O’Driscoll dreams of All-Ireland date

IN all of her years representing Banner Ladies and Clare, Emma O’Driscoll has never been so close to playing in an All-Ireland senior club final.

The Clare, Munster B and Munster A champions are just one hour from qualifying for the biggest day ladies club football has to offer. Their thrilling one-point defeat of St Val’s from Cork in the Munster A final, three weeks ago, qualified The Banner for Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final.

The Niamh O’Dea-captained team will play Monaghan, Ulster and reigning All-Ireland champions, Donaghmoyne, in Corofin at 1.30pm and are hoping that a huge crowd will travel to North Clare to roar them on.

“I think this is a game that we will get a few neutrals at and our own county colleagues will come too and, hopefully, some of the girls from other clubs,” the Kildysart National School teacher told The Clare Champion.  

“People who have any interest in Clare ladies football might come. It’s very important for us because we aren’t that small village and we don’t have the big crowds coming. I really hope that people do come and give us the support. We have a very small support. I could nearly name out the crew who religiously come to every single match. In energy terms, I’d say they make the noise of three times the amount of the them that are there,” the Banner goalkeeper laughed.

Not alone are Donaghmoyne seeking to retain their All-Ireland crown, they also won it in 2006 and 2009. Their line-up includes Clare footballer Fiona Lafferty, who represented Miltown before moving to Monaghan for work reasons.

“Fiona is a really good player. She’s the kind of player you want on your team and not playing against you. She might transfer for the day,” Emma suggested.

“They’re a very good team. They have their inter-county stars and Fiona will bring her own crowd in support and that will add to it as well,” O’Driscoll added.

The Banner have been training hard since their Munster final win and played UL in a challenge game under lights last week. It took them a while to grasp that they were Munster champions and an hour from the ultimate club showpiece.

“Realising that we’re only a match away from an All-Ireland final was a lot to take in. Having won the Munster Senior B, we thought ‘ok, that’s as far as a Clare team is going to progress and we’ll enjoy it’.

“To beat St Val’s, especially with they being from Cork, really added to it. Playing Monaghan opposition in Clare is a huge advantage, although we are playing in a fairly new venue to us. Not having to travel is absolutely huge. The cost to the club and the organisation that would have been involved if we had to travel means that we really have been very lucky,” the experienced Banner girl said.

Mention of the dreaded ‘experience’ word, Emma struggled to admit that herself Niamh Keane and Louise Henchy have plenty of it.

“Don’t say we’re old. That was the theme two weeks ago. If I get called a veteran one more time…” she warned initially, before coming round a bit.

“I would never have considered myself one of the older ones on the team but, this year, there is definitely a shift in what’s going on. I would have always thought that I was one of the younger ones but I think this is the year, we’ll accept it, we can’t fight it any more. We are, I suppose, the more experienced players,” O’Driscoll grudgingly acknowledged.

On a serious note, her admiration for the Banners young stars is clear.

“The talent of the younger players that we have is just unbelievable. If we can bring that bit of experience to the younger ones, that might be a help. They are the real talents of this team,” their goalkeeper maintained.

Hopefully, come 3pm on Sunday, The Banner will be warming down in preparation for an All-Ireland final.

“It is hard to even think that way. It’s surreal to think that we’re even up there in the last four. To think that we could get into an All-Ireland Senior A final is unbelievable. I just can’t wait for Sunday,” the Banner number one concluded.

Peter O’Connell