor said.

Having recently returned from her travels, this was Lawlor’s first year playing with St Conleth’s at senior level, though she had played for them throughout her underage years. Before the game, she reminded her teammates of the heartbreak they had endured in their previous two finals against Portlaoise.

“I told the girls before the match, in the huddle, this is your third time. You've been beaten twice. I said, you don't deserve to lose a third time. And I repeated it to them, and they knew it too. They're a savage group of girls, on and off the field. Their commitment and work rate, as we showed tonight by digging deep, is incredible. They really deserve this, and we all do,” Lawlor concluded.

St Conleth’s manager Chris Lynch also reflected on the victory, which marked only the club’s second-ever Senior County championship win.

“It's absolutely unbelievable. There's a great buzz around the camp. We knew this was building, and today the girls went out and played football, played to their potential. It's just unreal,” Lynch said.

St Conleth’s only led twice in the entire match,after the first point and again in the 57th minute, but their resilience shone through as they fought back to claim the trophy.

“This bunch of girls has great character. There's been a lot of work done over the past few years. Noel and the lads laid the foundation, and we just came in this year and put the jigsaw together. We’re absolutely delighted,” Lynch added.

Lynch knew it would be a tight contest and praised the team’s ability to rise to the occasion. The substitutions proved crucial, particularly Aoibhe Byron, who scored three late frees to secure the win.

“We knew it was going to be a battle. We had our match-ups right, and we knew Portlaoise were a good team, but we just wanted it more in the end. The girls showed that. In the last 15 minutes, they pushed, pressed the kick-outs, and got a few crucial scores. Our panel made the difference. We made four subs, and that was the key. Aoibhe especially, a very experienced player, really stepped up. I had a tough call during the week, and I told her, 'Aoibhe, you could be the one to win this game,' and she came on and proved the whole county right,” Lynch concluded.