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40 | SPRING 2022 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie INTERVIEW T he expectations have changed now, Offaly were the Intermediate team in the Division 4 of the Lidl National League but now they will have to up it a level against a higher calibre of opposition. The Faithful County had to battle hard to retain their place in the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship last year and despite already winning silverware this season, they remain a dark horse under the radar. Making Croke Park on TG4 All-Ireland Final day could be a bridge too far for this team but confidence is flowing and players like Amy Gavin Mangan are confident they can compete against some of the best teams in the country. "Winning Division 4 was our first goal of the year anyway," said Gavin Mangan. "With the new management coming in, it was the one that was most attainable. It was more so expected that we would win the League rather than trying our best. "We knew that we had the ability within the team and the drive. It was brilliant to get silverware but championship is the main focus at the moment. "I feel like because the teams that we are playing now in the Intermediate Championship will be teams that we haven't really faced so far this year, that will be kind of interesting and it will be tough. "The Intermediate championship is wide open, there is just quite a broad range of teams in it. It will be interesting to see but a challenge that we are happy to get going at." This year's intermediate renewal will see the likes of Lidl National Football League Division 3 champions Roscommon vying for glory, along with last year's beaten finalists Wexford. Tyrone were relegated from the Senior Championship last year and will want to go back up at the first time of asking, while Wicklow are seeking back-to-back Championship promotions Offaly will still fancy their own chances of making a good year great under the stewardship of new joint-managers Danny McGarvey and Brian O'Ruairc. The extra Donegal and Dublin influence has already reaped rewards in 2022. McGarvey commented after the Lidl NFL Division 4 decider that the club scene in Offaly was having a huge bearing on this team. "There's no doubt that the talent is there and that that is the driving force behind our success," he said. And Naomh Ciaran have been one of the dominant forces in recent years there, driven on by Gavin Mangan's presence in midfield. They previously couldn't be stopped, winning five county titles on the bounce before Tullamore put a halt to their run last October. Expectations Raising Daragh Small speaks to Offaly's Amy Gavin Mangan about the expectations with Offaly football and her own life balancing her sport and academic career.