Bríanna Mathers and the Shane O'Neills on celebrating their first ever Armagh senior title
Armagh goalkeeper Brianna Mathers in action against Dublin during the Lidl LGFA National League Division 1 match ©McShane/Sportsfile
By Daire Walsh
It was a case of ‘first time’s a charm’ for goalkeeper Bríanna Mathers and Shane O’Neills at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds on September 26 as the debut finalists from Camloch made an historic breakthrough against Crossmaglen Rangers in the Armagh senior football championship.
Thanks in no small part to a 1-12 haul from current TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year nominee Aimee Mackin (who previously won the award back in 2020), Shane O’Neills dismissed any notion of big day jitters by recording a 2-18 to 0-10 victory. Crossmaglen had convincingly overcome Shane O’Neills at the quarter-final stage before making it all the way to last year’s showpiece, but Mathers and her team-mates dug deep to ensure they claimed top senior honours in the Orchard County.
Shane O’Neills had come under some pressure in the opening period when Mackin’s sister Blaithín spent 10 minutes in the sin bin, but the longer the game wore on, the more their character shone through.
“That was our first ever senior final. The girls won intermediate 10 years ago, but I was 14, so I actually wasn’t on the panel. They went on to win Ulster as well and get to the All-Ireland final. This was our first ever senior final. To be in your first final and win it is great,” Mathers acknowledged.
“I suppose whenever Blaithín went off for the 10 minutes, we were probably just conscious of keeping in the game and we did. I think Cross only ever really drew with us and I think once she came back on, we really all pushed as a team. Kept playing until the final whistle.
“I think this is the first year in about five or six years that we’ve had a full panel. Due to injuries and other girls’ commitments. At the start of the year we really gathered ourselves up and said ‘this is definitely our year’. We took our chance and it worked.”
As Mathers mentioned above, Shane O’Neills achieved county final success a decade ago by winning at the intermediate grade.
This was followed up by an Ulster IFC triumph, before Shane O’Neills lost out narrowly to Galway’s Annaghdown in the AIB All-Ireland intermediate club football championship final at Parnell Park on December 4, 2016. Even though she was still working her way up through the juvenile ranks of the club at that point, Mathers lent a helping hand during their memorable journey to a national decider and was inspired to push on her own game as a result.
“I was water girl for the Ulster and then I remember for the All-Ireland final in Parnell Park, I was water girl for it as well. They were unfortunate that day. I think all any player wants is to win a county championship with their club. To be able to have done that is great.”
Up to that stage in her football development, Mathers was more accustomed to being selected as a forward. It wasn’t until her later teenage years that she started to make the transition to being a netminder and while she had returned to an outfield role with Shane O’Neills in recent seasons, 2026 has seen her back between the sticks.
“I played forward right up until I was probably 15, 16. Then I was put in goals at 16. To be honest, didn’t really like it at the start. The last two championships actually for the club, I played full-forward.
“I suppose this year I really said I’m going to try and be nets, see how it goes. It worked out well because you’d the two Mackins coming back in. They didn’t need me outfield!”
In addition to being crowned as the top team in Armagh, last month’s final win over Crossmaglen also means Shane O’Neills will compete in the Ulster LGFA senior club football championship for the very first time.
Their arrival onto the provincial scene has coincided with a brand-new format for the competition in the north with teams now placed into three groups of three rather than traditional knockout games.
That means Shane O’Neills will begin their Ulster campaign away to Knockbride of Cavan tomorrow, before welcoming Derry’s Steelstown to their home patch on October 25. Given Knockbride have already recorded a victory against Steelstown, the Camloch outfit will be looking to hit the ground running this weekend.
“It’s great. I’ve never played in an Ulster club campaign. It’s really exciting because you don’t know what to expect, but you’re playing the best of the best. You know it’s going to be good quality games.
“This is the first year I think they’ve done the group games. We’ll be wanting to get a win this Sunday. It sets you up better for the week after.”
If Shane O’Neills were to follow in the footsteps of Lurgan’s Clann Eireann (winners in 2023 and 2024) and secure an Ulster senior club title, it could be a nice bonus in what has already been a memorable year all round for Mathers.
After being on the panel for a number of years as an understudy to Anna Carr, this season saw Mathers establishing herself as the first-choice goalkeeper for Armagh at inter-county level.
Starting in 13 of the 14 competitive fixtures they played in 2026, she helped the Orchard to preserve their Lidl National Football League Division 1 status, win the TG4 Ulster senior football championship and reach the semi-final stage of the TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship.
Even allowing for the fact their summer campaign ended in a last-four defeat to eventual winners Galway, it was a massive year for Mathers with Armagh. Thanks to the high quality of her performances as the last line of defence, she recently earned nominations for an Irish News Ulster All-Star and a TG4 All-Star.
“This was my first full year starting with Armagh. The league, we were happy to stay in Division One and then it’s good to win another Ulster. The All-Ireland campaign was good until we got to the semi-final. It was a tough day out against Galway,” Mathers added.
“Especially after just my first year being in, to get recognised is nice. To see the hard work is paying off.”
