Blackrock College and defending champions Railway Union, the top two finishers in the table, will contest next Friday's Energia All-Ireland League Women's Division final.
Indeed, the first half finished scoreless despite Brianna Heylmann growing in influence for Niamh Briggs' side as a powerful midfield carrier. Vice-captain Cronin threatened with a chip and collect, but Blackrock did well in scrambling back.
'Rock began to get to grips with proceedings, amid a heavy rain show approaching half-time. Emma Hooban and the returning Dorothy Wall brought impact off the bench, and Shiels forced another turnover penalty early on the restart. Méabh Deely stepped up to open the scoring.
Cronin quickly responded to make it three points apiece, only for 'Rock to exert more territorial dominance. Aoife Moore ripped possession back in a tackle and Mairead Holohan stole a lineout to keep Martin's charges playing in the right areas of the pitch.
They created numbers on the left in the 53rd minute, well-timed passes from Shiels and the hard-running Maeve Liston releasing full-back Deely to go over in the corner for the game's opening try. It went unconverted.
Bohs needed no second invitation after successive penalties landed them back into the Blackrock 22. Fiona Reidy did well to flick back maul possession, and Cronin ducked inside Hooban and evaded Holohan's clutches to make it eight-all from a few metres out.
After the out-half's difficult conversion from the left fell short, Blackrock swiftly retook the lead. Hannah O'Connor's strong counter ruck led to a penalty, and Bohs leaked another one before Claffey drove over with Maeve Óg O'Leary on the latch.
Deely's conversion came back off the left hand post, leaving just five points in it. Blackrock showed their experience to clinch the result, particularly at the breakdown where Shiels and Laura Feely both won penalties to pin Bohs back in their own half.
Meanwhile, Railway Union pulled clear in the second half to defeat Old Belvedere 34-19 at Park Avenue. It leaves John Cronin's well-drilled team just 80 minutes away from a famous All-Ireland League three in-a-row.
Railway signalled their intent with a barnstorming run up the left from Aimee Clarke, the home pack having an early crack at a try but Katie O'Dwyer was held up.
Belvedere starlet Dannah O'Brien soon cleared back towards halfway with a cracking kick. She followed up with a fine touchfinder from a penalty, and Rachel Murphy's short lineout throw sent prop Alice O'Dowd over for a try in the right corner.
O'Brien, the division's leading points scorer, increased her influence with an excellent conversion, 10 minutes in. It was her inviting pass that released Elise O'Byrne-White from halfway for 'Belvo's second try.
Clarke had too much space to cover, with the 'Belvo centre breezing past on the inside and she then shrugged off Lindsay Peat and Molly Scuffil-McCabe to finish off a superb solo score, making it 12-0.
Emma Tilly and Belvedere captain Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird both pilfered possession, the latter at a lineout, but Railway cut the gap to seven points when Scuffil-McCabe dummied to score out wide from Nikki Caughey's cross-field kick.
Caughey missed the conversion and O'Brien also sent a penalty wide, before 'Belvo built through the phases. Nic a Bhaird punched a hole in the defence and scrum half Katie Whelan expertly sniped from the ruck, dummying and then fending off Ailsa Hughes to raid in beside the posts.
Railway were under plenty of pressure now at 19-5 down, the straightforward conversion added by O'Brien. Crucially, they made inroads before half-time to whittle the visitors' lead down to just two points.
Successive penalties led to a well-worked maul try from Peat, which Caughey converted, and on the stroke of half-time, Sonia McDermott wrestled her way over following a great charge by her sister Aoife off a lineout.
Strong running from Peat and Hughes sent Belvedere back towards their own try-line, early in the second half. With Caughey moving the ball wide, nice footwork from Aoife Doyle took her over the whitewash to put the hosts in front.
Caughey nailed the tough conversion as well to open up a 24-19 advantage, but she was soon turned over by Niamh O'Dowd for the concession of a penalty. Railway skipper Niamh Byrne made sure to return the favour, as the breakdown became even more competitive.
