Mullinahone ladies will once again fly the flag for Tipperary in All-Ireland club championship

Above: An elated Molly Walsh, captain of the Mullinahone team that beat Monagea in the Munster Club Intermediate Football Championship final in Mallow on Sunday, receives the cup from Robbie Smyth, Munster Ladies Gaelic Football Association president

Mullinahone 2-4 Monagea 0-7

Mullinahone’s ladies footballers provided further evidence of their emergence as a growing power in the game when their defeat of Limerick champions Monagea in Sunday’s provincial final in Mallow secured back-to-back provincial titles.

The Tipperary team, who will compete in the senior grade next year, made the most of their opportunities to add the Munster intermediate crown to the junior title won last year.

In doing so, they had to do it the hard way against a highly-rated Monagea side that also tasted defeat in the 2021 final, when they were beaten by a point.

Not even the flooding-enforced closure of the road between Mitchelstown and Mallow, which forced the team and its loyal band of supporters to follow a diversion via Fermoy, could deter Mullinahone.

In a game played in wet, difficult conditions, they made the most of their opportunities to secure the victory that now puts them through to the All-Ireland semi-final at the end of this month.

Lorraine O’Shea was a real leader for Mullinahone, shooting all but one of their scores, including the 22nd minute goal from a free that gave them a lead they never subsequently surrendered.

The Tipperary champions’ only score from play was a point, but their determination to dig in and battle all the way meant they were good value for the win.

Deborah Murphy had Monagea off the mark straight from the throw-in but they missed three further chances for scores before Karen O’Leary followed up with a point. Lorraine O’Shea responded with Mullinahone’s first score, from a free.

As the rain descended, Murphy struck again as the Limerick girls continued to dominate but their only reward came from an Amy Curtin point.

Mullinahone refused to be cut adrift and hit back with another converted O’Shea free.

Those wasted opportunities came back to haunt Monagea when a Lorraine O’Shea free dropped into the top corner of the net, a score that gave Mullinahone the lead and radically altered the course of the game. 

The Limerick outfit were rattled and when Nicole Sheehy was fouled at the end of a Mullinahone attack, goalie Alice Browning stepped up to slot home the penalty. 

Coming up to the break, Monagea got their passing game moving again but their only reward was a point from Davis’ free, narrowing the gap to 2-2 to 0-5 on the stroke of half-time.

With the wind behind them, the Tipp champions attacked from the restart, with O’Shea finding the target with their first from play and then from a free. 

Indecision inside the score zone undid Monagea’s best efforts at a response until Davis sent over a free.

However, she missed the three that followed before her next, fifteen minutes after her previous score, reduced the margin to a goal.

Working overtime in defence, Mullinahone closed off the spaces available to their opponents as Monagea lost their focus, including unsuccessfully going for a goal from a free six minutes from time.

Their best chance came in the added minutes but Davis was pulled for overcarrying as she bore down on the goal, and then got sent off along with Mullinahone full back Gráinne Moran after the ensuing tussle.

Mullinahone were in no mood to relinquish their hard-earned advantage and they survived the closing moments to secure another famous victory.