Table Toppers Clontarf Take Home Fourth #EnergiaAIL Title

ENERGIA ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE MEN’S DIVISION 1A FINAL:

Sunday, April 27 –

CLONTARF 22 CORK CONSTITUTION 21, Aviva Stadium
Scorers: Clontarf: Tries: Hugh Cooney, Dylan Donnellan, Connor Fahy; Cons: Conor Kelly 2; Pen: Conor Kelly
Cork Constitution: Tries: Sean French, Adam Maher, Jacob Sheahan; Cons: James Taylor 3
HT: Clontarf 12 Cork Constitution 14

Carbery was a Leinster Academy player when he steered Clontarf to their second Energia All-Ireland League title, and the 21-year-old Cooney followed suit with a player-of-the-match performance today that saw him score a try, save one, and supply two try assists.

A 74th-minute converted score from Connor Fahy, Cooney’s 20-year-old centre partner, was just enough to get Clontarf over the finish line, despite Cork Constitution replying through replacement Jacob Sheahan with three minutes left.

It is a fourth Division 1A crown for Andy Wood’s men, and their first since 2022. With Cork Con missing out on retaining the top flight trophy, Shannon remain the last team to go back-to-back in the mid-2000s.

James Taylor, the player-of-the-match in last year’s final, converted tries from Sean French (27 minutes) and Adam Maher (38) as Cork Con twice came from behind to lead 14-12 at half-time.

Armed with the vast majority of the possession and territory, Clontarf should have been in front but Conor Kelly, the division’s top points scorer, uncharacteristically missed two penalty attempts and pulled a conversion wide.

The talismanic Cooney crossed and set up Clontarf captain Dylan Donnellan’s 15th try of the season. The table toppers failed to take advantage of Ronán O’Sullvan’s sin-binning, but Kelly was back on target with a 46th-minute penalty.

It remained 15-14 to ‘Tarf with Taylor and Kelly both missing penalties, before Wexford youngster Fahy, in his first year at the club, stormed over for a cracking try which Kelly converted, putting eight points in it.

Sheahan rallied Cork Con by bursting over off a lineout maul, with Taylor’s crisp conversion restoring the one-point gap. However, lively replacement Oran Walsh came up with a late turnover to seal a famous All-Ireland senior and Under-20 double for ‘Tarf.

Peter Maher had plucked down Kelly’s kick-off, pointing the way for Clontarf, who had watched their U-20s win the Fraser McMullen Cup just recently. A couple of penalties saw Cork Con advance downfield, but they misfired with their first maul attempt.

Kelly nudged a central penalty wide in the 12th minute, and despite Australian John Vinson thundering pasy three tackles on a tremendous burst, Donnellan was brilliantly held up by George Coomber after being put through by Cooney.

Con’s Matthew Bowen made headway but his pass was intercepted by Callum Smith, and this cagey decider remained scoreless when Kelly failed to punish a penalty conceded by O’Sullivan at the breakdown.

The breakthrough finally came in the 22nd minute, with Clontarf using a maul to attack infield and then back to the left. Current Ireland U-20 international Fahy had a cut before Cooney stretched out of a David Hyland tackle to score. Kelly slid the conversion wide.

Jonny Holland’s side did not take long to response. They tested ‘Tarf’s defence for the first time, building from Jack Kelleher’s turnover penalty with a maul and than a set of clinical phases which ended with French crashing over past two defenders. Taylor converted.

Con’s 7-5 lead was erased just past the half-hour mark, as the north Dubliners knitted together some sharp phases, and well-timed offloads from Fahy and Cooney led to their second try.

They went the direct route with their carries, Cooney wriggling through before offloading for the powerful Donnellan to get over despite O’Sullivan’s tackle. A forward pass was ruled out, and Kelly’s extras gave his side a five-point advantage.

Once more, Constitution came up with a quick-fire reply. A couple of knock-ons from ‘Tarf gave the title holders precious field position and they capitalised on it, Taylor and Bowen gaining ground before Maher sniped over from a ruck for Taylor to convert.

The try scorer got the defensive plaudits following a late Clontarf onslaught. Con flanker O’Sullvan saw yellow for coming in at the side of a maul, but his team-mates held out, Maher’s presence just enough to force an important knock-on from Donnellan.

Having come on for the injured Vinson, Walsh was in the thick of the action early on the restart. His flying tackle on Bowen led to a penalty. French then went too high on Fahy, allowing Kelly to kick ‘Tarf in front at 15-14.