Swedish international Minonna Nunstedt gave 'Belvo momentum with a slashing run deep into the Railway 22, only for the home defence to hold firm. Clarke also tidied up a dangerous cross-field kick from O'Brien.
Nic a Bhaird lifted her team-mates with a tremendous run off the back of a scrum, yet creating scoring chances was proving more difficult. Into the closing stages, the Ireland-capped Caughey floated over a penalty to keep the scoreboard moving in the right direction.
It was a run of 29 unanswered points in the end, Railway's aggressive defending paying off during the dying seconds when Peat, having just been part of a big scrum shove, was well supported as she drove in low to complete her brace.
After showing huge improvements of late, Wicklow will have a shot at silverware when they host Galwegians, last season's runners-up, in the Conference final next Saturday.
Wicklow impressed again with a 46-12 semi-final triumph over a Ballincollig side missing Heather Kennedy who is away in Dubai with the Ireland Sevens Development squad.
Well-taken scores from Ella Roberts and Meagan Parkinson bookended a first half which ended 27-0 in Wicklow's favour. Second row Rachel Griffey scored two of their eight tries on the day.
It was more of an even contest in the second half, 'Collig's fight-back capped by converted efforts from hard-working locks Denise Redmond and Sarah O'Donovan.
Last season's Conference champions Suttonians erased a 10-point deficit at Crowley Park with tries from Sophie Gibney and Janita Kareta. It took a late five-pointer from captain Nicole Fowley to send tenacious 'Wegians through as 15-10 victors.
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Fittingly, it was Blackrock's inspirational captain Michelle Claffey who crashed over in the 64th minute to set up a repeat of last season's decider in Donnybrook. UL Bohemians, whose only try saw Nicole Cronin jink over following a maul, really put it up to Blackrock in tricky, wet conditions at Stradbrook, but Ben Martin's table toppers triumphed 13-8. The young Bohs team blew an early maul opportunity, on the back of a dominant scrum. Jackie Shiels also lifted the pressure on the Blackrock defence with a turnover penalty in her own 22. The Red Robins meant business, their skipper Chloe Pearse bulldozing Tatum Bird out of the way with Kate Sheehan and Eva McCormack also prominent. Ella Durkan gained consistent yards for Blackrock from deep, but neither try-line was threatened.
Indeed, the first half finished scoreless despite Brianna Heylmann growing in influence for Niamh Briggs' side as a powerful midfield carrier. Vice-captain Cronin threatened with a chip and collect, but Blackrock did well in scrambling back.
'Rock began to get to grips with proceedings, amid a heavy rain show approaching half-time. Emma Hooban and the returning Dorothy Wall brought impact off the bench, and Shiels forced another turnover penalty early on the restart. Méabh Deely stepped up to open the scoring.
Cronin quickly responded to make it three points apiece, only for 'Rock to exert more territorial dominance. Aoife Moore ripped possession back in a tackle and Mairead Holohan stole a lineout to keep Martin's charges playing in the right areas of the pitch.
They created numbers on the left in the 53rd minute, well-timed passes from Shiels and the hard-running Maeve Liston releasing full-back Deely to go over in the corner for the game's opening try. It went unconverted.
Bohs needed no second invitation after successive penalties landed them back into the Blackrock 22. Fiona Reidy did well to flick back maul possession, and Cronin ducked inside Hooban and evaded Holohan's clutches to make it eight-all from a few metres out.
After the out-half's difficult conversion from the left fell short, Blackrock swiftly retook the lead. Hannah O'Connor's strong counter ruck led to a penalty, and Bohs leaked another one before Claffey drove over with Maeve Óg O'Leary on the latch.
Deely's conversion came back off the left hand post, leaving just five points in it. Blackrock showed their experience to clinch the result, particularly at the breakdown where Shiels and Laura Feely both won penalties to pin Bohs back in their own half.
