Clonakilty ladies contest All-Ireland final this weekend

By Tom Lyons Saturday November 28th, 2009

THEY have already created their own history by winning their first county title, and Clonakilty history by bringing the first-ever Munster title to the town, but the lady footballers of Clonakilty are determined to rewrite the history books again on Sunday next when they play Drumcliffe Rosses Point of Sligo, in the All-Ireland junior A football final in Ferbane, Co. Offaly at 1pm.

It’s hard to believe that five years ago the team didn’t exist as the Clonakilty Ladies Football Club had just been founded and was concentrating on building from the ground up at under age.

Then a group of girls, led by Siobhán Lyons, decided to put a team together and started to play friendly games. The team later entered the county championship but success was scarce, the highlight being the county junior C semi-final in 2008, which was lost to Glanworth.

As the under age players, who had experienced success at both at club and school levels, began to filter through to the junior C team, expectations rose, as a number of these girls were very talented and had worn the red shirt of Cork at under age level.

With results improving in 2008 it was decided to upgrade to Junior B for 2009. By then the Ladies Club in Kilmeen had folded and a number of their players, among them some Clonakilty girls, some outstanding footballers, decided to throw in their lot with Clonakilty. Star midfielder from Kilmeen, Clare O’Leary explains that move.

“We played football in Kilmeen school in Sciath na Scól but then had to play in the boys team in the club. I actually played for Cork under-14 girls before we ever had a ladies club. Eventually a girls’ team was formed in Kilmeen and lasted three or four years. We won the county C title but then found it hard to get players and mentors so we decided to join the club here in Clonakilty because we had played college football with the Clon girls. We were made very welcome when we came to Clon. This is our first year here and it has been brilliant.”

The addition of those talented players saw the team going through the junior B league unbeaten and, as a result, the County Board decided to upgrade the team to Junior A for the championship. It was a real challenge for this young, blossoming team but they were more than ready to face it.

The championship was run on a round-robin basis and the first big hurdle was against another new team, Nemo Rangers, in the club’s new headquarters in Ahamilla. Carol-Anne O’Donovan, the outstanding full back, is also in her first year on the team. A former colleges’ international basketball player, she describes the championship.

“Our toughest game was our first against Nemo Rangers. We weren’t sure we could cope in junior A but when we drew that game, our confidence grew. The big psychological test came against neighbours Rosscarbery. We had always admired and looked up to them and when we beat them in their own pitch, it was a big psychological boost.

“Trainers Rob and Denis made sure we took one game at a time but we were improving all the time and when we won the remaining games against Naomh Abán, Kildorrery and Valley Rovers, we ended up in the county final. We always focused on our own game and winning gave us great confidence, in ourselves and in our team-mates.”

Erica Jennings, like Carol-Anne, is a former pupil of Darrara NS, where she starred in Sciath na Scól and is one of the Kilmeen recruits. She is a free-scoring wing forward and takes the frees for the team. She is also a star player on the camogie team which won the county intermediate title this season and reached the Munster final. She recalls the club’s first county final.

“Nemo Rangers had also qualified for the final and we knew from our drawn game in Clon that they were going to be very tough. The final was played on a very wet day in Brinny and clashed with the Clon v Bishopstown county semi-final, which was very disappointing, but we got great support.

“The bad conditions made it a very tough game but we led most of the way, although we could never open up much of a gap, like we did in most of our other games. We were delighted when we won as it was the first county title won by the club.”

Áine O’Leary is one of the youngest members of the side, being a fifth year student in the Clonakilty Convent of Mercy, where she is a star of the school team that has won two games in the Munster championship this season. She is a non-stop runner and grafter and forms a formidable midfield partnership with her older sister, Clare. She was surprised at how easy the Munster championship was.

“After beating Nemo in the county final, we went through to play Broadford, the Limerick champions, in the Munster quarter-final. We didn’t know what to expect and they started well but once we settled we beat them fairly comfortably. Then we met Dungarvan in the semi-final in Cork and expected a real tough challenge but were amazed at how easy that was. I don’t know if we were very good or they were very bad but we scored 6-29 that day.

“The final was totally different against Dr. Crokes of Kerry. They were much more experienced than us and had some Kerry county players but we scored some vital goals and won well in the end. Martina saved a penalty and it was a great day. We really enjoyed it. We were the first Clonakilty GAA team ever to win a Munster title and we got a great reception when we returned home. There was great support in Carrigadrohid that day.”

The biggest day in the club’s history came when they met Corduff of Monaghan, the Ulster champions, in the All-Ireland semi-final. The game was fixed for Clonakilty and apart from being the first-ever All-Ireland semi-final played in the town, the GAA club recognised the occasion by opening its main pitch and stand for the very first time at the new complex in Ahamilla. It was a marvellous occasion and is fondly remembered by Therese Hayes, the hard-working assistant PRO in the club.

“It was a hugely historical day and when we heard we were getting the new pitch, it was beyond all our expectations. Everybody rowed in and got behind it, both the GAA and the Ladies Club. It turned out to be a fantastic day. From 9.30 that morning people were working, inside and out, to get everything ready. It was a credit to the town and the club.

“The worry was that the pressure of playing in the new pitch and at home might get to the girls but they turned in a marvellous performance on the day and won well. Everybody was treated to refreshments afterwards in the pavilion and the teams were looked after. Our sponsors were very good to us. Everybody was delighted with the occasion and it came back to us that Corduff were delighted with the reception they got, although disappointed to lose.