Hyland and Kelleher thwarted the ‘Tarf lineout, either side of a well-won Walsh turnover penalty. Donnellan was first in at the breakdown to break up some Con momentum, which had come from a scrum penalty and good carries from Niall Kenneally and Kelleher.

Wood’s charges regained some lost metres with a couple of penalties, including one at scrum time, but they had Cooney to thank for saving a certain try. Maher pinched possession and hared past halfway, destined for the left corner until Cooney chopped him down a few metres short.

Taylor did not get his usual good connection with a 62nd-minute penalty effort, dropping it short after Kenneally had been tackled early by Fahy. Con got back on the front foot thanks to deft work from Bowen and Coomber down the left wing.

‘Tarf almost conjured an opportunist try with a quarter of an hour remaining, with Fahy getting his boot to the ball after a Con attack had broken down. Peter Maher raced downfield in pursuit, hacking on at halfway but knocking on outside the opposition 22, with French his only chaser.

Even with Con picking up a scrum penalty, the screw was turning in Clontarf’s favour with Cooney getting a decision at the breakdown, and then a Con maul was brought to ground close to their own 22.

Kelly’s goal-kicking radar was slightly off again following a scrum penalty, but it was his precise short pass which put Cooney through a hole in the Con defence, leading to ‘Tarf’s third and final try.

Cooney surged up to Con’s 10-metre line, linking with the excellent Fahy who had the pace to stay clear of both Coomber and Kenneally. His quick feet allowed him to step inside Bowen to score to the right of the posts.

Kelly’s conversion looked to have given ‘Tarf enough of a lead to see out the result, yet Con were not done yet. Another scrum penalty put them in position near the right corner, and Danny Sheahan’s lineout delivery ended up with his cousin Jacob who was unstoppable from close range.

Taylor split the posts to tee up a nerve-jangling finish, but the Leesiders could not break back out of their own half. Clontarf closed out the game on their terms, with the long limbs of Walsh, their U-20 Player of the Year in 2023, clawing the ball back in decisive fashion.

TIME LINE: 12 minutes – Clontarf penalty: missed by Conor Kelly – 0-0; 20 mins – Clontarf penalty: missed by Conor Kelly – 0-0; 22 mins – Clontarf try: Hugh Cooney – 5-0; conversion: missed by Conor Kelly – 5-0; 27 mins – Cork Constitution try: Sean French – 5-5; conversion: James Taylor – 5-7; 33 mins – Clontarf try: Dylan Donnellan – 10-7; conversion: Conor Kelly – 12-7; 38 mins – Cork Constitution try: Adam Maher – 12-12; conversion: James Taylor – 12-14; 40+2 mins – Cork Constitution yellow card: Ronán O’Sullvan; Half-time – Clontarf 12 Cork Constitution 14; 46 mins – Clontarf penalty: Conor Kelly – 15-14; 62 mins – Cork Constitution penalty: missed by James Taylor – 15-14; 73 minutes – Clontarf penalty: missed by Conor Kelly – 15-14; 74 mins – Clontarf try: Connor Fahy – 20-14; conversion: Conor Kelly – 22-14; 77 mins – Cork Constitution try: Jacob Sheahan – 22-19; conversion: James Taylor – 22-21; Full-time – Clontarf 22 Cork Constitution 21

CLONTARF: Tadhg Bird; Andrew Smith, Hugh Cooney, Connor Fahy, Peter Maher; Conor Kelly, Sam Owens; Charlie Ward, Dylan Donnellan (capt), Ben Griffin, Fionn Gilbert, Jim Peters, Callum Smith, Aaron Coleman, John Vinson.

Replacements: Declan Adamson, Conor Bateman, Luke Brady, Will Reilly, Stephen Ryan, James Conroy, Oran Walsh, Alvin Amaniampong.

CORK CONSTITUTION: George Coomber; Daniel Hurley, Sean French, Niall Kenneally, Matthew Bowen; James Taylor, Adam Maher; Mark Donnelly, Billy Scannell, Luke Masters, Sean Duffy, John Forde, Jack Kelleher, Ronán O’Sullvan, David Hyland (capt).

Replacements: Danny Sheahan, David Good, Charlie Connolly, Eoin Quilter, Jacob Sheahan, Louis Kahn, Eoghan Smyth, Rob Jermyn.

Referee: Keane Davison (IRFU)