Meanwhile, Railway Union pulled clear in the second half to defeat Old Belvedere 34-19 at Park Avenue. It leaves John Cronin's well-drilled team just 80 minutes away from a famous All-Ireland League three in-a-row.
Railway signalled their intent with a barnstorming run up the left from Aimee Clarke, the home pack having an early crack at a try but Katie O'Dwyer was held up.
Belvedere starlet Dannah O'Brien soon cleared back towards halfway with a cracking kick. She followed up with a fine touchfinder from a penalty, and Rachel Murphy's short lineout throw sent prop Alice O'Dowd over for a try in the right corner.
O'Brien, the division's leading points scorer, increased her influence with an excellent conversion, 10 minutes in. It was her inviting pass that released Elise O'Byrne-White from halfway for 'Belvo's second try.
Clarke had too much space to cover, with the 'Belvo centre breezing past on the inside and she then shrugged off Lindsay Peat and Molly Scuffil-McCabe to finish off a superb solo score, making it 12-0.
Emma Tilly and Belvedere captain Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird both pilfered possession, the latter at a lineout, but Railway cut the gap to seven points when Scuffil-McCabe dummied to score out wide from Nikki Caughey's cross-field kick.
Caughey missed the conversion and O'Brien also sent a penalty wide, before 'Belvo built through the phases. Nic a Bhaird punched a hole in the defence and scrum half Katie Whelan expertly sniped from the ruck, dummying and then fending off Ailsa Hughes to raid in beside the posts.
Railway were under plenty of pressure now at 19-5 down, the straightforward conversion added by O'Brien. Crucially, they made inroads before half-time to whittle the visitors' lead down to just two points.
Successive penalties led to a well-worked maul try from Peat, which Caughey converted, and on the stroke of half-time, Sonia McDermott wrestled her way over following a great charge by her sister Aoife off a lineout.
Strong running from Peat and Hughes sent Belvedere back towards their own try-line, early in the second half. With Caughey moving the ball wide, nice footwork from Aoife Doyle took her over the whitewash to put the hosts in front.
Caughey nailed the tough conversion as well to open up a 24-19 advantage, but she was soon turned over by Niamh O'Dowd for the concession of a penalty. Railway skipper Niamh Byrne made sure to return the favour, as the breakdown became even more competitive.
Swedish international Minonna Nunstedt gave 'Belvo momentum with a slashing run deep into the Railway 22, only for the home defence to hold firm. Clarke also tidied up a dangerous cross-field kick from O'Brien.
Nic a Bhaird lifted her team-mates with a tremendous run off the back of a scrum, yet creating scoring chances was proving more difficult. Into the closing stages, the Ireland-capped Caughey floated over a penalty to keep the scoreboard moving in the right direction.
It was a run of 29 unanswered points in the end, Railway's aggressive defending paying off during the dying seconds when Peat, having just been part of a big scrum shove, was well supported as she drove in low to complete her brace.
After showing huge improvements of late, Wicklow will have a shot at silverware when they host Galwegians, last season's runners-up, in the Conference final next Saturday.
Wicklow impressed again with a 46-12 semi-final triumph over a Ballincollig side missing Heather Kennedy who is away in Dubai with the Ireland Sevens Development squad.
Well-taken scores from Ella Roberts and Meagan Parkinson bookended a first half which ended 27-0 in Wicklow's favour. Second row Rachel Griffey scored two of their eight tries on the day.
It was more of an even contest in the second half, 'Collig's fight-back capped by converted efforts from hard-working locks Denise Redmond and Sarah O'Donovan.
Last season's Conference champions Suttonians erased a 10-point deficit at Crowley Park with tries from Sophie Gibney and Janita Kareta. It took a late five-pointer from captain Nicole Fowley to send tenacious 'Wegians through as 15-10 victors.