Ladies Gaelic Football

I n the aftermath of her side securing back- to-back currentaccount.ie All-Ireland Senior Club Championship titles at Croke Park on December 10, Chloe Miskell's mind was drawn to those who had inspired the current crop of Kilkerrin-Clonberne (KC) heroes. When the club recorded a breakthrough Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup success over Mourneabbey in St Brendan's Park, Birr at the start of this year, former Galway stalwart Annette Clarke appeared off the bench as a 52nd-minute substitute. A TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship winning captain with Galway in 2004, Clarke also featured for KC in their national intermediate championship triumph at the expense of Cooley Kickhams five years earlier. That aforementioned cameo against Mourneabbey was her final game for KC, but it was a fitting way for the two-time All Star to bow out. Aisling Costello (sister of Galway footballer Shane Walsh) and Sarah Ward also stepped away from the set-up for this season, and Miskell acknowledged this triumvirate inspired them towards a defence of their All-Ireland crown against Monaghan outfit Donaghmoyne. "I would have looked up to Annette when I started off football, all the way up. I had her as a manager too, many times. It would have been great for her to be here today. The likes of Aisling Costello and Sarah Ward, we lost them too," Miskell explained in the minutes that followed Kilkerrin-Clonberne's superb final victory. "They deserved to be here today. Lots have gone before and haven't gotten the opportunity to play here and we were doing Kilkerrin Clonberne's Chloe Miskell talks to Daire Walsh about how previous players inspired their 2022 title defence. STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS Images clockwise from top: 1 Chloe Miskell of Kilkerrin- Clonberne 2 Ailish Morrissey of Kilkerrin-Clonberne. 3 Cora Courtney of Donaghmoyne 4 Lynsey Noone of Kilkerrin-Clonberne in action against Fiona Courtney of Donaghmoyne. 18 | WINTER 2022 / JANUARY 2023 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie MATCH Review

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