Armagh Ladies hoping to make it an All-Ireland final double as they take on Kerry in last four

Kieran McGeeney’s men saw off the Kingdom in the corresponding game at Croke Park at the weekend and now Greg McGonigle’s women are aiming to make it an Orchard double by booking a place in next month’s ladies decider against either Cork or Galway.

Orchard captain Clodagh McCambridge’s brother Barry got the only Armagh goal against Kerry while vice-captain Lauren McConville’s cousin Rian O’Neill picked up Player of the Match and former skipper Kelly Mallon’s cousin Niall Grimley kicked two points.

Apart from the numerous family links, another source of inspiration for the orangewomen should be boss McGonigle’s record of taking teams to ladies All Ireland finals in five of his last six seasons in inter-county management, including Monaghan in 2011 and 2013.

The Dungiven native then steered Dublin to three consecutive deciders and has already presided over two trophy triumphs for Armagh this season after returning to the Orchard helm for the first time since his sole previous campaign in charge back in 2009.

Armagh have beaten Kerry twice this season, including coming from behind to win their first ever National League final before reclaiming the provincial crown from Donegal with victory in May’s Ulster Senior Championship showpiece in Clones.

The Kingdom women will be bursting for a revenge victory over the Orchard crew after those two defeats at Armagh hands this season, though their even greater motivation will be getting through to a third consecutive All Ireland final after losing the past two.

By contrast, Armagh have been to only one ladies showpiece in their history, way back in 2006 when they lost by a single point to champions Cork, though that All Ireland final famine hasn’t been as long as the 21-year wait for the Orchard’s men to return to the biggest stage.

The iconic Caroline O’Hanlon is the only player left from the big game against Cork 18 years ago and her hugely experienced presence remains important for Armagh even though she was curtailed by a calf injury in the impressive victory over Mayo in the quarter-finals.

Armagh had earned a home tie in the last eight by topping a group which featured recent champions Meath and Tipperary, and they won well despite the absence of ace markswoman Aimee Mackin and their other main forward Mallon through injury.

Sadly, Aimee is out for the rest of the season after rupturing her cruciate in the Ulster final but her younger sibling Blaithin has returned from a medial ligament tear and delivered a superb Player of the Match performance against Mayo.

It remains to be seen whether experienced campaigner Mallon will be fit to feature against Kerry and how well O’Hanlon has recovered from the Mayo match but the extent to which others have stepped up to take extra responsibility is encouraging.

The Orchard had a spread of 11 scorers in the Ulster final, not including Blaithin Mackin, or Ballyhegan’s Eve Lavery, who has been a real revelation since being brought back into the starting team at the start of the All Ireland series, chalking up 0-11 in three matches.

Dromintee dynamo Aoife McCoy has looked lethal finishing off some glorious sweeping attacks, while swashbuckling Crossmaglen legend McConville and the sublime Blaithin Mackin are real threats coming from deep.

Clann Eireann captain Niamh Henderson has grown into more than a crafty facilitator in the No 14 jersey, getting her share of scores, while her relatively unsung namesake Niamh Coleman has garnished her hard-working midfield displays with a few useful goals.

Like fellow livewire Emily Druse, electrifying corner backs Grace Ferguson and Roisin Mulligan love scorching forward with pace and are confident enough to take on a shot when the opportunity presents itself, while Dearbhla Coleman can pot points from long-range.

Armagh have had a very settled defence this season, with newly-engaged goalkeeper Anna Carr an imposing presence behind a full back line in which skipper McCambridge is flanked by Ferguson and Mulligan.

The magnificent McConville is a great taliswoman at centre half back, Cait Towe tends to be quietly excellent one side of her and the blossoming of Dearbhla Coleman has been one of the stories of a fantastic season so far for Armagh.

Including the skipper’s sister Meabh McCambridge, there were seven Clann Eireann players in the starting team against Mayo and they will want to go one step further with Armagh after losing an All Ireland Senior Championship semi last December in their other orange jerseys.

Armagh’s highly successful season so far has been built upon a good gameplan, pragmatically modified depending upon the opposition, underpinned by great energy, adaptability, belief and the sort of resilience which reflects character and strong team spirit.

They could easily have ended up losing the National League games against Kerry and Mayo, the Division One and Ulster Senior Championship finals and indeed both All Ireland group games but won the first five and salvaged a priceless draw in the sixth.

Coming through tight games like those without being beaten should stand to Armagh in the heat of an All Ireland semi-final and they can take confidence from edging Kerry twice already this season albeit the Kingdom women will be out to avenge those losses.

This is just the fifth All Ireland semi-final in Orchard history, with a hat-trick of defeats since that famous free from Crossmaglen’s Sharon Duncan secured victory in the controversial clash with Galway 18 years ago.

Although the Orchard campaign of 2022 ended with defeat to this weekend’s opponents in Tullamore, O’Connor Park previously held happy memories for Armagh with victory there in the 2014 quarter-final and against Cork in a group game five years ago.