O’Donovan Rossa heroes feel experience of All-Ireland win played role in latest success
BY GER McCARTHY
MAKING sense of winning the Cork LGFA intermediate county title was as difficult as realising that they are now a senior club for O’Donovan Rossa’s ecstatic players.
‘Skibb are going up, going up, Skibb are going up,’ sang the O’Donovan Rossa players shortly after being presented with the intermediate county trophy in Cloughduv on Sunday.
What a day for the ladies football section of the West Cork club.
You thought winning an All-Ireland was special? Well, this special group of players said we will see your All-Ireland junior title and raise you an intermediate county title in our first year at the grade.
Team captain and Cork senior Laura O’Mahony struggled to make sense of it all.
‘Oh my God, this is something, as a child, I would have only dreamed of,’ O’Mahony said.
‘I never thought it would come through but, oh my God, it is all a bit surreal at this moment. Naomh Abán are a formidable team and one of the best teams we have played over the last number of years. They really put it up to us today.’
Defender Lisa Harte was equally effusive in her praise of a battling Naomh Abán.
‘Credit to them because they put it up to us until the very, very last minute,’ Harte added.
‘I think we dug deep and it showed how much we really wanted it on the day. Look, it could have gone either way and thank God we came out on the right side of it.
O'Donovan Rossa's Lisa Harte and Éabha O'Donovan celebrate after the Skibbereen team defeated Naomh Abán in the Cork LGFA intermediate final at Cloughduv. (Photo: Paddy Feen)
‘The experience of playing in an All-Ireland final definitely stood to us. We have experienced big days but sometimes those games can get to teams. We never panicked in the last 15 minutes, we were composed and just dug really deep.’
‘This is all really amazing,’ added O’Donovan Rossa’s Fiona Leonard.
‘I suppose the thing is we always look forward to training on the Tuesday nights and that’s been our motivation all year.
‘The thought of playing in the senior championship next year would nearly bring tears to your eyes. Everyone is so proud but we just can’t wait to get back training and playing (in Munster) again.
‘Naomh Abán are such an amazing team, I feel they are the best team we have come across over the past two years. We knew that there wouldn’t be more than a point in it. We can’t wait to go up senior but we need to keep driving on this season as well.’
Triona Murphy was another of O’Donovan Rossa’s heroes on a day the West Cork club rubber-stamped their promotion to the county’s top grade.
‘It is a bit surreal at the minute but an absolutely unbelievable feeling,’ Murphy commented.
‘It definitely helped being involved in so many tight games last year and that showed because of the way we had to dig in near the end. Thankfully, we got the win in the end.
‘Our supporters were absolutely unbelievable today. As Laura (O’Mahony) said a while ago, they were the ones who got us over the line. They are absolutely incredible.’
So are the O’Donovan Rossa players who have a Munster LGFA intermediate semi-final and senior football to look forward to in 2025.
