Ladies Gaelic Football

18 | WINTER 2021 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie T here are clubs where the root cause of success is easy to identify, and there are others where all you can say is that you just can't put your finger on it. Think of Carnacon and you think of the irresistible force that is Cora Staunton, while some would say that the same is true of Geraldine McLaughlin's Termon. Foxrock- Cabinteely started out with a healthy number of Dublin intercounty stars and like a lot of clubs in the capital, have been able to augment that with proven talent from around the country, while going further back, the standard bearers will always be Ballymacarbry, who dominated the All-Ireland club championship at a time when they made up the bulk of a Waterford side that, at county level, was incredibly successful. Identifying the reasons why Donaghmoyne have ruled the roost in Monaghan and in Ulster for so long is quite tricky by comparison. While geographically, the parish is a quite big area, the population is not so big that it represents a huge advantage. Other clubs might benefit from a lack of competing LGFA clubs in neighbouring parishes, which means that they can pick from an even bigger pool of players. For Donaghmoyne, who are mostly bordered by 'town' clubs and by Armagh, that's not a factor. Absolutely, they come from an area where football is the primary sport, and nothing else comes close. Yet this isn't that unusual, even in the modern era where young players have more options than ever when it comes to their sporting diet. Are there stars? Certainly. The Monaghan team that saved senior status by beating Cavan in the relegation final of this year's TG4 senior championship featured four starters from the club, while others such as captain Amanda Casey HOW DO YOU SUSTAIN SUCCESS? Kevin Egan explores the Donaghmoyne club in Monaghan. Finnegan were on the bench, but Emyvale and Scotstown had three starters each too. That would suggest strength, but not dominance. Nobody knows the group that won their 13 th Ulster title and their 19 th Monaghan title in a row in 2021 better than player and coach Ann Marie Burns, and even she's a little stumped by the question of what sets them apart. "Ah they're not the worst crowd I suppose," is her initial answer, before a bit of digging into her own career starts to give a bit of a hint as to why they're bred a little bit different in that part of the world. "I started playing around 1991 or 1992, so I was supposedly retired this year. But look, any day you turn up could be the day you're one short to make up a team, so I still tog out" she says. "I hadn't even intended to get involved on the management side of things, but my brother (Kevin) 2016; Niamh Ryan, Foxrock Cabinteely in action against Joanne Courtney, Donaghmoyne 2009; Donaghmoyne players Gina McGowan, left, Joanne Geoghegan and Eileen McElroy, right, celebrate 2016; Sarah Brophy, left, Foxrock Cabinteely, with Amanda Casey, Donaghmoyne 2015; Joanne Geoghegan and Amanda Casey, right, Donaghmoyne, celebrate 2015; Eileen McElroy, left, Donaghmoyne, and Roisín O'SullEvan, Mourneabbey 2016; Donaghmoyne players celebrate with the cup 2012; Donaghmoyne players Joanne Geoghegan, Majella Woods and Fiona Courtney celebrate 2013; Referee Pat Kehoe with captains, Marie Corbett, Carnacon, and Majella Woods, Donaghmoyne CLUB FOCUS: DONAGHMOYNE, MONAGHAN

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