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JUNIOR FINAL INTERVIEW: MOLLY MCGLOIN I N TERV I EW T he 20-year-old Newtownbutler First Fermanagh's full back was a key defensive cog in Jonny Garrity's side this season as they put the anguish of losing last year's All- Ireland final to Louth behind them and signed off 2020 with a three-point win in the decider against Wicklow. With a No.4 green shirt on her back, McGloin has been assigned the role of a traditional full-back all season and in the final she marshalled Wicklow player Meadhbh Deeney brilliantly. But she wasn't the first of her family to play that role in an All-Ireland Final. "My Granda, Joe-Pat Prunty was on the Fermanagh men's team that won the Junior All-Ireland back in 1959," said Molly. "And on that day he played full-back too. I knew he was on the team alright, but it wasn't until my Mam told me after the final that I realised he was a full-back too. He was my Mam's father and she thinks it's amazing." And what a role McGloin played for her team on the biggest day. She kept her marker scoreless from open play, while it was her intervention – and that of goalkeeper Shauna 'Smurf' Murphy – that kept Wicklow's late attacks at bay. After a brilliant save from Murphy denied Sinéad McGettigan a minute from time, McGloin then got her hands to Marie Kealy's late rasping free kick, before Murphy completed the job. It was a scary couple of minutes, says McGloin. "Oh my God, everyone wasn't well. But we all knew that that was the last play. We just had to keep it out and stop the goal. We were like a brick wall in there. "We were all on the line. We were just shouting at everyone to get back. We knew they had to go for a goal at that stage. Even looking at the clock, there were only five seconds left. "It was actually me that blocked the first shot. She [Kealy] hit it that hard that there was no chance of me catching it. I just thought I'd get a break to it. It spilled and the Wicklow player got a hand to it, but it went up in the air. "It was like hot potato for a while, but thankfully Smurf caught it and got it cleared. Only for Smurf, with her being so tall she managed to catch it. She stopped it from going in and the rest of us were trying to push her away from the line just to get her out of there." Despite there being no crowd in attendance at Parnell Park, it didn't dampen the celebrations of the Fermanagh panel and management, who savoured every minute of their win. Sometimes history has the strangest way of repeating itself, and in the case of All-Ireland winner Molly McGloin, she didn't even know that she was following a proud family tradition until a couple of days after Fermanagh's TG4 All-Ireland Junior success. By Declan Rooney McGloin says the whole team was thrilled to see their captain Courteney Murphy climb the steps to lift the West County Hotel Cup on their behalf, especially after a hand injury sustained in the opening pool game against Wicklow robbed her of the chance to play her part on the field. "She deserves that, she really did. I am so happy that she was able to do that," said McGloin. "She has been there for years now, she is such a leader for us on and off the pitch. She is brilliant and a great motivator and a brilliant footballer. "Ach, it was so unfortunate not to have her and I'm sure she was gutted. But she really did get us over the line, even though she wasn't playing. She leads by example, she always knew what to say and everything that she said stuck with us." A season that started more than 12 months ago with pre- season training ended in utter joy for Fermanagh, but along the way there was some tough tests for Garrity's side. According to McGloin, tasting defeat and turning their 2019 All-Ireland Final disappointment into determination for 2020 was key to their success. "I suppose we were just so determined after losing last year. I think we learned a lot from that experience. It drove us on even more to win because we knew what it was like to lose last year and we didn't want that feeling again. We used that experience to drive us on this year. We came out the right end of it in the end. "There was such a big hype in the build up to the 2019 Final. Even the fact that we were playing in Croke Park, we were overwhelmed. It was a lot of girls' first year in the team – it was my first year too – and it was a very new experience. "I tried not to let it affect me, I was trying to think it was just another match, but I suppose at the end of the day I think Louth were a bit better than us. They were in our position the year before. "Louth had lost to Limerick in 2018 and their captain Kate Flood, she said that to us. She said: 'Girls, we were in your position last year and if you believe, stick together as a team, train hard and use this experience to try and get to that All-Ireland Final next year and win it'. I suppose that's what we did." While their families watched on at home, the prospect of returning to celebrate with them added to the buzz of the journey back to Fermanagh, and when the two convoys converged in Clones, lifelong memories were created. "There was no family there after the match, to go up to and celebrate with. We obviously knew they were all watching back at home. My phone was going flat out after the match, it literally took me from Dublin to Monaghan to reply to all the messages. There were that many well-wishers. "We stopped at the Clayton in Clones to get a meal afterwards. And we were welcomed back by our families who were standing outside the hotel waiting for us to get off the bus. "It was lovely, it was great to be able to celebrate with them. It just made the experience even better. "Getting off the bus in Clones is something I'll never forget. It was amazing with everyone cheering and clapping. Everyone had the Fermanagh flags. "I say that I still can't believe we've won it, but at that moment it was beginning to sink in. I remember running over to Mammy and she just lifted me up. It was class. Everyone was just so proud. "And everyone needed that lift, as bad as 2020 has been, what a way to end it that was. Unbelievable." www.ladiesgaelic.ie | WINTER 2020 | 27