Ladies Gaelic Football

www.ladiesgaelic.ie | AUTUMN 2019 | 33 SCHOOL FOCUS COLÁISTE ÍOSAGÁIN Niamh and Martha had won an u14 Leinster title a few years previous, but the school had never won more than Leinster. The first year I was there, we just tried to make a team. The second year, the girls decided we were going to try and win Leinster at Senior B grade. The biggest role for me was to make a team out of them.' Baked goods seemed to do the trick as Ellen laughed; 'We used to do bake offs on a Friday after training. Martha makes a serious banoffee pie! We would sit down with tea and biscuits before matches, we'd have a kickabout and have a chat about the game the next day. We would have a laugh together. A big thing was that they fought for the person beside them. There was football there, but our aim was to make them a more cohesive team. They wouldn't have been used to playing together; they were in different years and played with different clubs.' Winning four All Ireland titles in five years is an exceptional achievement, but it was the first season in 2011 that Ellen remembers most fondly. 'I remember that first All Ireland. Niamh got glandular fever in October, she was in 6 th Year. I remember her coming into me nearly crying, 'Miss we were meant to win this year,' and I reassured her saying don't worry it'll work out. Her first match back was the Leinster final in March. Martha and Niamh were in midfield. Éabha would have played full forward so it's kinda funny that she plays cornerback now. They could have ran through a brick wall, they were so determined. They were just amazing. It's hard to put into words.' Indeed, they not only won Leinster but went on to All Ireland glory defeating Holy Rosary, Mountbellow in the All Ireland Senior B Final. Ellen was full of praise for all five footballers, but she highlights Niamh Ní Choileáin for special mention; 'Niamh always stands out to me as one of the most amazing footballers the school had. One All Ireland semi-final, we were playing Loreto Letterkenny. In the Ulster Final, Geraldine McLaughlin had scored like 7-11 and I nearly had heart failure reading about it. a few years prior - a keen basketballer and footballer, she served as inspiration for the girls that followed. Ellen was immediately struck by the passion, determination and talent that was within the team when she got involved in 2011; 'For me it was, oh my God there's such talent here. They were very strong at basketball at the time and I suppose that's why they are so good defensively; they were really good man markers.

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