Sarah Creagh says belief has driven Laois Camogie to another All-Ireland final

Sarah Creagh hopes to add another All-Ireland medal to her collection as Laois Camogie prepare for their third consecutive appearance at Croke Park.

The St Brigid's player has already experienced the feeling of success with the county, helping Laois to All-Ireland glory in 2015 before playing a key role in last year's Premier Junior triumph. Now, as vice-captain, she is aiming to help this current group complete another memorable chapter.

Creagh admitted that reaching another final was beyond what many expected at the beginning of the year, but said the belief within the group has been central to their continued progress.

“It's amazing. We weren't really expecting to get here; not many people gave us a chance at the start of the year. It's all about believing in ourselves as a group and from the management and just from this core group. Once you have that, you can get anywhere you want. We're delighted to be here and to have the chance to win another All-Ireland. We'll give it our best shot next week,” she said.

Having come into the season as All-Ireland Premier Junior champions following their success in 2025, Laois had already shown they could compete at the highest level of the Intermediate grade by reaching the Leinster final in 2024 and 2025. Creagh believes the squad's confidence grew gradually throughout the campaign as they began to produce results against some of the big teams.

“Our first league game was against Kerry; they were obviously after only losing the Intermediate Final last year. We knew that would be a very competitive game and we were only getting going at that stage and we drew to them. We were thinking to ourselves that we're not too far off. As we headed into the Championship then, we had a good run and in the bigger games against Down and Kerry, we were getting over the line. We said, you know what, we have a shot here. I think we really started to believe in ourselves and push on then,” Creagh said.

With preparations now entering their final stages ahead of Sunday's showdown with Antrim, Creagh explained that the focus has shifted away from intense training sessions and towards ensuring the players are sharp and ready for the challenge ahead.

“All short, snappy stuff now. The fitness and all that is taken care of. The pre-season stuff is all done. Just keeping the eye in and the touch and skill and the communication between the girls. That's the focus at the moment,” she said.

Creagh has been a key figure within the Laois setup for many years and believes the strong relationships developed within the panel continue to be a major reason why players are willing to commit year after year.

“It brings so much joy when you do get the wins and it’s not just about the big days. Even going training, you have the craic with the girls and it brings a good bond. It's a special group of girls that we have here, so it was easy to come back in this year and give it another go,” she added.

The Laois supporters played a huge role in driving the team over the line during their All-Ireland semi-final victory against Kerry, and Creagh is hoping that backing will once again be evident when the county returns to Croke Park this weekend.

“It's unbelievable. The semi-final there against Kerry, we had savage support. Even coming up to half-time, the last few minutes, we could hear the Laois, Laois, Laois chant. That really drove us on and gave us good energy; you could feel it off the crowd. You can see how much it means to them, so that really pushes us on then as well. It's so important and we hope there's a good crowd up there in Croke Park. I think there will be, they're always good to support,” Creagh said.

Creagh also played her part on the scoreboard in the semi-final win over Kerry, contributing two points despite her usual responsibilities being focused elsewhere on the pitch. She was delighted to make the most of the opportunities that came her way.

“I was actually more playing wing-back, but I saw a gap a few times, so I pushed forward. It worked out anyway, thank God,” she concluded.