All-Ireland Women’s Senior Football semi-finals
Kerry 2-16 (2-0-16) Dublin 1-9 (1-0-9)
Galway 0-21 (0-1-19) Armagh 0-8 (0-0-8)
The 2024 All-Ireland champions Kerry dethroned holders Dublin with a comprehensive 10-point win at Semple Stadium to continue their charge to recapture the Brendan Martin Cup.
Kerry captain Síofra O’Shea scored 1-8 in a brilliant performance as her sidekick in the full forward line Jadyn Lucey struck 1-1.
Kerry lined out without the injured Anna Galvin but rallied in her absence, racing to a 2-4 to 0-1 lead after just eight minutes.
Dublin responded to O’Shea’s punch over the bar in the second minute with a point from Jodie Egan, but Kerry soon took over.
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Their first goal came from Lucey in the fifth minute, set up by Danielle O’Leary. O’Shea then punched over from the kick out and a minute later finished to the top corner after she tipped down a long ball from Niamh Ní Chonchúir and finished in style.
Kerry were rampant, putting serious heat on the Dublin kickout, with further points following from O’Shea and Ní Chonchuir.
Dublin’s Orlagh Nolan and Aishling O’Connell exchanged points before further scores from Lucey, O’Shea and Caoimhe Evans pushed them 2-8 to 0-2 ahead with 20 minutes played.
Then came the Dublin fightback with a free from Nolan and a Kate Donaghy point helping them find a rhythm. Nolan slotted home a penalty after she herself was fouled to cut Kerry’s lead back to seven points.
Nolan was back with another score, a pointed free after a Kerry three-up breach, to leave things 2-8 to 1-5 for the break.
But O’Shea got Kerry off to the best possible start on the resumption, punching over within seconds. From there, it was all Kerry, outscoring the Dubs by eight points to four.
Dublin captain Carla Rowe, introduced at the break, provided a brace of points for her side, but they never looked like catching Kerry.
In the day’s earlier semi-final, Galway were too strong for Armagh at Pearse Park, as a superb team performance with 10 different scorers powered them to a 13-point win.
The Connacht champions got the first two scores on the board through two Noones, Eva and Hannah, before Aimee Mackin got Armagh up and running from a free.
The Tribeswomen began to take control midway through the first half, with two points from Leanne Coen and scores from Niamh Divilly and Kate Slevin putting them 0-6 to 0-1 ahead after 15 minutes.
Scores from Kelly Mallon and Aimee Mackin either side of an Olivia Divilly point provided Armagh with some hope, but Galway closed out the first half in style, with points from Kate Thompson and two from Olivia Divilly seeing them to a commanding seven-point lead for the break.
Daniel Moynihan’s side almost had the perfect start to the second half when Nicola Ward broke three tackles and supplied Slevin to the right of goal, but she was denied superbly by the outstretched leg of Brianna Mathers.
Galway increased the gap to eight points when Coen notched her third score of the game, and although Mallon pointed a free at the other end, the Armagh goalkeeper was called into action once more.
Again Ward caused Armagh’s defence problems, this time playing a give-and-go with Thompson. But Mathers again stepped up to the mark, denying the centre half back in a one-on-one.
Galway didn’t go away empty-handed from the move though, as Róisín Leonard stroked over the score of the game from the resulting ’45 to raise an orange flag.
Galway pulled 11 points clear coming into the final 10 minutes, with Niamh Divilly, Shauna Hynes, Ward and Olivia Divilly all pointing. Armagh offered some response with two Aimee Mackin frees.
Moynihan’s side closed out a classy display in style, with two scores from substitute Hynes and one from Eva Noone adding to their tally. Two points from Armagh captain Lauren McConville were mere consolations, before Hynes closed the scoring with her fourth of the day.
Galway and Kerry will now meet in the All-Ireland final on August 2nd in what will be a repeat of the 2024 decider.
