St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield’s development graph has been on a continuous upward curve over the past decade but despite being the underage queen-pins in that time, are only competing in their first ever county senior ladies football final on Sunday.
Indeed, having cut their teeth in the top flight over the past six seasons, the Parish feel that they’ve earned their dues but according to their inspirational defensive anchor Síofra Ní Chonaill, it had to take an unprecedented semi-final victory over perennial finalists Banner Ladies to finally provide the surge of confidence and self belief that they could finally vie for the ultimate prize in Clare ladies football.
“If you asked me five or six years ago when we started at senior what was our goal, it wouldn’t have even been to get to a final, it was just to put it up to the Banner.
“They have been the standard-bearers for nearly twenty years basically so it has been great that all the senior teams have been getting closer and closer these past few years and brilliant that we could be the team to beat them. But for us it was a validation of sorts as we’ve been knocking at the door and have come close but until now hadn’t made that breakthrough,
“We had won titles from Under 12 upwards but it’s only when you get to senior that you realise how hard it is to get up to the standard just to be able to compete. So it has taken a lot of hard work and resilience but we are in the final now and it’s a great place to be.
“Winning that semi-final has given us the fire in the belly that we’ve needed. We knew that we’d put it up to them on the day but putting it up to them and actually beating them are two completely different things.
“So to get that win has really boosted the confidence of the team but at the end of the day, we’ve only won a semi-final. I mean there’s no point beating the Banner and then losing the final. So we’ve got to go out and perform again on Sunday. Obviously we came close to them in the league final and then we beat them in the first round of the championship so it’s kind of level pegging between is this year at the minute.”
Kilmurry Ibrickane’s edge saw the West Clare side knock the Parish out of last year’s senior race at the quarter-final stage before also denying them silverware after prevailing on free kicks in an epic Division 1 League marathon in May.
“On the day the margins were so, so slim. It was the first game that I’ve ever been part of that went to free kicks. So it was a real tense finish and obviously an even tougher pill to take when we lost just because the manner doesn’t seem fair but looking back now, it was probably another lesson for us and a character building factor that has driven us all ever since.”
So it should be another wide open showdown once more this Sunday surely?
“It’s wide open but I think we’re still going in as underdogs because we have nothing won. We were written off at the start of the year as the team that was knocking and knocking at the door but never actually opening it and I think the league final defeat only boosted that theory.
“It’s great in a way that the expectations aren’t overly high or there’s too much pressure on our shoulders but we know that it’s going to be a very tough game on Sunday and regardless of the result, we will take great learnings from it as we have so many young players.
“I mean I’m considered one of the experienced players and I’m not that old so it’s hard to know how it will go but being two new teams in the final, I believe that it will be a great spectacle on the day.”
Add to that spectacle will be the lofty surroundings of Cusack Park, another first in a final of firsts for both sides.
“It’s a huge thing for ladies football and hopefully it becomes a regular event in Cusack Park. The fact that it’s a double header should make for a great atmosphere and it’s about making the most of this opportunity now. We’ve worked so hard to get here and who knows we may never get back there again so we have high expectations of ourselves as we are determined not to be beaten by the same team in finals twice in the one year.”
Having experienced that at first hand for Clare against Kildare last year, Ní Chonaill and Co. will be gunning to avoid doubling the dose for a second successive season.