Sometimes the rewards far outweigh the drawbacks of battling bank holiday Friday M50 traffic. Such was the case for Cuala supporters who made the trip to Abbotstown last Friday evening to witness the Minor A Camogie team make a spectacular second half comeback against Naomh Barróg to clinch the Division 2 Championship Cup by a single point.

Cuala played the first half into the wind against a formidable Naomh Barróg team who set the tone early with two points from frees and another from play. Abbie Kenny opened the scoring for Cuala with a well-taken free, but Naomh Barróg replied with a point and then a goal to leave Cuala trailing 1-04 to 0-01 midway through the half. Laoise Conaghan added two points from play to reduce the deficit, but was matched by two further points from Naomh Barróg. A solid Cuala defence and some superb goalkeeping by Emma Matthews can be credited with minimising the Barróg scoreline, but with strong winds hampering scoring opportunities Cuala left the pitch 6 points behind at half-time:  Naomh Barróg 1-06, Cuala 0-03.

In true Cuala spirit however, a determined team emerged to rewrite the script in the second half. An early goal from Laoise Conaghan’s long-range free brought Cuala to within 3 points of the opposition. Naomh Barróg responded with a free and a point from play, matched by a point from Abbie Kenny to leave Cuala trailing by 4 points. A superb point from Kate Hanley followed by another goal from Laoise Conaghan levelled the scoreline and sent the Cuala supporters wild. Victory was within reach. With only minutes left on the clock, Eabha McGrath scored what proved to be the winning point putting Cuala in the lead for the first time – a fitting finale for her last match as minor captain. With three minutes of added time, the Cuala defence withstood huge pressure as Naomh Barróg sought an equaliser. Cuala supporters gripped their seats as a free from Naomh Barróg hit the post and was duly cleared to deny Barróg an equalising opportunity. The final whistle blew shortly after, sparking jubilant celebrations for Cuala players and supporters: Cuala 2-06, Naomh Barróg 1-08.

Winning the Division 2 Championship brings the playing year to a successful close for this team, having also won the League in the spring. The 07 girls now begin the transition to adult, while the 08s will welcome the 09 players for the 2026 playing season. Congratulations and thanks to all the players, coaches, mentors and FLOs, and best of  luck to all the girls as they transition to their new teams for 2026.

A huge thank you also to all the red and white supporters who made that M50 trip…no doubt all are likely to agree that it was definitely worth it!