Last Friday we were delighted to have graduation happen in person, during the ceremony SU president and Ladies football goalkeeper Emily McGrory gave a great speech which basically said       “We Made it”. Her point was that the goal, (graduation with a college degree), had been achieved but she detailed all the little highlights and bumps in the road that made the journey so special. Her message was, as with everything she does, right on point – its not just about the destination it’s the journey that’s important.   

The journey that our ladies Gaelic football team have been on has been a fascinating one and there was another twist on that long and winding road yesterday as the girls dispatched St Mary’s Belfast 5-12 to 2-04 in Breffni park Cavan to make it to their second successive All Ireland league Final. That this team is dominated by a tight knit group of 4^th year nurses will let you know that the journey has been at least 4 years in the making but in fact it has been quite a deal longer as we have to acknowledge the two men, (Daniel Caldwell and Mickey Feeney,) who charted the course and refused to be diverted from their goal of establishing Ladies Gaelic football as an essential thread of the campus and a force beyond the sport it represents. 

They have made many decisions along the way but arguably two of their wisest have been influential in getting us to where we are. The first was the appointment of Danielle Caldwell to the management team = the Mayo senior player is a recently qualified physio and has looked after all the girls knocks and bruises but she has also brought her knowledge of the ladies game at the highest level and introduced a physical conditioning to the girls that has them in peak shape.     

The second was in appointing Maeve Flanagan as captain of this gallant crew.  Not for Maeve the Davy Fitzgerald school of roaring and shouting and “look at me amn’t I great” motivation.  A woman of few words she leads because she commands respect, she leads by example, she leads by clearly and calmly letting the girls know what she wants from them – and where she leads, they will willingly follow!! 

And while we look at the journey and examine the road that has brought us to another All-Ireland final no better place to start than with Maeve: when she arrived 4 years ago, we knew we had unearthed a gem and the path ahead, that she was destined to lead on, looked dizzyingly bright. In her first college game on a sun-drenched September day in Mchale Park she showed her qualities and having shorn up the defence brilliantly she charged forward to fire off a fine point -all was good and the future, as they say, was so bright we were preparing to wear shades. 

But in that self-same glorious moment as she watched the ball sail over the bar – disaster struck. In a vain effort to knock her off course a defender committed to the tackle launched herself at Maeve, followed through and the resultant collision and fall led Maeve to tear her Anterior Cruciate Ligament. All the promise that lay ahead of her now hung in the balance, (she was on the cusp of the Galway senior team and establishing herself with her club, Kilkerrin-Clonbeirne, one of the top teams in the country). Instead, her reality was the operating theatre and months and months of painful recovery and gruelling rehabilitation work. The road to recovery was not without its twists turns and setbacks but she is back where she belongs to the relief and delight of all who know her. 

None of us can walk the path alone and on every step along that road her partner in crime, Siobhan Brew, was by her side. On the pitch, in the classroom, on the corridor in the canteen you will rarely find one without the other and Siobhan has more than anyone shared her football journey, which is turn has been the story of their college path. Not without her own injury setbacks, (she missed our final group game), last night she put in possibly her finest performance in a college jersey to steady the ship and play a leader’s role in the forward line. Olwyn Kenny has shown glimpses of her potential over her four years, but it is only this year that she has consistently demonstrated her undoubted ability to nail down a starting spot in the forwards while Megan Carty has shown her experience when called upon and has played a major role on every step of the journey on and off the field. 

Bronagh Quinn’s road to this point has been slightly more complicated, taking her to LYIT before coming to us in second year, but that decision was a fateful one for the future of this team as she has been a revelation and the driving force of the team since her arrival .Her decision to step away from the Galway senior panel to focus on her college career has shown to be a wise one  as they have now discovered what we have long known for some time, that you will travel a long way to find a better defender  anywhere in the country and she has been brought back into the fold by the Tribeswomen. That she excels for us in midfield is simply a testament to her versatility but her performance in the centre of the park last night was as close to perfection as you could ask for. Her goal, (where she took a pass from Maeve while fully airborne, landed in her unique, almost gazelle like, fashion where she somehow managed to propel herself forward at speed on landing leaving three defenders mesmerised in her wake, steadied herself and rifled an unstoppable shot to the net from more than 20 yards) was a thing of absolute beauty and worth the 5 hour round trip in and of itself! 

