The Fermanagh GAA Ladies squad was honoured at a council reception recently after their All-Ireland Junior Championship win this year.

Councillor John McClaughry, chairman of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, hosted the event for the team. Councillor McClaughry said: “Your journey in the Ladies Junior Championship started with matches against Carlow, Sligo and Derry (Londonderry) which you won.  

"This guaranteed you a top-place ranking and qualification for the semi-finals.

"However, you had one more match against London in which you didn’t hold back and you had a significant win with a scoreline of eight goals 17 points to one goal and three points.

“The semi-final saw you take on Limerick and I understand this was a very close match with the lead changing a few times.  

"Your determination and talent along with a good strong defence shone through as you won with a two-point lead and a place in the Final.

“On 04 August 2024, all roads led to Croke Park for the final where your opponents were Louth.  

"You had a strong start with Eimear Smyth scoring a goal after ten minutes. I understand you went five points clear on two occasions in the first half and at halftime, the difference was just three points.

“This is the third time you have won the title and the first time since 2020. I believe that with three wins and two runner-up positions, you are joint second in the overall winner's table.

“It would be remiss of me not to mention Eimear Smyth who was the Player of the Final with one goal and nine points scored and you also deservedly won the Gold Boat having scored seven goals and 39 points throughout the Championship.

“I would also like to commend the six players who made the TG4 Team of the Championship. This shows the talent and high level of performance you displayed throughout the tournament.”

Councillor McClaughry also paid tribute to manager CJ McGourty and the squad, as a whole, on the achievement.

He added: “I would like to commend Manager CJ McGourty on how you have coached and trained the team to enable them to enjoy this level of success.

“I would like to commend each and every player on your success and your commitment to the team with many hours of training for each of the matches.

"This will have undoubtedly resulted in you having to make sacrifices along the way, however, I hope this momentous occasion will go some way to compensate for this.”