All-Ireland Camogie: Antrim defeat Limerick as Down lose to Clare in group openers

Niamh Mallon's goal wasn't enough for Down as they were beaten by Clare in their Group One opener

There were mixed fortunes for Ulster counties in their All-Ireland Senior Camogie openers as Antrim defeated Limerick and Down lost against Clare.

In Group One, Ulster champions Down suffered a late 1-19 to 2-11 defeat at Fontenoys.

In Group Three, Antrim got their campaign off to the perfect start with a gutsy performance to seal a four-point victory at Dunloy.

There were also wins for Galway and Waterford against Cork and Offlay.

Clare were the better of the two sides in the opening period against Down and led 0-10 to 0-7 at half-time.

The game exploded into life in the second period, however, as Niamh Mallon netted in the 37th minute for Down before Louise McNamara responded for Clare to put them back in front.

That was until Saoirse Sands' long-range drive looped into the Clare net and Mallon slotted her ninth point of the game from a free to give the Mourne County a commanding lead with less than six minutes of normal time remaining.

But John Carmody's team refused to give up, with Eimear Kelly making a telling contribution off the bench with two points as McNamara also added to her tally.

Aine O'Loughlin then scored a late goal in injury time to seal the victory for Clare and condemn Down to late heartbreak.

Saffrons survive scare to seal victory

Meanwhile Antrim held off a strong second-half comeback from Limerick to win 1-15 to 0-14 in Dunloy.

The Saffrons had already beaten last year's All-Ireland quarter-finalists in their league campaign and were on course for a comfortable victory at the break with a 1-8 to 0-4 advantage.

Siobhan McKillop scored their goal, with Caitrin Dobbin and Katie McKillop adding points to put Antrim in a strong position at half-time.

Amy Boyle then stretched the home side's advantage to eight points soon after the restart, but they lost their way after that score and Limerick capitalised.

The Treaty scored six of the next seven points to make Antrim sweat, but Roisin McCormick converted a free from distance and Aine Magill was also on target as the Saffrons closed the game out to start their campaign with a hard-fought win.