Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, the Raharney camogs retained their senior crown following an emphatic victory over Lough Lene Gaels. The Gaels gained some consolation when they became the first winners of the new intermediate league, while Brownstown ended a 20-year wait to claim the junior championship spoils. Raharney achieved what has rarely been done before by winning both the senior hurling and camogie championships in 2008. Following years of St. Munna's dominance, Raharney have emerged as the new force in Westmeath camogie after winning their second successive senior title last September. And they did so in hugely convincing fashion, making light of the appalling weather conditions to trump Lough Lene Gaels by 3-11 to 0-3. Torrential rain resulted in the final being switched from Cusack Park to St. Loman's Lakepoint Park at the last minute. From the off, Raharney were in the driving seat and the game was as good as over at half-time when they held a commanding 2-9 to 0-3 lead. As the conditions deteriorated and fading light also became an issue, the scores dried up in the second half, though the outstanding Pamela Greville added two points and Nicola Morley pounced for a third goal. In their respective semi-finals, Raharney had defeated St. Munna's while Lough Lene Gaels proved too strong for Cullion. That paved the way for the final on Friday, September 6 which many expected to be a close affair. But those who braved the elements witnessed a one-sided affair, and could only admire the skills of the Greville sisters, Pamela and Sandra, and Fiona Leavy to name but three, who met with feeble resistance from the Collinstown girls. Backed by a strong wind in the first half, it didn't take the Deelsiders long to stamp their authority on proceedings. Pamela Greville made an instant impact by notching up 1-3 inside the first seven minutes. Her goal arrived in the sixth minute after good approach play by Fiona Leavy. Joanne Walsh opened Lough Lene Gaels' account from a free in the ninth minute before Aisling Doyle and Leavy combined to set up Helen Weir for Raharney's fourth point. The game was effectively ended as a contest on the quarter-hour mark when Nicola Morley raised Raharney's second green flag to give them a nine-point lead. Walsh, from another free, registered the Gaels' second point in the 17th minute, but the girls in blue continue to dominate and added a further five points before the break per Pamela Greville (two), Aisling Doyle (two) and Nicola Doyle. Sheila Carroll had a point in reply for the Gaels in the 22nd minute, but despite playing with the elements in the second half, they would not score again. Whatever hopes they had of staging a comeback were well and truly dashed a minute after the restart when Morley grabbed her second goal. The Gaels attempted to freshen things up by introducing Ciara Cosgrove and Joanne Williams, but the changes failed to have the desired effect as Raharney comfortably contained their opponents. Pamela Greville tagged on two more points to bring her tally to 1-7 for the evening, and before the end, Karina Lynch, Jean Flanagan, Ciara Jordan and Colleen Gill all entered the fray as the Raharney celebrations began in earnest. The Deelsiders subsequently defeated Kildare champions St. Laurence's 2-7 to 1-7 in the Leinster intermediate club championship (Karina Lynch scored both of the winners' goals) before going under to Harps of Laois by 0-7 to 0-13 in the next round. There was certainly no shame in losing to Harps who went on to claim their third All-Ireland title in-a-row. In the junior final, which took place six days after the senior decider and in far better conditions at St. Loman's, Brownstown bridged a 20-year gap when two late goals clinched a dramatic 4-5 to 4-1 victory over Crookedwood. Player of the match Louise O'Connor scored the Archerstown club's all-important fourth goal deep into injury-time, just moments after her colleague and full back Joan Leonard had made a vital clearance as the 'Wood went in search of an equaliser at the other end. Unlike its senior equivalent, the junior final was competitive throughout. Brownstown captain Leigh Molloy gave her side a dream start when she goaled early on, but Crookedwood were back on level terms by the 17th minute thanks to a similar score from Susan Boyhan. Julie Anne Corrigan restored Brownstown's lead from a free before Teagan O'Toole scored their second goal in the 22nd minute. Orla Leonard put five points between the sides before a Muireann Scally free and a goal from substitute Geraldine Corcoran left the 'Wood just two points adrift at the interval, 2-1 to 2-3. After an early pointed free by Leonard had opened up a three-point