Portlaoise 38
Tallaght Women 12
Tries: Eilleen Shanahan 2
Conversion: Abbie Keeley
Sunday, 29th March, 2026
Division 5/6 Cup
Togher
Tallaght women took on Portlaoise in the Division 5/6 Cup.
Tallaght had only ten players, the absolute minimum to be able to play. The conditions were tough too with wind and constant freezing rain. Portlaoise scored the opening try to lead 5-0. They looked to have scored another try to increase their lead but it was disallowed by the referee for a forward pass.
Then Tallaght hit back when Louise Leonard Flood kicked the ball ahead and Eileen Shanahan showed great pace to kick it on and then touch the ball down for a try to make it 5-5. But the Portlaoise out-half scored a try from a quick tap which they converted to make the halftime score 12-5 to the home team.
In the second half Tallaght competed gamely. The indomitable Martina Fitzpatrick couldn’t run due to an ankle injury but with no subs on the bench she bravely stayed on the field. Louise Leonard Flood showed her footballing skills when she flicked up a low pass with her heel and reclaimed it. It would have been excellent on a dry day but was outstanding in such dreary conditions. Leonard was involved against when she kicked on a ball and once against Eileen Shanahan showed great pace to kick it on and score a try that was almost a carbon copy of her first try. Abbie Keeley kicked the conversion to make it 12 points each.
Unfortunately that was as good as it got for Tallaght. Portlaoise has replacements to bring on and the fresh legs made the difference. They ran in four tries in the last fifteen minutes of the game and converted three of them to make the final score 38-12 to Portlaoise.
Stand-in coach Ken McGovern was proud of his player’s effort in tough circumstances. “We’d only ten players but we showed up and competed well for three quarters of the match. Unfortunately the numbers told in the end, especially with Martina basically playing on one leg. But because we fielded a side we now go into the Plate so a huge thanks to the players for coming out.”
Player of the match: Martina Fitzpatrick
Tallaght RFC
- Martina Fitzpatrick
- Samantha Ledden
- Ellen Kelly
- Adriana Silvela
- Lorraine McManus
- Louise Leonard Flood
- Clodagh Cullagh
- Eileen Shanahan
- Abbie Keeley
- Mayara Santos