Round 2 of the 2026 Eir U16A All Ireland Championship takes place on Feb 22nd.
U16 A Championship: Round 2
Waterford v Galway
Date: Sun Feb 22, 2pm
Venue: SETU Waterford X91 XD96
FT: Galway 5-12 Waterford 1-5
Match Report
The Galway U16 camogie team recorded an emphatic victory over Waterford in difficult conditions at SETU Arena on Sunday. A first-half hat-trick from joint captain Ciara Mullins proved decisive, setting the tone for a dominant Galway display.
The sides were evenly matched in the opening exchanges. Galway opened the scoring in the third minute when Cara Giblin converted a free. Waterford responded quickly, with Lily Codd and Katie Mullane (free) edging the hosts ahead by the fifth minute.
Giblin, leading from the front, restored Galway’s advantage four minutes later with two points, one from a placed ball. Mullane — daughter of former Waterford hurler John Mullane — levelled matters for the third time with her second free of the afternoon.
From that point, however, Galway took control. Player of the match Mullins produced a devastating scoring burst, registering 3-1 in an eight-minute spell to propel the visitors into a commanding 3-4 to 0-3 lead by the 25th minute. Aisling Counihan ended a 15-minute drought for Waterford, but Grace Roche had the final say of the half, leaving the score at 3-5 to 0-4 in Galway’s favour at the interval.
Galway resumed with similar intensity and dominated the opening 20 minutes of the second half. Giblin (0-2, one free), Orla Dunne and Roche all added points, before Roche and substitute Rachel Hanrahan struck two further goals in the space of three minutes to put the result beyond doubt.
Mullane converted a free in the 21st minute to register Waterford’s first score of the half. However, substitute Alannah Joyce and Giblin replied with points for the Tribeswomen.
Waterford had the final moment of note when Mullane powered a late goal past Galway goalkeeper Ciara Doyle, but it proved little more than consolation as Galway ran out comprehensive winners on a scoreline of 5-12 to 1-5.
The result marks a convincing performance from a Galway side that showed impressive depth, with six changes made from the team that started against Cork in the opening round. Manager Brian Griffin will be encouraged both by the result and by the valuable game time afforded to members of his extended panel. Galway now turn their attention to their first home fixture of the campaign, scheduled for March 8th against Kilkenny.
Team
