Cork Ladies Football: Who will challenge Aghada and Éire Óg?

The opening round of the 2025 Cork Credit Unions Cork LGFA senior championship will kick-start another summer of intense football action.

The announcement of the opening round of this year’s county championship fixtures has focused everyone's minds throughout the county.

Training session intensity will ratchet up over the coming weeks as contenders and outsiders in the top three Cork LGFA championships, senior, intermediate and junior A, prepare for the battles ahead.

Senior title-holders and recently crowned Division 1 league winners Aghada are not in action on the first weekend which has been confirmed for August 17. 

Instead, Eric Smith’s side will get a chance to see how their Group 1 opponents fare.

Castlehaven will be eager to get off to a positive start at home to a St Val’s side that reached last year’s county semi-finals and won a Division 1 league trophy.

Niamh McNabola and Aisling Kelleher were named on the Echo Cork LGFA Club Team of the Year in 2024 and, if available, will be central to St Val’s aspirations. 

The same is true of Sarah Leahy, Hannah Looney, Bríanna Smith and Róisín Phelan.

As for Castlehaven, the West Cork club lost out to Clonakilty on free-kicks in last year’s senior B county semi-finals. 

Heading into this year’s championship, Niamh O’Sullivan and Mairead O’Driscoll’s combined scoring abilities will be vital to the Haven’s chances in the top grade.

Little doubt that the marquee senior fixture of the opening weekend is the West Cork LGFA Group 1 derby between Clonakilty and O’Donovan Rossa.

The Skibbereen club claimed intermediate county and provincial titles before reaching an All-Ireland junior semi-final during a marvellous 2024. Backboned by experienced campaigners Laura O’Mahony, Fionnuala O’Driscoll and Lisa Harte, Rossa’s emerging Cork minors Allie Tobin and Éabha O’Donovan helped deliver another trophy-laden season.

James O’Donovan and Derek Tobin are back to guide O’Donovan Rossa in the club’s first senior campaign. 

The Skibbereen side couldn’t have asked for a tougher start. Rossa’s make the short trip to Ahamilla for a meeting with West Cork rivals Clonakilty on the opening weekend. A visit to arch rivals, Castlehaven, awaits in round two.

Last year, the Brewery Town’s Sinéad O’Donovan and Aisling Moloney found the net to cement a 2-5 to 0-5 senior B county final triumph over Kinsale. 

Clonakilty built on that success and reached a Munster senior B decider only to come up short to Waterford’s Ballymacarbry after extra-time in Mallow.

Unsurprisingly, getting off to a winning start will be important to both West Cork teams and to those competing in an equally stacked Cork LGFA SFC Group 2.

Éire Óg begin another campaign having suffered heartbreak in each of the last four senior county finals. 

The Ovens-based club will have home advantage for the visit of another contender, Glanmire, in the group’s opening round.

Last year, Éire Óg were denied the title by an Aghada team, appearing in their first ever senior final, on free-kicks. 

Éire Óg has little choice but to dust themselves down and go again.  Fortunately, the quality and depth of the Ovens side’s panel means they have every chance of reaching a fifth consecutive county decider.

The Clearys, Emma and Laura, the Cahalanes, Méabh and Orlaith, along with Sadhbh McGoldrick, Jennifer O’Gorman and Orlaith Cremin’s presence means Éire Óg will contend once again.

Glanmire are another club laden with talent and who will fancy their chances of reaching the competition’s latter stages. 

A one-point loss to Aghada in the penultimate round of last year’s championship underlines that view.

Orlaith Roche and Aishling McAllen’s combined efforts saw the Glanmire duo named on the Echo’s senior team of the year.

Kinsale and Mourneabbey get their Group 2 campaign underway in Kinsale. 

The former got the better of the county’s standard-bearers from North Cork over the past decade in last year’s senior B semi-finals.

No doubt, Mourneabbey will be eager for revenge and could call upon Cork minors Laura Walsh, Rachel Breen and Eimear Walsh to kick-start their campaign.

FIXTURES:

Sunday, August 17: 

Castlehaven v St Val’s, Clonakilty v O’Donovan Rossa (Group 1);

Éire Óg v Glanmire, Kinsale v Mourneabbey (both Group 2).