Thanks to Barrs camogie side for some great memories over epic season

Right now, the St Finbarr’s senior camogie team are hurting as any team would be after losing an All-Ireland final.

At times, in both the final at Croke Park and the replay at FBD Semple Stadium, they looked like they had it won. But you have to credit Athenry for the way they came back on each occasion to eventually win the replay by two points, both scored in injury time.

Reflecting on the season, Barrs will look back with plenty of pride and some of the games they were involved in will be talked about for years.

Their clash with Newcastle West in the Munster semi-final and their tie with Loughgiel Shamrocks in the All-Ireland semi-final were epics.

I have been lucky enough to see most of their games this season, starting in the Cork championship and all the way to Croke Park and then Thurles for the replay and several other grounds along the way.

The joy they have brought to their growing band of supporters and the lift and pride they have brought to their club this season cannot be underestimated.

Spend a bit of time in their company and not alone do you see just how talented they are as players, but also just how great they are as a bunch of people. They are more than just a team, they are close friends and as manager Brian O’Sullivan said after the game on Sunday, “they died with their boots on for each other”.

For me, there were many highlights over the season, some which may not have been seen by many in the group stages of the SE Systems Cork championship. To see how they responded when sides like Blackrock and Inniscarra put it up to them showed just how good they are.

In the final against St Catherine’s, which went down to the wire, the display of Sorcha McCartan had to be admired. She came out around the middle of the pitch to stamp her authority on the game as they retained their title, winning it for the third time in the club’s history.

NEW LEVEL

But if their supporters thought the Cork championship was entertaining, then Munster brought it to a whole other level. On a cold, wet, and windy day they took on Newcastle West in the Munster championship at Togher.

It turned into the first of two 90-minute games they ended up playing in the 2025 season.

Newcastle West’s Kate Ambrose scored a goal with the final shot in normal time to take it to extra time. When she scored another goal it looked like being the winner for her side, but the Barrs showed all their resilience to score two late points to take it to extra, extra time.

And again, it was another late score, this time from McCartan, to secure their passage to the Munster final

They headed up the road to Thurles to take on De La Salle in the Munster decider, another top-class game. Again, it was a battle from start to finish before Kate Wall scored a late goal to see the cup head to Togher for the first time.

Once the celebrations died down, they prepared for their trip to Meath to take on Loughgiel Shamrocks in the All-Ireland semi-final. Another battle, another epic and another 90-minute game.

And in the dying seconds of the 90 minutes, up stepped Ciara Golden to slot over the winning score to see the Barrs reach the All-Ireland decider.

Another two epic ties, it was no great surprise to see it took two late scores to separate them and Athenry. Unfortunately, they went the way of the Galway side.

But all I can say, just like their supporters can, is thanks for the memories and hopefully there will be plenty more next season.