Ladies Gaelic Football

www.ladiesgaelic.ie | SUMMER 2022 | 29 CLUB FOCUS has been vindicated by the outcomes we've seen in terms of silverware, but also player retention," he added. With their underage structure in hand, it would be expected that success would follow through in due course. Dunboyne didn't even need to wait that long. The emergence of one of the biggest stars in the national game, Vikki Wall, was a significant factor, but it was also the case that the appetite for adult football was there in the parish, and once the structures were right in the committee room, that soon encouraged players to get back on board. Fiona O'Neill had been part of the Dunboyne side that reached a senior semi-final against eventual county champions Seneschalstown in 2009, but when a host of players moved away from the sport for a variety of reasons, Dunboyne ceased fielding a team and O'Neill, who was part of the Meath senior panel at the time, made the short tip to Dunshaughlin to line out with Royal Gaels. She was one of several players who came back on board in 2015, and their reward was spectacular. Meath silverware was followed by Leinster and All-Ireland honours, and two years later, they travelled the same journey, but this time in the intermediate race. "It's been an incredible progression," says O'Neill, who chipped in with a crucial and spectacular goal in their 2021 Leinster final win. "The younger ones just don't realise where we came from, but there were five or six of the older generation there through it all, and now that we're beginning to move on, you can see that the leadership is there, these girls have the drive to keep pushing on". With two All-Ireland medals and now a Leinster senior club title, the second phase of O'Neill's Dunboyne career has been immensely successful – but out of all the trophies won, it's the 2021 Meath championship that stands out most to her. "In 2020 we won our senior title but Covid restrictions ruined it in a way. That meant there were only 50 people could attend, so a lot of the coaches, parents and volunteers, people who played a huge role in getting us to the point were we could win that title, couldn't be there. Last year there were more supporters at our first game in Oldcastle than at any of the men's games, and those supporters got to be part of it, to follow us the whole way into Leinster, and that made it so much more special". One of those coaches who was there the whole way was team manager Brendan Quinn, a man who himself played in an All- Ireland senior club final with Na Fianna before he made the short journey out the N3 to arrive in Dunboyne. "Ah look, I'm still a blow-in, I'm only here 30 years now!" he quips, before saying that his involvement with St. Peter's and Dunboyne has completely assimilated him into the local community. "I was like anyone else, I got involved with underage teams and then moved down to academy when my own kids were that age. "It's been a joy, particularly the Leinster journeys. I remember our first campaign, there were five away trips in a row and every time it felt like the entire village was following the bus behind," Quinn recalled. "These players aren't short on belief. The attitude we took against Fox-Cab was that we'd have to play really well to beat them, but that they aren't a team that we can't beat either." Seven years ago, they might have been, and Foxrock-Cabinteely have got better since then. But in the same time frame, Dunboyne have successfully made their marriage with St. Peter's work well, they moved out of the middle of pack in Meath junior level and become one of six or seven contenders for All-Ireland club honours this year. Some of the best young players in the county are moving up into the adult ranks each year, and based on the incredible success of their underage programmes, that doesn't look like stopping any time soon – though if it does, Dunboyne will be ready. "Nothing lasts forever, and you have to be prepared for when things turn," said Seán Sweeney. "We know well that it won't always be like this, but if you have the right structures in place, and you treat all games and all players with respect, you'll always do okay," he added. Okay is an understatement. From outside the top 100 clubs in Leinster to provincial champions, Dunboyne live in a new, different world these days. Holding the top spot won't be easy, but after travelling so far to get here, Dunboyne are unlikely to want to give it up too easy either. "IT'S BEEN A JOY, PARTICULARLY THE LEINSTER JOURNEYS. I REMEMBER OUR FIRST CAMPAIGN, THERE WERE FIVE AWAY TRIPS IN A ROW AND EVERY TIME IT FELT LIKE THE ENTIRE VILLAGE WAS FOLLOWING THE BUS BEHIND." Fiona O'Neill after the 2021 county final win Pictured at the All-Ireland semi-final

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