Ladies Gaelic Football

20 | WINTER 2021 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie CLUB FOCUS: DONAGHMOYNE, MONAGHAN would have coached them before, was heading to China for work, and you know yourself, when you take on a job, they don't let you out too early or too easy!" Ann Marie explains how the character of the group comes through at training, as much as it does in matches. "These girls look after themselves, they're top class athletes, and most of all they like to be pushed. They come every week hungry to learn, and even if I couldn't be there, one of the senior members would step up and be happy to lead the session, and everybody would still be sure to get stuck in and get something out of it. That's the attitude every time they tog out, they don't want to leave anything behind". The same mental approach is clearly evident in how they play. In their Ulster final replay against Bredagh of Down, there was a sense coming into the game that the Mourne County club would have learned a lot more from their 3-8 to 0-17 draw first time out, and the manner in which they held on to strike a late goal from Anna McKee to earn a replay. Many experienced sides might have started the replay carefully, making sure to kill any momentum the underdogs might have had from getting a result like that in round one. Instead, Cora Courtney took possession of the ball after two minutes around 25 metres out from goal, and rather than chipping over a simple point to settle her team, she smelled blood and ran the ball across the line to draw out the defenders, thus setting up Cathriona McConnell in behind for the game's first goal. Bredagh replied in kind with a penalty, but the battle lines had been drawn, and sure enough the Monaghan side found a way to get the job done. "I remember in the county semi- final (against Emyvale), it seemed like the girls had put too much pressure on themselves" recalled Burns. "We had beaten Emyvale well in the league but we weren't quite ready for it, and it was a tough one to get out of. "People were saying that the girls were old, and they didn't like to hear that, so they've got their sharpness and their intensity back since" said the former Monaghan intercounty player and manager. The five-time All-Ireland club champions last lifted the Dolores Tyrrell Cup in 2016, and while there are plenty of players from that side still going strong in the club's red and white colours, there remains a real hunger to get back to the same stage and have a tile at title number six – and as club PRO Tracey McConnell explains, that's as much about the future as it is about 2021 and 2022. "We could have 50 or 60 players down at U-10 training, and a big part of that is these young girls are used to seeing their heroes win games", said McConnell. "We got a sponsor in this year who covered the cost of tops for all the players and we deliberately decided that everyone, from senior down to U-10, and even U-8 and U-6, would get the same top, so they'd all feel the connection with each other. Players like Cathriona McConnell and Linda Martin got their first taste of success when they were part of a Community Games U-12 team, and once you get started on that road, it's easier to keep going". And they do keep going. Come the new year they'll be back hunting a return to an All-Ireland final, and like Ann Marie Burns, Tracey McConnell is not entirely sure why Donaghmoyne keep putting themselves in this position. "It just keeps happening!" "After the Bredagh game the majority of the girls were in work Monday, they were straight into dusting themselves down and thinking about the next one. That's just part of the culture here, there's nothing else to rival it". 2013; Niamh Callan, Donaghmoyne, in action against Sharon McGing, Carnacon 2012; The Carnacon captain Noelle Tiernan, left, and the Donaghmoyne captain Cathriona McConnell 2012; Noelle Tierney, right, Carnacon, and Cathriona McConnell, Donaghmoyne 2015; Donaghmoyne players celebrate at the end of the game. 2006; Donaghmoyne captain Fiona Courtney receives the Senior cup from Joe Lagan 2013; Majella Woods, left, Donaghmoyne, and Marie Corbett, Carnacon 2006; Martha Carter, left, Carnacon, Fiona Courtney, Donaghmoyne 2006; Members of the Donaghmoyne team celebrate in their dressing room

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