Ladies Gaelic Football

40 // Ladies Gaelic Football Association SINÉAD BURKE INTERVIEW PEIL Spring | Issue No 1 | Volume 14 girls have been so nice. It's nice to get to know the girls in a di"erent capacity. "You go into it saying 'Oh I know these girls' but that's very di"erent. That's knowing them on a pitch and that's very di"erent to knowing them outside of football "You get to see them in a di"erent light, it's great. There's no rivalry out here so it's nice to see that side of things as well. The talent is outrageous out here this year." Galway meanwhile, have been impressing in the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 to date in 2018, and that pleases Burke. Some players have returned to the set- up and with some wins under their belt and points on the board, the Tribeswomen are well established as contenders for a top four spot. "It's looking at the latter stages, the crunch games now," she continues. "We're hoping to take the bull by the horns and hopefully points. It's not going to be easy, we have three tough games left so we want to make sure that we are in top four by the end of it. "There's a lot that are in bottom half that are chasing points as well. It won't be easy, looking forward to the challenge though." And of the set-up itself, she adds: "It's great to have a mixture of younger, older and a few girls back that didn't play last year. We're really gelling now this year, it's just getting that consistent football and not playing well in one game and not so well in another. "That could be because of players not playing with one another in a couple of years. It's just getting that fit and hopefully the latter end of the league, we will gel a little bit more and we will get the performances and we will get the consistent games. "Looking forward to it. It's a great division to be in because all of the games are so competitive. I mean, you can't write o" any members of Division 1, you know home or away it's going to be a tough one, which is good. "That's exactly what you want leading into the summer." O better game to get you tuned in than facing the All- Ireland champions!" As Galway's Sinead Burke packed her bags to return to the Emerald Isle after the TG4 All-Stars Tour to Bangkok, there was one thing on her mind. A battle with Dublin. Of course, it ended in a win for Galway but it was also an interesting encounter for Burke for another reason. She plays her club football in the capital with Ballyboden St Enda's. The teacher is in her second year with the southside outfit, and feels plying her trade with a Dublin club has benefitted her on a personal level. "100%," she says. "It would be quite hard to make a midweek session back home. It's definitely an advantage to me. It's a really good set-up in Ballyboden as it is I'm sure with a lot of clubs in Dublin. "The training midweek is competitive. At least I know that I'm getting my football midweek as well, that it's not just me on my own training or me having to commute to Galway. It's just not really realistic at the moment in time. "It's a great advantage, you're playing football, you're playing games every week which is exactly what you need. It's definitely been an advantage for me, I definitely noticed it last year especially through the league. "You're not going a whole week without doing just your gym work. It's great to touch a football midweek as well, it's an advantage." She adds, of going home for inter-county commitments: "Some people say that the commute is quite tough at the weekends but it's fine for me. You just get up and do it and look forward to the game on the Sunday then." Enjoying life in Asia though, those club and inter-county rivalries are well and truly put on hold. "From day one it's been such a great experience. I suppose I'm the only Galway representative so at the start I was a bit anxious, all the N Relishing The Challenge Galway's Sinéad Burke with orphans during a visit to Sister Horgan who is an Irish missionary, originally from Cork

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