Issue link: http://digitaleditions.uberflip.com/i/1302727
40 | SUMMER 2020 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie 38 | AUTUMN 2020 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie FEATURE M ourneabbey worked the ball patiently upfield and Laura Fitzgerald kicked the winner. With 16 seconds left on the clock, there wasn't enough time for Kilkerrin- Clonberne to respond. "Very down" was how manager Kevin Reidy describes the Kilkerrin-Clonberne dressing room at full-time. With less than 20 minutes on the watch, inspirational county star Nicola Ward hobbled to the touchline. She'd suffered another knee injury and her race was sadly run. Ward looked on helplessly as Kilkerrin-Clonberne went toe to toe with Mourneabbey – and went desperately close to claiming the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup. And yet, amidst all of the personal and team devastation, it was Ward who picked her clubmates up on the coach home. Reidy recalls: "On the way home on the bus, feeling sorry for ourselves, Nicola started a sing song. "She put her injury worry to the back of her mind and led the sing song. "When we got back to Clonberne, the welcome there to meet us was something I've never experienced before. "For the girls to get home, that was a great feeling for them. There was a lot of sadness but they met up the following day. Our sponsor – Colin Daly – his mother had died the night before the final and it was her removal that evening." Reidy admits that he doesn't think the pain of losing that final will ever subside. Going one better would certainly help – and Kilkerrin- Clonberne are more than capable of it. They're now regarded as the top dogs in Connacht – and have had the measure of 2017 All-Ireland Champions Carnacon, the undisputed queens of Mayo, in each of the last three seasons. Club Focus THE mood was naturally sombre on the bus journey home following the 2019 All-Ireland Senior Club Final. Kilkerrin-Clonberne, the Galway and Connacht champions, had just lost out by a point to Cork's Mourneabbey in a classic Gaelic Grounds decider last November. By Jackie Cahill. 38 | AUTUMN 2020 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie