With the height of respect to Cork’s Catriona Casey and Aishling O’Keeffe, one of the greatest doubles pairs the sport has produced in 4-wall and softball, the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Doubles final had the feeling of a changing of the guard to some degree.
Galway’s Ciana Ní Churraoin and Niamh Heffernan lost the final to the Rebels in 2023 in an agonising 11-10 tiebreaker; last year, when the match went to a third and deciding set, they made no mistake, winning 11-0 to claim their maiden senior title together and, in the case of Ní Churraoin, her second Celtic Cross at senior level in the 4-Wall code.
Unfortunately, due to injuries and family commitments, the brilliant Cork pair were not in the field this year but Galway, seeded number one, would have been fancied by many to retain their crown in any case. They took on the novel Wexford-Wicklow duo of Holly Hynes and Patricia Byrne in the semi-final and after a sticky first game, the Galwegians found their groove in game two with a commanding 21-4 win.
“I feel like they started quite strong, we hadn't played them before, they're a good pairing, they're well-matched,” commented world champion Ní Churraoin.
“We were maybe a little bit scattered at the start of the game but we kind of gradually got into it. And to be fair to them they kept pushing, especially in the first game, but in the second game we definitely a bit more settled and felt more comfortable in there.”
Claregalway right-hander Heffernan (above) agreed.
“I suppose the second game was a lot better than the first and when we settled down and got our serves going, we were probably getting a few set-ups and we were putting them away. The girls are well matched and it was definitely a tough game,” she said.
Asked about their approach to this championship and the upcoming final against an in-form Tyrone, Ní Churraoin, a sports psychologist by trade, explained that they always set high goals and won’t deviate from the plan.
“I think it's been the same, we've played together for the last three years and we have been quite successful even though we haven't won a championship every year. But our mentality is always that we're here to perform our best and our goal is always to win the All-Ireland or win the Worlds.
“Obviously, that doesn't always go the way you want but that's always what we're striving towards at the start of the season.”
Watch the semi-finals on Spórt TG4 here: