In the All-Ireland Ladies Football Junior Championship Final, Fermanagh triumphed over Louth with a score of 1-11 to 0-12. Eimear Smyth, who has been selected as the Player of the Match, contributed a remarkable 1-9 to Fermanagh’s tally at the showdown at Croke Park on Sunday, driving them to their third TG4 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship victory. She had already secured the 2024 ZuCar Golden Boot award, recognising her as the championship’s highest scorer across its three tiers, with an impressive cumulative score of 7-39. Her performance in this match clinched Fermanagh’s first Junior Championship title since 2020.
On the opposing side, Kate Flood scored 0-8, but Louth’s attempt to win an unparalleled fourth final victory at this level fell short. Early in the game, Smyth and Blaithin Bogue had steadily amassed points for Fermanagh, and it was Smyth who confidently netted a goal in the tenth minute, having caught a ball ahead of Louth goalkeepers Rebecca Lambe Fagan.
Although Fermanagh’s CJ McGourty’s Ernesiders were able to extend their lead with points from Smyth, Louth managed to reduce their deficit to just three with a combination of Niamh Rice’s 0-2 contribution and another successful free from Flood, leaving the score line at 1-5 to 0-5 at half-time. An early point on return from Louth’s Aoife Russell brought the gap down to two, despite Lambe Fagan managing to deflect two powerful attempts on goal from Fermanagh’s Niamh McManus within a single minute.
Despite efforts from Bogue and Smyth to strengthen Fermanagh’s position, Ciara Clarke’s enforced exit from the game exactly on the 40 minutes mark, hit the team from the Erne county hard. During Clarke’s absence, who plays the position of corner-back for Knockninny Gaels, Louth reduced their deficit to a mere point, largely contributed by three successful kicks from Flood and a solitary point from replacement player Mischa Rooney.
However, Fermanagh remained on top thanks to Smyth’s stellar performance which included scoring from the opposing end of the field and adding another point to her impressive tally. A 52-minute score from Flood kept Louth’s hopes alive but it was Smyth, with her superior scoring, who led Fermanagh to victory. This was showcased with her two successful kicks enveloping Louth’s eighth point.
The Fermanagh team consisted of M Maguire, C Clarke, M McGloin, E Keenan, S McQuade, C Murphy, C Bogue, B Bannon, L Maguire, D Maguire, J Doonan, A McCabe, B Bogue, E Smyth and N McManus. With Smyth and Britton substituting for McManus and D Maguire at 49 and 57 minutes, respectively. On the Louth side, their line-up included R Lambe Fagan, L Byrne, E Murray, E Hand, H Lambe Sally, A Breen, C Nolan, A Halligan, E Byrne, L White, A Russell, C McDonald, N Rice, K Flood and S Matthews. In the end, there were changes in the Louth team when Lambe Sally (M Rooney as a substitute), McDonald (C O’Reilly as a substitute), Russell (R O’Connor Leonard as a substitute), Matthews (C Boyle as a substitute) and White (K Doheny as a substitute) were replaced during the game. The match was officiated by referee Gerard Canny from Mayo.