It was a busy day online for the Ladies garlic Football Association with all eight captains from the participating counties in this weekend’s Lidl National League Finals doing interviews from their homes.
The Division 1 and 2 Finals will form the basis of a Government-approved test event for spectators at Croke Park on Saturday, June 26, with 4,000 fans permitted to attend.
Friends and family tickets were made available to the counties over the weekend with tickets going on public sale from Monday.
Similar distancing and mask requirements will be in place to those that applied to last Sunday’s Littlewoods Ireland Camogie National League Final. Both games between Dublin and Cork at 7:30 PM and Kerry and Meath at 5 PM will be televised live on TG4.
Cork, Dublin and Meath were all present at Croke Park on December 20 last for the TG4 All-Ireland Senior and Intermediate Finals.
Dublin captain Sinead Aherne spoke yesterday about the impact which Hannah Tyrell has had on the team during the early stages of this year’s shortened League campaign.
“She was with the team a few years back and played with Na Fianna in last year’s Championship so it was great to see her come in a few weeks after we went back. At that stage, she had a decision to make in terms of whether to continue with her rugby career.”
“I think she enjoyed her time when she came in and took the decision that she wanted to give a bit of time to County football again.”
“Rugby has obviously had an impact on her fitness and athleticism and you can really see that the environment has brought her on as a Gaelic football player.”
“She’s a great asset to us. She’s getting used to the players around her as well and there’s been a lot of players moving around in the team. It’s just been a familiarisation process but she’s certainly jumped into it with both feet anyway.”
On Sunday, attention switches to the Finals in Divisions 3 and 4, with both of these games set to be streamed live on the Spórt TG4 YouTube Page.
In Baltinglass at 4 pm, neighbours Laois and Kildare lock horns in the Division 3 decider, while Leitrim and Louth will battle it out for Division 4 honours at St Tiernach’s Park, Clones, with a 2 pm throw-in time.
“Since the commencement of our 2021 Lidl National Leagues, we have witnessed some brilliant football and we’ve been privileged to view it all either on TG4 or via our live-streaming service, in association with Lidl,” said Micheál Naughton, President of the LGFA.
“We’re all set for four great games and it’s heartening to be in a position to welcome spectators to the three Final venues – Croke Park, Baltinglass and St Tiernach’s Park.”
“Since coming on board with us in 2016, Lidl has helped to elevate our game to new heights, and they provided significant investment which enabled us to live-stream 50 games during the 2021 Lidl National Leagues.”
“This is #SeriousSupport for Ladies Football and yet another example of why this partnership has evolved and blossomed.”
“With 209 stores nationwide, we are part of communities all over Ireland and we are committed to supporting the organisation from the grassroots right up to county level and our sponsorship of the Lidl National Football Leagues,” said Lidl Ireland CEO JP Scally
“I want to wish all the teams taking part in the finals the very best of luck. It’s a huge achievement to get this far in the competition, particularly given how difficult a start to the year it has been for everyone. We look forward to the many better days ahead, starting this weekend.”
The LGFA, Lidl Ireland, TG4 and AIG are among the 250+ members of the Sport for Business network of sporting and business organisations working together across a number of key areas.
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