Dungannon Girls Look Forward To County Final

Friday 19.09.2025

Championship Football

It’s great to see the girls making it through to the final this year. I’m so proud of each and every one of them because they’ve had their fair share of disappointments over the years as a senior unit.

It’s 2013 since the last appearance of a Dungannon ladies senior team in the Tyrone County final when Aodh Ruadh reached the decider against Carrickmore. They’ve had many close encounters, mainly with St Macartans who dominated for more than a decade, but one tight encounter that sticks out funnily enough was the quarter final against Errigal shortly after covid. There was so little between the sides throughout and the game. It was still a draw after extra time- so it went to a shoot out, with a record number of shots taken to separate the teams, just under 40 shots taken.

There has been some rough roads over the years, with losing players to injuries, pregnancy and players going to other clubs and countries. But that’s normal with a lot of clubs, suppose you have to ride the wave when it comes your way. There’s a very true saying that ‘success breeds success’ and these current girls really love their football and believe that anything is possible!

This group to be fair to them have clicked not only on the field but also off it. They are really good friends and it’s common knowledge that the team who get on with one another will travel far with each other especially when things get tough.

This team is a mixture of youth and experience. Recently they have come off the back of dominating a division 2 minor championship 2023. Then add in some of the really experienced, talented, passionate older hands 😉 (I’ll not name them) It’s a good mix, and they have absolutely nothing to lose this weekend.

The question has been asked a few times what is different with this Dungannon Thomas Clarkes ladies team. Credit must go to the girls. They have worked extremely hard this season and have had a great run in the league. A few players have returned from studies and have blended right in with last year’s Aodh Ruadh team to form a well balanced unit with the only change being the name and jersey. They have also a good management team who are all former Ruadh players and/or managers Susan, Eadaoin, Ollie & Paddy, with the addition of the experienced Declan Treanor at the fore of the coaching.

These girls have worked hard for years, over half of them dual players. Their commitment to Gaelic Games is to be commended. They deserve this opportunity and I wish them every success and every rub of the green on Saturday.

Big shout out to the Senior team of 2000 who will grace the pitch on Saturday at half time celebrating 25yrs since they won the title. This is the only Ladies team to win a senior Championship, but how proud are we that ladies senior football has remained in Division one all those years…. And we hope that this year’s Dungannon team rewrite the history books with the 2nd ever win for the town.

It Truly is hard to believe that it’s 25yrs since the last win and now this year I’ve a daughter playing on the team, proud as punch of them all.