Ladies Gaelic Football

24 | AUTUMN 2022 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie PLAYER FOCUS: LARA DAHUNSI Dahunsi has been a model of consistency in this Antrim team throughout 2022 and was named player of the match in the drawn All-Ireland final at Croke Park, having delivered an all-action performance from midfield. The St Paul's star isn't new to the adult inter-county grade - she was named on the Division Four Team of the Lidl National Football League in 2019 - but found herself returning to the Saffrons set- up at the beginning of this year after sitting out the 2021 season in its entirety. In taking this decision to step back, Dahunsi gave due consideration to the morale of the squad as well as her own general wellbeing. Her time away from the cut and thrust of Antrim ladies football reinvigorated her sense of purpose, however, and she ultimately held off the claims of several candidates to partner her Paul's compatriot Áine Tubridy in the middle of the field. "Last year, mentally I wasn't in the right headspace. Football was the last thing on my mind mentally. I was just so drained. I didn't want to bring some sort of negativity or anything that I was dealing with myself personally into the team. This year, I was glad to get back out and finally be in the right headspace to play. "I feel because there were obviously people who filtered into the team, no jersey is guaranteed. I had to fight for my position. I feel like the time was spent with myself, not even just training with the team, on and off the pitch. I put in so much work and effort. I'm just glad it was rewarded at the end." The aforementioned Tubridy is someone that Dahunsi has looked up to for many years, going all the way back to Antrim's previous All-Ireland success. When Antrim overcame the challenge of Louth in the 2012 junior final at Croke Park, Dahunsi watched on with awe from the stands as her club colleague seized upon an opportunity to shine with considerable aplomb. Tubridy isn't the only person in the Antrim camp that the Ulster University student has idolised. Team manager Emma Kelly played alongside both Tubridy and Dahunsi when St Paul's made it all the way to the All-Ireland intermediate club showpiece in 2019 - eventually losing out to Naomh Ciaran of Offaly by a margin of just two points (2-11 to 2-9). A former inter-county footballer with both her native Derry and Antrim, Kelly was appointed to the helm of the latter for the 2021 season. She has made great strides since assuming the reins from Damien McConville, but Dahunsi sees her as far more than just a manager. "Emma to me personally is like family. She took us when I was U14. I've been playing club with her ever since I pushed up into the senior panel. Not only would she be a manager, I would consider her family. I could go to her for whatever really. "I feel like we are really close in regards to each other. In regards to the Antrim team, I feel like she has done a lot so far. It's not only enjoyable, but the work and the effort she puts in, it's insane." Despite coming through the Antrim underage system, Dahunsi initially lived in Tallaght on the southside of Dublin before moving to Belfast at the age of six. Although she went on to play basketball and netball at a high level, it was during these early years that she first got a taste for her current chosen sport. "My Mum is from Dublin. All my family is from Dublin and my Dad is from Nigeria. Probably moved up here when I was about six. I go back and forth, that's why my accent is a wee bit of a mixture! Down in Dublin, my Dad put us through football. "We thought it was soccer, but it turned out it was actually Gaelic football. So here we are!" August proved to be one of the more memorable months in the modern history of Gaelic games in Antrim, with the county achieving an All-Ireland junior double in ladies football and camogie. From Dahunsi's point of view, she wants their own success to be the start of an exciting journey rather than the culmination of one. With that in mind, she is looking forward to tackling next year's All-Ireland intermediate championship and also challenging for promotion from Division Four. "I feel like this is what the county needed. They can see there's a lot of young girls on the panel. Even minors that are pushing up into the senior panel next year, they're all so talented," Dahunsi added. "I feel like everyone will be pushing each other on to hopefully step up into intermediate. I think it will be good to get to different competitions up to a higher standard and hopefully we'll filter into it perfectly." "IN TAKING THIS DECISION TO STEP BACK, DAHUNSI GAVE DUE CONSIDERATION TO THE MORALE OF THE SQUAD AS WELL AS HER OWN GENERAL WELLBEING. "

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