All-Ireland League Division 1A final: St Mary’s College 46 Clontarf 31
Fourteen years in the making, St Mary’s College are Energia All-Ireland League Division 1A champions again after a dominant second-half display at the Aviva Stadium ended Clontarf’s reign.
Shannon were the last team to go back-to-back and, 21 years later, ‘Tarf became the latest to fall short. For St Mary’s, who had already beaten Clontarf twice this season and edged them at the top of the league standings, the triumph felt fully earned in only their second season back in the top flight.
The celebrations began at the final whistle among a vocal 6,894 crowd, with players and supporters savouring a landmark success. The party was set to move to Templeville Road for a memorable night.
“Losing a semi-final last year was massively disappointing, massively deflating,” said St Mary’s head coach Mark McHugh, who won the AIL as a player with the club 26 years ago.
“We were determined to go better [this year]. That doesn’t always happen, but it was very clear that we had the makings of something very special and we could do something very special and here we are.
“I’m just delighted that our guys managed to show the best version of themselves.”
St Mary’s dominated the aerial battle through man-of-the-match Myles Carey, though the first half was a high-tempo shoot-out that was played at a rattling pace.
Conor Dean of St Mary’s College (left) celebrates with teammates Mick O’Gara, Robert Gilsenan and Myles Carey after scoring his side’s fifth try in Sunday’s All-Ireland League Division 1A final against Clontarf at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
Clontarf struck first in the fourth minute when Jordan Coghlan finished after his captain Dylan Donnellan was stopped short, with Conor Kelly converting. St Mary’s replied through a Mick O’Gara penalty before Carey touched down under the posts for a 10-7 lead.
Kelly missed a penalty but Clontarf regained the lead in the 20th minute when Aaron Coleman broke from a maul to score. However, their advantage was shortlived as Aaron O’Sullivan sliced through defenders to set up Leandro Ramirez for a try, though O’Gara missed the conversion.
St Mary’s had to defend their line before the break but then seized control after the interval. Ramirez was denied close to the line before Michael McCormack powered over, with O’Gara converting for a 10-point cushion. Five minutes later, Conor Dean’s superb tip-pass opened space for Ruairí Shields to race in and extend the lead.
Clontarf were handed a lifeline when former Leinster starlet Hugh Cooney intercepted Robert Gilsenan’s pass inside his own 22 and ran clear to score, with Kelly cutting the gap to 10 points.
But St Mary’s responded decisively. Josh Gimblett crossed for a converted try, Kelly was harshly sinbinned after colliding with Carey and O’Gara added a penalty to leave Clontarf chasing the game.
They came back firing. Coleman claimed a second maul try in the 66th minute, though Michael Moloney missed the conversion, but any lingering doubt was removed when Dean capped off a milestone day for St Mary’s with their final try five minutes from the finish as the outhalf pounced to intercept a Conor Gibney pass.
There was still time for Coghlan to score his second try – Clontarf’s fifth of the game – but the outcome was already settled.
Greg Jones of St Mary’s College is tackled by Jordan Coghlan (left) and Daniel Hawkshaw during Sunday’s All-Ireland League Division 1A final at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
“It’s been a long time in the making,” said Dean. “I joined the club in 2016, so there’s a lot of lows and then the last 2½ years or three seasons have been unbelievable.
“To cap it off with a win in the AIL, I didn’t know if it was going to be possible and, as last season and this season developed, it was becoming a reality. So yeah, it’s definitely up there.”
In contrast, there was a thrilling end to the women’s decider earlier in the afternoon, with UL Bohs clinching their third title in a row and 16th overall thanks to Ireland international Caitríona Finn’s 82nd-minute try, making it the second successive year that the Red Robins had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a score in overtime.
Opponents Blackrock were on the front foot for large parts of the contest but didn’t nail second-half opportunities to put distance between them and their Limerick rivals, who made them pay with their strong finish to claim a 32-29 victory to deny ‘Rock a first crown since 2022.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 4 mins: Coghlan try, Kelly con, 0-7; 8: O’Gara pen, 3-7; 13: Carey try, O’Gara con, 10-7; 20: Coleman try, 10-12; 22: Ramirez try, 15-12; (half-time: 15-12); 44: McCormack try, O’Gara con, 22-12; 52: Shields try, O’Gara con, 29-12; 56: Cooney try, Kelly con, 29-19; 58: Gimblett try, O’Gara con, 36-19; 63: O’Gara pen, 39-19; 66: Coleman try, 39-24; 75: Dean try, O’Gara con, 46-24; 78: Coghlan try, Kelly con 46-31.
ST MARY’S COLLEGE: Ruairí Shields; Aaron O’Sullivan, Myles Carey, Mick O’Gara, Leandro Ramirez; Conor Dean (capt), Robert Gilsenan; Thomas O’Reilly, Jack Nelson, Michael McCormack; Greg Jones, Daniel Leane; Josh Gimblett, Ronan Watters, Dan Goggin.
Replacements: Oisín Michel for O’Reilly, Andrew Sparrow for McCormack, Finn Burke for Goggin (all 52 mins); Richie Bergin for Nelson (57); Mark Fogarty for Ramirez (59); Conor Pierce for Leane (68); Goggin for Leane (70); Burke for Watters (71), Steven Kilgallen for O’Sullivan (75).
CLONTARF: Tadhg Bird; Dylan O’Grady, Hugh Cooney, Daniel Hawkshaw, Alex O’Grady; Conor Kelly, Sam Owens; Ivan Soroka, Dylan Donnellan (capt), Charlie Ward; Fionn Gilbert, Jim Peters; Paul Deeny, Aaron Coleman, Jordan Coghlan.
Replacements: Richard Whelan for Deeny, Daniel Magner for Alex O’Grady (both 52 mins); Conor Bateman for Ward (60), Michael Moloney for Dylan O’Grady; Conor Gibney for Hawkshaw (68); Declan Adamson for Coleman (70); D O’Grady for Owens (74); Alvin Amaniampong for Soroka (77).
Yellow card: Conor Kelly (63 mins).
Referee: Daniel Carson.