 Her equally influential midfield partner Emma Halton had a journey of a different kind as this was a trip back home for the Gowna woman who is no stranger to Breffni park lining out, as she does, for the Cavan seniors. And while all of the aforementioned are reaching the culmination of their college journey Emma is starting out on hers, she has just been awarded a sports scholarship and is ready and willing to carry the baton when it is passed from her more senior colleagues – we will be hearing plenty more form here in the years to come.  

In a story of journeys and interesting twists and turns it would be hard to eclipse that of Anna Tuohy. She made her way into the Mayo Senior Panel at 16 years of age and quickly showed that her ability and confidence meant that she had no problem rubbing shoulders with the great players of that Mayo team including Cora Staunton -who commented on the ease with which she made the transition and the confidence she displayed in quickly establishing herself in the side.  It was not only in the intercounty panel that she moved among the elite as in her first foray into third level she was an integral part of the UL side who dominated the top tier of third level football. Injury again entered the story line and Anna ended up taking time away from football and indeed from these shores as she travelled the world before deciding to come home. 

Anna arrived to us via a link we have with Castlebar College of Further Education and she played with us while a student there before progressing to the psych nursing course, a path that has shown the way for current Mayo CFE players such as; Lisa Scahill who  put in an outstanding performance at full forward and will have a major say in the destination of the final such is her ability in the inside line as evidenced by personal tally of 1-4, Lucy Wallace who has anchored a place in the full back line and has brought great pace and vision to the defences since her late inclusion and Shauna Tolan who has provided great impact off the bench in our last few games. How we would love to see these girls continue their path with us. 

Sophie Devaney wouldn’t be one for the straightforward path either and this is her second stint in GMIT where she is now completely at home in her Applied Social Care Course.  Sophies infectious enthusiasm and great character are almost as influential as her on field contribution which is high praise considering how formidable a full back she is.  A constant in the half back line since her arrival three years ago Shona hickey is another who knows the dual importance of performance on the field and the development of squad ties and friendships of it. Her constant smile has made many newcomers at ease, but that smile is not much in evidence when she brings her tenacity to the fore in her wing back role in a position she has made her own. 

We can sometimes overlook Emily in goal such is her constant excellence but with an early lead established the northerners knew the only way back into the game was though goals and in fairness they came looking but time and gain Emily thwarted them and it wasn’t until the final quarter when the game was beyond doubt that they finally breached her guard. 

As this story of these girls is one of development over years rather than hours there is no need to focus on the minute details and ebbs and flow of this game other than to note that with the massively Influential Anna Touhy and Rachel Barrett both missing the girls knew that anything less than a fully committed performance would be harshly punished. But they were fully focused, and a brilliant team performance saw them outmatch the Belfast girls in every department.  

As well as the usual excellence from those already noted above special mention must go to: Vivienne Ward who made the most of her opportunity with an assured performance and a well taken goal, Saoirse Tunney who stood tall when the northern girls looked to up the ante and push a physical edge when all else had failed them. Saoirse was up to the challenge and wasn’t found wanting in a response that backed her teammates and made it clear that there was plenty pf backbone as well as skill in the outfit, Lucy Tuohy who crowned another night of intense work with fine point and Niamh Burke who got through a power of work near goal and was influential in setting up several of her colleagues while Ciara McDonagh again gave a masterclass in marking her opposite number and Lisa Killoran, Sinead Kearney and Orla Burke saw out the game in fine style when they replaced those who ran themselves into  the ground.  

Its fitting that next Wednesday the girls will run out in another All -Ireland Final and that the core of 4^th year nurses will have come fresh from an important presentation on Clinical Practice and Safety which is a culmination of months of work and that they will be a matter of days away from their final exams, because their journey has shown that both paths are intertwined. Their academic achievements cannot be separated from their personal growth and development that have come about from their college experiences outside of the classroom- and in this case on the training pitch, fields of play, buses, (and indeed airplanes !!!) to matches, through tears and laughter, celebration and consolation.  

They have grown throughout this journey!!- we will be proud of them when they graduate next year and take their place in the world, we will be proud of them win or lose in the final next Wednesday but a beautiful gesture they made highlights all you need to know about them as group – as they prepared for this game and amid their heavy workload they baked a birthday cake with which they surprised Birthday boy Daniel Caldwell after the game candles and a rousing “ happy birthday” included, because those are the small details that prove the journey is every bit as important as the destination