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44 | SPRING 2019 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie Dymphna O'Brien LGFA INTERFIRMS he former Limerick star brought the curtain down on a glittering inter-county career last September, when the Shannonsiders won the TG4 All-Ireland Junior title. It was the second time that O'Brien and Limerick got their hands on the West County Hotel Cup and emotion was etched all over the face of the Gerald Griffins stalwart at full-time. But those aren't the only national medals that O'Brien, a lethal inside forward, has in her collection. She's also a three-time winner of the LGFA Interfirms competition with AIB, who were crowned champions in 2017, 2018 and 2019. "It's right up there," O'Brien replies, when asked how an Interfirms medal compares with her inter-county accomplishments. "For the last three years, the competition has gone from strength to strength. "The level of competition is evident on the day when you're there, and it's getting higher every year. "It's probably the first year I saw a lot of inter-county players, and more organisations getting involved." O'Brien was joined on the AIB team by some well-known players. Cork's Annie Walsh is an eight-time TG4 All-Ireland Senior medallist, and Sinead Deegan, from the Thomas Davis club, wore the Sky Blue of Dublin. "The standard is very high, that's why I would put it up there with any medal I've won. "It's hard to win a medal and it's very hard to win. That's why I would put it up there with any I've ever won." All roads led to Naomh Mearnóg in Portmarnock on May 18, where 12 teams competed for the top prize. In addition, 11 teams signed up to take part in a recreational blitz, where no matter what the level, experience or ability, teams played lots of football, socialised with each other, and had fun. O'Brien admits that it took her a while to find her feet and form on blitz day, given some understandable ring-rustiness. "In the first two games, I'd have been a bit rusty," she smiles. "It took me two games to find my feet but playing with good players, you're getting good ball in. "It's a really enjoyable day. The girls build friendships and we're obviously all working with AIB but it's helped us to build a network of contacts within the organisation. We did celebrate it and throughout the year, we meet as a group. "AIB are very good to us and we've been brought on board with a lot of things within the organisation – that's down to the organising of the team to compete in this tournament." Of course, it's a numbers game when trying to organise a squad of players to compete in the Interfirms tournament. At one stage, O'Brien admits that numbers were "a bit dodgy" and the prospect of competing in the recreational blitz was floated. "We weren't having any of it!" O'Brien says. "There were a few games before us and the level was high and the standard was high. "Somebody mentioned about getting to the Shield but I said 'I'm not playing in any Shield Final, I'm in it to win it. "Sure, we were there for the day to enjoy it but also to win. And we were under pressure to win three in a row. That's what we wanted to do and we were probably a bit nervous because we didn't want to lose the title. "As we're getting a bit older, as the day went on, the bodies did tire but we were delighted to win it and we'll be back for four-in-a- row – and hopefully we'll have the same group again." Preparation was key for O'Brien and AIB, too, as they organised some challenge games before competing. "We're always trying to get challenge games throughout the year," she says. "We played the Army, and Intel, and we might make a night away of it. "It's all part of it and it makes it easier then to meet up on Interfirms day. "We all know each other and we all have a competitive streak in us as well." It's a competitive streak that will remain with Dymphna O'Brien and her AIB colleagues for some time yet! T