lead for Brownstown, an Aine Boyhan goal tied the scores in the 34th minute. Crookedwood then put themselves in a winning position when Elaine Shaw scored their fourth goal, but despite having plenty of possession, they failed to close out the match by hitting a succession of wides. Orla Leonard kept the Archerstown Blues in touch with her fifth point before they regained the lead six minutes from the end thanks to a Rachel Smith goal from close range. And then in injury-time, Louise O'Connor soloed her way through the heart of the 'Wood defence before smashing the sliothar to the net to end Brownstown's long wait for junior honours. A new 13-a-side intermediate league was introduced last year in place of the senior 'B' championship. Nine clubs entered, with senior clubs having to name six of their strongest players who could not play in the new competition. Junior clubs, on the other hand, were allowed to play their strongest side. The final was a repeat of the senior decider with Lough Lene Gaels winning out on this occasion by 4-3 to 3-2. In an earlier meeting, Raharney had triumphed 3-2 to 0-8, so revenge was certainly sweet for the Collinstown girls. Both teams qualified from the same group for the semi-finals where they accounted for St. Munna's and Drumraney respectively. The Deelsiders held a slender 2-1 to 2-0 lead at half-time, having twice trailed by three-point margins during the opening half. The Gaels restored parity inside the first minute of the second half through a Ciara Cosgrove point before Michelle Murtagh scored 1-1 to put them in the driving seat. However, Raharney immediately responded with a goal from substitute Grainne Lynch to leave the minimum in it. But Lough Lene Gaels were not to be denied and they made sure of victory when Murtagh sent a dipping shot to the right corner of the Raharney net for their fourth goal. At the time of writing, the minor final between Lough Lene Gaels and Brownstown hadn't been played. The Gaels completed a three-in-a-row of under 16 successes when they overpowered St. Munna's 4-9 to 1-0 in the final on September 20 last. There were three finals in the under 14 grade with Lough Lene Gaels taking the 'A' title following a 3-4 to 1-0 victory over Crookedwood at Cusack Park. Their goal-scorers were Aoife Cooney, Nicola Fagan and Aoife Gallagher. In the 'B' final, Rebecca Smith scored 3-1 as Raharney defeated St. Munna's 4-2 to 1-0. The 'C' final saw a Castletown-Geoghegan victory over Drumraney. No fewer than six finals took place at under 12 level. Raharney beat Lough Lene Gaels by a point in the 'A' final, Delvin defeated Crookedwood in the 'B' final, while Drumraney were victors over Castletown-Geoghegan in the 'C' final. St. Munna's beat Ringtown in the 'D' final, Clonkill overcame Cullion in the 'E' decider, while the 'F' spoils went to Brownstown, who beat St. Oliver Plunkett's. There were also finals aplenty in the under 10 grade, with the main winners being Castletown-Geoghegan, who defeated Raharney in the 'A' final, and St. Munna's, who got the better of Lough Lene Gaels in the 'B' decider. Lough Lene Gaels were crowned Feile champions for a fifth year in-a-row following their 5-3 to 2-0 victory over Crookedwood in the final. They went on to compete in Division 3 of the All-Ireland Feile na nGael finals which were jointly hosted by Laois and Offaly, and had wins over local sides Birr and Drumcullen as well as Kildare champions Celbridge before losing the semi-final to Harps of Laois. At inter-county level, 2008 was a disappointing year for the Westmeath junior camogie team who this year will ply their trade in Division 4 of the National League under new manager Martin Craig from Ringtown. The Raharney team which retained the senior camogie championship was: Yvonne McKeogh; Olive Weir, Sandra Greville, Jacinta Goonery; Andreanna Doyle, Liz Shaw, Carol Finch; Elaine Finn, Helen Weir; Aisling Doyle, Lisa Burke, Fiona Leavy; Amy Dunne, Nicola Morley, Pamela Greville. Subs used: Sarah Weir, Karina Lynch, Jean Flanagan, Ciara Jordan and Colleen Gill. Brownstown's junior championship winning team was: Gemma Cooke; Alison McCormack, Joan Leonard, Louise O'Reilly; Grace Mulvaney, Una Leonard, Leighanne Dillon; Maria Smith, Eimear Daly; Julie-Anne Corrigan, Orla Leonard, Louise O'Connor; Rachel Smith, Teagan O'Toole, Leigh Molloy. Subs used: Paula Moore and Cliodhna Barrett. The Lough Lene Gaels team that won the first ever intermediate league title was: Alma Hayden; Jeanette McCormack, Sinead Lynch; Corina Murtagh, Sinead Sheridan, Laura Reilly; Elizabeth Hannon, Aoife Higgins; Shauna Briody, Michelle Murtagh, Niamh Lynch; Breege Dobson, Ciara Cosgrove. Tweet

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