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20 | WINTER 2019 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie O n 23 November, Naomh Ciaran became the first Offaly women's club to land an All-Ireland title. They were five points in arrears with just eight minutes left to play but Seana Heffernan hit the crucial goal while in-form forward Ellee McEvoy scored the point to give them the lead ahead of a 2-11 to 2-9 victory over Naomh Pól from Antrim. The 2017 Offaly Player of the Year sacrificed her inter-county commitments this year and it finally paid off at Kingspan Breffni. "It was mad," said McEvoy. "We weren't really performing and we didn't play well in the whole match. "The other team were good and they played a similar game to us. They were fast and liked running off each other's shoulders, and that is what we usually like to do. "The pitch was good, it wasn't soft or anything but it was very slippery and we were losing footing a lot. It was just very frustrating. We missed an awful lot of chances. "It was more like we didn't want to look back and say we threw that away. But we turned up for the last ten minutes and really showed what we were capable of. EXTRA WORK PAYS OFF FOR NAOMH CIARAN Ellee McEvoy reflects on her club's All Ireland win By DARAGH SMALL "It was nice that was enough to finally get over the line. Had we lost it would have been frustrating that we didn't show up." McEvoy played all the way up through the grades for Offaly and when she was in her Leaving Cert year at Gallen Community School in 2015, she captained the county's minors. The following year, she was vice-captain of the Offaly senior team but she found it difficult to combine her studies along with club and inter-county duty. She attended UL, where she finished her four-year degree to qualify as a secondary teacher. Now she teaches Irish and PE at Mercy Secondary School in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath. Leaving Offaly behind means she can give Irish grinds on Wednesdays and Thursdays and sometimes at the weekend too. The 21-year-old is responsible for five Leaving Cert students. McEvoy still has plenty on her plate, between Above: Ellee McEvoy of Naomh Ciaran reacts following the All-Ireland Ladies Intermediate Club Championship Final.