THERE were euphoric scenes at a sunny Hannahstown when the Lámh Dhearg’s U15 camógs won the National C Regional Féile.
A fantastic achievement as they created history as the first camogie team in the club to win county and national Féile titles. A remarkable feat considering juvenile camogie only began about a decade ago.
The tournament began for the girls from Lámh Dhearg with a closely contested game against Portaferry.
The girls from the peninsula started brightly but some great defending from Aimee McGreevy and Katie Flynn in the full back line kept them at bay.
Lámh Dhearg grew into the game with two excellent points from midfielders Amelie Annett and Aoife Fitzsimons giving the Hannahtown girls a narrow 0-2 to 0-0 lead at half time.
The game continued to ebb and flow in the second half with subs Brenna Armstrong and Sophie Morris adding a bit more firepower up front.
Lámh Dhearg extended their lead in the second half with a goal from Sophie Morris before Portaferry managed to get a goal back.
There was a tense finish to the game with only two points between the sides before Lámh Dhearg sealed the victory with another point from Holly Black after good work from Aoife Linskey.
Olivia Walker and Ríona McKenna helped shore things up at the back as the game finished 1-3 to 1-0 to the Lámhs.
Lámh Dhearg v Avondale
Up next for the Hannahstown side were Avondale, from Wicklow.
Lámh Dhearg’s half-back line of Catríona Doran, Cara Lynch and Sarah Bellew dominated early on snuffing out the Avondale attacks and setting Amelie Annett and Aoife Fitzsimons up with a series of points from midfield.
A well-taken goal from Aoife Craig gave Lámh Dhearg a comfortable 1-4 to 0-0 lead at half-time.
Lámh Dhearg introduced Eimear McCambridge and Cara Flanagan up front in the second half to keep the pressure on the Wicklow side.
Lámh Dhearg sealed the result with a superb goal from Holly Black after she was picked out by Fionnuala Baker from the middle of the park.
Black caught the ball brilliantly on the edge of the square, before turning and drilling it to the corner of the net. Fitzsimons tacked on another two points with the Lámh running out 2-6 to 0-1 winners.
The first two results had left Lámh Dhearg sitting on top of the group with two wins before their final group game against Omagh, St Enda’s.
The match was end-to-end action from the very beginning.
A fantastic defensive display rom Laoise Stone and Ríona McKenna at full back kept the Tyrone team at bay.
The impressive Doran and Lynch were in the heart of the action in the half-back line as both teams tried to gain an early foothold in the game.
Jessica Brunty and Olivia Walker battled well up front before Holly Black again made the breakthrough with a fine goal.
The girls from the hill sensed the game was there for the taking and surged further into the lead with another goal from Annett after some great work from Lila McCann. Lámh Dhearg added another point before the end, to win the game comfortably 2-3 to 0-0.
After topping Group One, the Lámh Dhearg girls then faced the runners-up from Group Two, Na Magha, in the semi-final.
The game began at a thunderous pace with both sides giving their all.
Rossa v Na Magha in Group Two
Charlotte Coleman was outstanding in goals again for the Lámh Dhearg as they held the Derry team at bay.
Na Magha battled fiercely but the tough tackling Lynch, Stone and Doran began to come out on top for the Hannahstown side.
The game was keenly contested and only a number of frees from Annett and a point from Fitzsimons kept Lámh Dhearg ahead at the break.
The hardworking McCambridge and Brunty were replaced by Flanagan and Black as the Lámhs worked diligently in the second half before Sophie Morris sealed the victory with a superb strike to the bottom corner to give the Lámhs the 1-6 to 0-0 victory to take them into the final.
There was a great atmosphere as Lámh Dhearg faced Keady of Armagh in the final of the cup competition late in the afternoon.
Both sides had impressed all day and topped their respective groups, and the crowd were expecting a closely contested games and were not disappointed.
Both sides tried to assert control in the first half with neither team able to make the breakthrough.
Keady had a few early opportunities but Coleman in goals along with McGreevy and Stone at full-back were equal to the challenge.
Sarah Bellew and Katie Flynn impressed as they helped shut down the Keady attack.
Lámh Dhearg suffered a setback early on as one of their star forwards, Aoife Craig was forced off with a bad injury.
Cara Flanagan and Holly Black came on to replace Armstrong and the injured Craig in the Lámh Dhearg attack.
The Hannahstown side finally made the breakthrough just before half-time with an incisive run and point from Fitzsimons in midfield, leaving the minimum between the teams at the break.
Lámh Dhearg captain Amelie Annett accepts the trophy 
Linskey and McKenna came on in the second half for the the Lámhs as they continued to push for the historic win.
Amelie Annett was a tower of strength in the middle of the park for the Hannahstown team as she won ball after ball in the air.
Fionnuala Baker battled bravely up front but was unable to break the strong Keady defense.
The game was on a knife-edge as the final whistle approached until Fitzsimons broke from midfield after some great interplay with McCann to pop over the winning score.
The Hannahstown girls were jumping for joy a few minutes later as the referee blew the final whistle to bring to an end a fantastic day of camogie up the hill.
Some more pictures from yesterdays memorable, historic Féile success. Thanks to Kevin Herron 📷 pic.twitter.com/SDnGIQphkB
— Lámh Dhearg CLG (@lamhdheargclg) June 25, 2023
Captain Amelie Annett proudly lifted the trophy amidst jubilant celebrations.
A truly memorable day for the young Hannahstown Camogs, families and members to remember.
The magnificent achievement is further evidence of the quality coaching and work happening in camogie at the club which augurs well for the future.
Lámh Dhearg squad: Charlotte Coleman, Aimee McGreevy, Laoise Stone, Katie Flynn, Cara Lynch, Catríona Doran, Sarah Bellew, Aoife Fizsimons, Amelie Annett, Lila McCann, Cara Flanagan, Fionnuala Baker, Aoife Craig, Brenna Armstrong, Holly Black, Sophie Morris, Eimear McCambridge, Jessica Brunty, Olivia Walker, Aoife Linskey, Ríona McKenna