Parnell Park plays host to Ladies league finals
- May 09,2012
TG4 to Broadcast Three Live Finals from Parnell Park
Captains, managers and officials gathered in Parnell Park early today for the Bord Gáis Energy National League Finals Captains' Day.
Parnell Park will be alive with magic, trickery and spectacle this Saturday as the Division 1, 2 and 3 Bord Gáis Energy Ladies Football Finals will take place. This culmination of three highly competitive divisions is predicted to be a festival of football with some of the top players in the game set to give an exhibition of skill and talent.
The Bord Gáis Energy National League Finals Day will begin at 1.15pm when the ball will be thrown in between Westmeath and Leitrim. Westmeath are the current Intermediate Championship winners and will be aiming to continue their winning streak. However, Leitrim have already surprised Westmeath this year, beating them by 2 points in the round stages of the competition. Both sides also have recent league final experience as Westmeath were Division 4 winners in 2011 and Leitrim won the same title in 2010.
At 3pm it is an all Connacht affair as the Mayo take on Galway in the Division 2 final. Mayo stormed through the group stages of the National League with Galway not far behind. At the last meeting of these two sides, Mayo dominated their opposition wining 3-14 to 1-07. Saturday's division 2 final is a repeat of the 2007 Division 1 Final. On that day Mayo won their last National title. Galway contested another Division 1 final in 2010 but lost out to Cork on the day.
The Bord Gáis Energy League Finals Day 2012 will conclude with what promises to be an almighty battle between reigning National League champions Cork, and one of their biggest rivals Monaghan. Cork will be aiming to maintain their consistency and earn themselves a 5th Division 1 National League title in a row, while Monaghan will be hoping that they can produce some magic of their own to steal the victory, having last featured in a National League final in 2001.
Adding to the sense of occasion in Parnell Park will be the presence of TG4 who are broadcasting the three matches live from the grounds.
In attendance at the Bord Gáis Energy National League Finals Captains' Day CEO of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association Helen O'Rourke said,
"The Ladies Gaelic Football Association is delighted that 2012 sees a return to Parnell Park for the Bord Gáis Energy National League Finals. We feel that it is fitting that our National Leagues are drawn to a close with such a sense of occasion and entertainment. Not only will we have our elite players providing top quality performances of our game but we will also have two other participation levels represented on the day, with juvenile and Gaelic4Mothers & Others mini games taking place during each half time break.
I would like to thank Bord Gáis Energy for their sponsorship of not only the National Leagues, which is now in its fourth year, but also the Manager of the Month awards and the Team of the League awards night which have become greatly anticipated events."
Ger Cunningham, Sponsorship Ambassador with Bord Gáis Energy added: "Following on from the magnificent displays we had in last year's finals, I am looking forward to making the trip once again to Dublin 3 for the final games of this year's National Leagues and we in Bord Gáis Energy are delighted to have been involved once again with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association in this our fourth year.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to compliment TG4 for the wonderful service that they provide to Ladies Football and it is great to see that they will be once again showing all three finals live on Saturday. It is great exposure for the fastest growing female sport in Ireland.
"Finally, I would like to wish everyone involved on Saturday the very best of luck and no doubt we will be seeing plenty of you at the Team of the League awards later this month."
Fixtures:
Bord Gáis Energy NFL Division 1 Final
Cork v Monaghan, Parnell Park, 4.45pm
Bord Gáis Energy NFL Division 2 Final
Galway v Mayo, Parnell Park, 3.00pm
Bord Gáis Energy NFL Division 3 Final
Westmeath v Leitrim, Parnell Park, 1.15pm
PATHS TO THE FINAL
Division 1
CORK: Donegal 1-07 Cork 4-09; Monaghan 1-13 Cork 3-11; Dublin 0-08 Cork 1-08; Meath 2-08 Cork 3-08; Laois 2-06 Cork 2-15; Kildare 0-03 Cork 0-22; Tyrone 0-11 Cork 2-10; semi-final: Meath 0-10 Cork 3-10.
MONAGHAN: Laois 1-06 Monaghan 2-06; Cork 3-11 Monaghan 1-13; Meath 0-08 Monaghan 1-08; Donegal 1-05; Monaghan 5-16; Tyrone 0-06 Monaghan 0-12; Dublin 2-07 Monaghan 2-08; Kildare 0-08 Monaghan 0-19; semi-final: Dublin 0-07 Monaghan 2-09.
Division 2
GALWAY: Mayo 3-14 Galway 1-07; Waterford 1-08 Galway 1-13; Clare 5-11 Galway 3-20; Cavan 0-08 Galway 3-12; Tipperary 0-12 Galway 4-12; Fermanagh 3-13 Galway 2-10; semi-final: Clare 1-10 Galway 3-06
MAYO: Galway 1-07 Mayo 3-14; Clare 0-08 Mayo 2-11; Waterford 3-10 Mayo 3-13; Tipperary 2-08 Mayo 2-12; Fermanagh 2-11 Mayo 1-14; Kerry 1-07 Mayo 1-09; Cavan 1-09 Mayo 1-16; semi-final: Kerry 1-07 Mayo 4-06.
Division 3
LEITRIM: Down 1-5 Leitrim 5-09; Sligo 1-09 Leitrim 3-12; Armagh 2-10 Leitrim 2-08; Westmeath 1-10 Leitrim 1-12; Wicklow 2-03 Leitrim 6-10; Wexford 3-13 Leitrim 4-11; Roscommon 1-09 Leitrim 2-11; semi-final: Down 0-07 Leitrim 1-11
WESTMEATH: Roscommon 0-03 Westmeath 4-13; Wicklow 2-07 Westmeath 4-14; Wexford 2-08 Westmeath 5-14; Leitrim 1-12 Westmeath 1-10; Armagh 1-06 Westmeath 3-07; Sligo 2-08 Westmeath 3-16; Down 3-05 Westmeath 1-17; semi-final: Armagh 1-07 Westmeath 5-06