Tipperary survive Galway comeback to take Division 1A crown

Tipperary have ended a long wait to win the Division 1A title of the Very Camogie League, beating Galway in the second of the day’s double-header at Croke Park.

In the earlier game, Westmeath got on the winning side of Derry to claim the 2A title, 4-8 to 0-16.

An impressive performance from Karin Blair helped Tipperary weather the Galway storm, converting eight frees and vitally claiming the winning point at the death.

Tipp had found themselves six points down after just over 20 minutes of play, but clawed the deficit back to one by the half-time whistle, when it stood 0-8 to 0-7.

After the break, Tipperary’s efforts were rewarded when Karen Kennedy netted in the 38th minute, pushing them four points ahead.

Galway recovered to level the game in the 58th minute, with a low shot from Niamh Mallon that just cleared the crossbar. However, it was Blair who had the final, taking a point, and the win, for Tipperary in the final minute.

Elsewhere, the day’s GAA action saw quarter-finals in the Leinster and Ulster football championships.

A double-header in Portlaoise saw Kildare beat Wicklow hearts to win by a single point.

A late black card reduced the Lilywhites to 13 for the closing minutes of the game, having already suffered a red in the opening half.

The penalty accompanying the black card was netted by Oisin McGraynor in extra time, eradicating Kildare’s three-point lead.

However, in the final play of the game, Jack Sargent pulled his side from the fire, tipping over a point to end the game 0-16 to 1-12 in Kildare’s favour.

The other game at O’Moore Park was a less intense affair, with Louth running out a comfortable win over Wexford.

Two goals apiece from Sam Mulroy and Ciarán Downey proved too much for Wexford to summon much of a reply, with the game ending 4-10 to 0-15.

The last of the Leinster fixtures saw the pairing of old rivals Dublin and Meath at Croke Park, where Dessie Farrell’s men eased to a 3-19 to 0-12 victory, with the goals coming from Seán Bugler, Paul Mannion and Con O’Callaghan.

In Ulster, Armagh took a similarly big win over Fermanagh at Brewster Park to make their way through to the provincial semi-finals.

There were also wins for London and Derry in the Christy Ring Cup, seeing off Tyrone and Wicklow respectively, while Mayo trounced Monaghan 4-24 to 2-8 in the Nickey Rackard Cup.

Sourse: breakingnews.ie