“It was great for Clonakilty and, hopefully, they’ll come back again to visit some time. The only thing that would surpass that now would be to come back with the All-Ireland cup, which would be a dream come true for the club.”

Martina O’Brien is the goalie on the team and has a lot of intercounty experience under her belt. She gave us a run-down on the players involved in the team.

“I play for the Cork senior B team and have won three All-Ireland medals so far. But you can’t beat playing and winning with your own club. I’m lucky to have a very good full back line. Clare O’Mahony is corner back and I played in school with her for six years. We were together on the school team that won the All-Ireland. Carol-Anne O’Donovan is new at full back but has improved immensely and is rarely beaten, while Susan Forristal is a great marker in the other corner.

“The half back line is Beulah McManus, Sinéad O’Neill and Niamh Deasy. They are great workers and give great cover. Beulah and Sinead played Cork minor this year and are super players. They are very energetic and never let the ball pass without a battle.

“What can you say about midfielders Clare and Áine O’Leary? They just run and run, never give up and can score with left or right foot. They are just unreal. The half forward line is Erica Jennings, Marie O’Donovan and Juanita Brennan. They are all camogie players too. Juanita does an awful lot of tracking back while Erica kicks some great points. Marie has scored some marvellous goals all season and is very strong.

“The full forward line is Mary O’Donovan, Aoife Deasy and Sharon Whelton. Mary is powerful, just give her the ball and she will go for goal while Aoife is very strong at full forward. Sharon is a classy player, one of the top scorers in football and camogie. We have 30 players on the panel with some fine subs, especially the young girls coming through from under age. You wouldn’t have a worry about any of those subs coming on.”

Denis Enright and Rob Lowery are the two trainers who have brought the team so far this season and stuck with them in past years when success was rare. Denis is delighted with the attitude of the players, many of whom are camogie players and had no break from competitions for the past nine months.

“We’ve been training two nights a week since the Munster final. The girls in college do their own bit but it’s been very hard with the weather. Pitches are unplayable and travel is difficult. We had a big problem this week so we took them for a gym and swim session. Something different. We’ve had very good relations with the camogie but with eight girls involved in both teams, the big worry is injuries. Thankfully, we have a clean bill of health going into the final.

“Our team is very balanced. Usually in ladies football you’d be strong up the middle but we have been very strong on the wings, the half backs and half forwards. We have scored over other teams in that respect. The attitude of the girls has been fantastic all year and they do whatever we ask of them, no cribbing. Even the subs have a marvellous attitude and they’re all very level-headed. After the county and Munster finals, they celebrated on the Monday and then it was back to training again.

“I remember our first championship game against Éire Óg a few years back when we were hammered by about thirty points. This year is a big change from that and the girls from Ballinascarthy and Kilmeen have blended in very well. We have a few newcomers too, and they have improved immensely. We take each game as it comes and it will be the same with this one.”

The chairperson of the Ladies Football Club, who has overseen a very busy year, would be termed a ‘blow-in’ in Clonakilty but has made an instant impression.

“I’m a native of Offaly but lived most of my life in Kildare before moving to Clon in 2003. I went down to the pitch to volunteer as a trainer with the ladies teams and ended up as chairman three years ago. There’s been great growth in the club in the past few years, more numbers and more teams being affiliated. We’re getting more used to it, as well, as a committee, because very few of us had any experience in running a club.

“This year we have two under-12 teams and two under-14 teams and that puts a lot of strain on the people involved. It’s not easy getting volunteers to run teams. We always encourage new people to become involved. We’re an open club and we do, absolutely, need the extra help.

“This year we have the influence of players coming through from underage and the influx of the Kilmeen girls. On top of that we have the great new facilities in Ahamilla. Up to this we had no home base, using Darrara, the college field, the Showgrounds, and the single GAA pitch when we could get it. We often had to give away home advantage because we had no pitch to play on. That’s one headache we don’t have now and it’s a credit to the GAA club who provided such marvellous facilities for all the clubs.

“We’re quietly confident for Sunday. It’s fifteen against fifteen over sixty minutes, all on the day. The biggest fear I have is the weather.”

As it is the dreadful weather has scuppered plans to play the Clonakilty game as a double-header with the senior final involving Donoughmore. It was decided that the Banagher pitch could not take two games and the Clon game has been switched to Ferbane, Co. Offaly. Throw-in is at 1 o’clock on Sunday.

No matter where the game is played Clonakilty will be up against a very good team which surprised the Leinster winners from Wexford in the semi-final and are reputed to be very strong and physical. But this Clon team is well above average for the junior grade and, according to their semi-final victims, Corduff, would easily hold their own in senior football in Monaghan, a strong ladies football county.

It will take a very good side to get the better of the green and red in this final but whatever comes, it had been a magnificent year for the fledgling ladies club and for the junior A team in particular and we have all derived tremendous satisfaction from their outstanding displays to date.

Now just one more step separates them from supreme glory and outstanding captain, Beulah McManus, will be hoping to bring the All-Ireland cup back to Clonakilty on Sunday night.

Not for the first time this season the bonfires will blaze on the outskirts of the town and the new complex at Ahamilla will welcome home champions.