Ladies: Galway cruise past Mayo into All-Ireland semi-finals
July 05, 2026
Lynsey Noone of Galway in action against Aoife Staunton of Mayo during the LGFA TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final at Tuam Stadium in Tuam, Galway. Photo by Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile
Galway 2-20
Mayo 1-6
by Eanna O’Reilly
Galway booked their place in the All-Ireland semi-final and a showdown with Armagh, after a comprehensive seventeen point victory over neighbours Mayo in the TG4 All-Ireland quarter final in Tuam Stadium on Sunday evening.
A very even opening half saw the sides go in level at the break on a 0-6 to 1-3 scoreline with Mayo having played with the wind. Mayo’s Aoife Staunton opened the scoring for the visitors with a point, before the home side scored three on the bounce. Olivia Divilly (two, one free) and Kate Slevin got the scoreboard ticking for the Tribeswomen.
Lisa Cafferky kept Mayo in touch with a converted free, before Niamh Divilly sent over an impressive point over her shoulder. A Sinéad Cafferky free reduced the margin to one before Mayo struck for the game’s first goal.
A short Galway kickout went astray before Mayo worked the ball to Sinéad Walsh, who fired to the net. Frees from Róisín Leonard and Olivia Divilly had Galway level by half-time, while Mayo also lost Hannah Reape to a sin bin shortly before the interval.
Playing with the aid of the wind in the second half, the home side wasted little time in asserting themselves as they hit 1-6 without reply. Kate Thompson (0-3, one two-pointer), Slevin (0-2), and Olivia Divilly landed good scores, while Slevin finished a goal from close range after a Mayo kickout went astray.
The visitors replied with two pointed frees from Staunton before Eva Noone brought Galway’s tally to 1-13 with an impressive effort. Lisa Cafferky soon got her second free which turned out to be Mayo’s final score of the game.
The home side finished in impressive fashion with an unanswered 1-7. Olivia Divilly (0-4, one free), Slevin with a two-pointer, and Shauna Hynes sent over impressive points from a variety of angles and distances. A shot from Niamh Divilly was not controlled by Mayo goalkeeper Laura Brennan before the inrushing Thompson flicked the ball to the net.
Overall, Mayo will rue a poor second half where the contest ran away from them, but Galway’s superiority was emphatic on the day.
Scorers - Galway: O Divilly 0-8 (3f), K Slevin 1-5, K Thompson 1-3, R Leonard 0-1 (1f), N Divilly 0-1, E Noone 0-1, S Hynes 0-1.
Mayo: A Staunton 0-3 (2f), S Walsh 1-0, S Cafferky 0-2 (2f), S Cafferky 0-1.
Galway: L O’Halloran; K Geraghty, S Ní Loinsigh, B Quinn; H Noone, N Ward, E Power; N Divilly, S Divilly; E Noone, K Slevin, K Thompson; L Coen, R Leonard, O Divilly. Subs: C Trill for Power (47), L Noone for Leonard (47), L Ward for N Divilly (52), S Hynes for E Noone (54), A Molloy for H Noone (55).
Mayo: L Brennan; L Wallace, S El Massry, I Phillips; H Reape, T Needham, L Hanley; A Geraghty, M Reilly; S Cafferky, F McHale, A Staunton; S Walsh, C Keane, L Cafferky. Subs: F Collins for McHale (41), M Delaney for El Massry (45), S Tuohy for Reilly (48), K Doherty for Keane (52), A Kennedy for Hanley (52).
Referee: Jonathan Murphy (Carlow).
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