Round 1 of the 2026 Eir U16A All Ireland Championship takes place on Feb 8th. We wish Brian, his players and management team the best of luck in their Championship campaign.
U16 A Championship: Round 1
Cork v Galway
Date: Sun Feb 8, 2pm
Venue: Cork Camogie Grounds, Castle Road
FT: Galway 2-9 Cork 1-5
Match Report
Galway’s U16 camogie side made a winning start to the defence of their All-Ireland title with a hard-earned victory over Cork in a repeat of last year’s decider at the Cork Camogie Grounds on Sunday.
Weather conditions played their part in a game of two contrasting halves, with torrential rain in the opening period leaving the pitch heavy and difficult underfoot, before bright sunshine emerged after the break.
The defending champions settled quickest and opened brightly, with Skehana-Menlough’s Grace Roche striking two early points inside the opening four minutes. Galway had a chance to extend their lead further soon after when Ciara Mullins was fouled en route to goal, but Cork goalkeeper Kayleigh Murphy produced an excellent save to deny the penalty. Cork opened their account through Isabelle O’Callaghan in the 10th minute, but Galway responded strongly. On 15 minutes, Orna Dunne struck Galway’s first goal of the day, blasting to the net to push her side four points clear. Cara Giblin and Roche followed with pointed frees to stretch Galway’s advantage by the 20-minute mark. Lauren McAuliffe registered Cork’s first score from play two minutes later, but further placed balls from Giblin and Roche maintained Galway’s control. O’Callaghan had the final say of the half with a converted free, leaving Galway leading 1-5 to 0-3 at the interval.
Cork made the ideal start to the second half when Ailbhe Byerley found the Galway net inside three minutes of the restart. However, Galway responded immediately, with Mullins grabbing the goal that had earlier eluded her, finishing clinically after finding space inside the Cork defence. Kayla Burke, niece of 2017 All-Ireland winning Galway hurling captain David Burke, added a point soon after as Galway regained momentum. Scores proved difficult to come by for both sides during a fiercely contested spell, with Cork ending an 18-minute wait for a score when Éabha Lynch pointed from play. Galway joint captain Cara Giblin continued to lead by example, bringing her tally to four points with two further converted frees. O’Callaghan added Cork’s final score from a placed ball in the 28th minute, but Galway remained in control to see out the game and record a 2-9 to 1-5 victory.
Galway will be pleased to open their championship campaign with a win following a tough and physical contest played in challenging conditions. They now turn their attention to an away trip to Waterford on February 22.
Team
Photo credit: Colbert O’Sullivan
