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CLUB FOCUS 50 | SUMMER 2021 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie Y ou could say that the only thing more important to the people of the area than their local identity is their football, or you could say that the only thing more important than their football is their local identity. It's one or the other, but it ends up being roughly the same. TO UNDERSTAND BALLYMORE LADIES FOOTBALL CLUB, YOU HAVE TO START BY UNDERSTANDING BALLYMORE, THE SURROUNDING CATCHMENT AREA, AND THE UNIQUE PART OF IRELAND WHERE IT'S FOUND. By KEVIN EGAN Borders are everywhere around here. Granard parish is on the frontier of Longford and Cavan, and therefore the frontier of Leinster and Ulster. When it comes to the GAA, there's further division again when it comes to the men's football. St. Mary's GFC and Ballymore GFC both draw from Granard parish. For years, the two clubs amalgamated for underage football, however this has ceased in the latter years, St. Mary's GFC serving as the main club in the town. Even though competitive meetings between the two men's clubs' first teams have been incredibly rare down the years, it's fair to say that the relationship between them has all the ups and downs one might expect of a marriage between two strong personalities. The local banter can be feisty for sure. The thing about that though, is that with identity, comes passion. Add that passion Image: Frank McGrath to the love of football, and you have something special. When Ballymore LGFA was founded by Martin Reilly and Mary McNerney all the way back in 1992, it didn't take long to take root, the seeds had planted in the most fertile soil imaginable. The Ballymore/St. Mary's GAA men's club divide was left aside as the new ladies club quickly grew into a powerhouse on the Longford scene. Within three years of being formed, they were the Longford senior A champions. Two years later again, they could legitimately claim to be 'champions of champions' as they ruled the roost in Longford yet again. Longford lost out in the 1996 All-Ireland Junior Final but returned the following year to defeat Tyrone in the Final, managed by the aforementioned Martin Reilly,