Dublin 2-12
Kildare 2-6

by Daire Walsh

Late goals from Niamh Crowley and Caoimhe O’Connor made all the difference at Croke Park on Sunday afternoon as Dublin secured their 13th consecutive TG4 Leinster senior football championship title at the expense of a determined Kildare outfit.

Hoping for a repeat of their round robin victory over the Lilies at nearby Parnell Park a fortnight ago, Dublin raced two points clear during the early stages with well-worked scores from Orlagh Nolan and full-forward Laura Grendon.

Yet Kildare were eager to make an impression on their first appearance in a Leinster senior decider since 2009 and edged in front by the 11th minute courtesy of unanswered efforts from Aoife Rattigan (two) and team captain Laoise Lenehan.

Pat Sullivan’s charges remained in the ascendancy after Michelle Davoren and Lara Curran traded scores at the end of the first-quarter. Rattigan also kicked a third point to cancel out Annabelle Timothy at the opposite end, before Dublin turned the tables on their opponents with successive white flag contributions from Grendon, Davoren and Nolan (free).

While there was a set-back for the Jackies when Kildare corner-forward Alannah Prizeman superbly fired a shot to the net on 27 minutes, quickfire points from O’Connor and Nolan ultimately guided them towards a 0-9 to 1-5 interval lead.

A torrential downpour of rain made life difficult for both teams at the very beginning of the second half, but Kildare eventually levelled terms once again when substitute Aoife Murnane kicked an excellent point at a tight left-hand angle in the 38th minute.

Nolan (with another free) and Grendon both found the range to give Dublin a 0-11 to 1-6 cushion moving into the closing quarter, but Kildare were dreaming of a breakthrough provincial success when Murnane drilled a magnificent strike into the top right-hand corner of the Dublin net on the stroke of 50 minutes.

CONGRATS to Orlagh Nolan the @SportTG4 Leinster Final Player of the Match 🙌🏻

Image credit @MauriceGrehan #DublinLGFA #COYGIB #UpTheDubs pic.twitter.com/UkYP4nSQgH

— DublinLGFA (@dublinladiesg) May 17, 2026

This suddenly threw down the gauntlet to the Jackies, but following a swift equaliser from the influential Nolan, Niamh Crowley (named at right corner-back for this encounter) squeezed a 54th minute effort past Fennin for a hard-earned Dublin goal.

O’Connor also raised a green flag for the fired-up Jackies roughly 60 seconds later and this was enough to ensure the reigning TG4 All-Ireland senior football champions held onto their Leinster crown for at least another year.

Scorers – Dublin: O Nolan 0-5 (3f), C O’Connor 1-1, N Crowley 1-0, L Grendon 0-3, M Davoren 0-2, A Timothy 0-1.

Kildare: A Murnane 1-1, A Prizeman 1-0, A Rattigan 0-3, L Curran, L Lenehan 0-1 each.

DUBLIN: A Shiels; N Crowley, L Caffrey, H Leahy; S McIntyre, L Magee, H McGinnis; N Hetherton, R Hartnett; A Timothy, O Nolan, K Donaghy; M Davoren, L Grendon, C O’Connor. Subs: E Kearney for Donaghy (26), J Egan for Timothy (51), C Coffey for Hartnett (56), A Curran for Davoren (58).

KILDARE: R Fennin; A Mernagh, E Wheeler, L Shaw; H McLoughlin, R Sargent, L Lenehan; N Murphy, G Wheeler; L Curran, J Harney, M Aspel; A Rattigan, M Doyle, A Prizeman. Subs: A Cahill for Aspel, A Murnane for Harney (both 36), C Wheeler for Doyle (45), M McDonagh for Curran (56).

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