Geary craving for further glory

WHEN she was just 17, Anna Geary’s CV was already sprinkled with great feats. She was star of the St Mary’s Charleville All-Ireland winning junior and senior teams, the pillar behind Milford’s camogie revolution and was a budding Cork senior star.

Though on the county panel in 2003, she didn’t figure in the final against Tipperary. A year later she was introduced as a second-half substitute in the 2004 All-Ireland final against the same opposition.

Geary admits now she wasn’t mentally unprepared for the call-up in 2004, but when it came, her remit appeared direct and daunting: disrupt and close down the influence of Tipp full back Una O’Dwyer. Dwyer is regarded as a titan of the modern game; Geary did her best, but to no avail. She vowed then to be back in Croke Park in 2005, determined to play a more central part from her natural half back berth.

Geary did return in this position where she could exert her greatest influence in a half back line as much vaunted in camogie circles as the Gardiner, Curran, Ó hAilpín alliance is in hurling.

She played with majesty and flair, this time crying tears of joy at the finish after Cork ended Tipp’s three-in-a-row ambitions.

“There is a huge difference between victory and defeat,” admits Geary. “I suppose that is one thing that will drive you on, because there is such a small difference between winning and losing. Anything can happen and it’s so easy to fall on either side. For the first two years all I’d known was loss. Last year I didn’t know what to expect when we won. The memories will never leave me because for the first two or three minutes after winning an All-Ireland, it’s a feeling you cannot describe. There’s a buzz there. You can’t say anything, it’s just that you know you have achieved, you know the amount of work you’ve put in has been worth it all.”

The youngest member of Cork’s team is from the village of Milford in north Cork, nine miles from Charleville, five from rivals Newtownshandrum, and home to former Cork greats Sean O’Gorman and Pat Buckley.

Geary’s first cousin is former Cork senior and current Nemo Rangers fullback Niall Geary but hurling has provided the village’s sustenance for decades.

Camogie got a more pronounced identity from 1997 on under Ann Watson. They flourished at underage and are now a major force at senior level. Geary remembers some great times when she was a part of a side that won five county minor titles in a row, and she played a central role in an epic county senior final against Carrigdhoun in 2004. It was a night when camogie did its best ever PR job for the game: Final score: Carrigdhoun 6-11, Milford 5-11.

“That’s night did wonders for camogie but, as we lost, we were left on the other side of it. I look back now and you appreciate it was our first county final and it was brilliant that we could play to this standard but that was the last thing we wanted to be told that night, how great the game was — we just wanted to be champions.”

At St Mary’s in Charleville she was marked out as a star in the making in a school where local rivalries were set aside and “outsiders” mixed and matched. Girls bussed it to one of

Ireland’s most recognised camogie nurseries from Ballyhea and Newtownshandrum, even from Ballingarry and Ballygran in Limerick. The mix was good and success followed.

“I won two senior All-Irelands and two junior All-Irelands at St Mary’s. It whetted my appetite for success at a young age. But credit must be given to Vincent Harrington, Ann Marie O’Keeffe, Ger O’Donovan – you’re only as good as the people behind you as well and sometimes you can forget that.”

Her meteoric rise was rewarded with an All-Star last year, and, after St Mary’s, the business student was part of the University of Limerick’s three-in-a-row Ashbourne Cup winning side. She played against some of her Cork team-mates in that competition, but tomorrow Geary will play on a half back line regarded as one of the best in the country.

“Every line brings something to the game. I’m fortunate enough to be playing alongside Mary O’Connor who is coolness personified. She’d be a tower of strength to us all. And playing alongside someone like that, it’s very easy to be a small bit more relaxed. And then on the other side we have Rena Buckley — you can’t get more reliable. Even saying that the girls behind you, you know if something is going to happen they’ll be there. I think if you ask Ronan Curran or John Gardiner they’ll point the steadiness of Jerry O’Connor in front of them or Diarmuid O’Sullivan behind.

“The hurlers brought so much joy and celebration to Cork over the last few years and hopefully we can do the same. Regardless of what happened to the hurlers last week, they’re a team anyone would like to aspire to. Their attitude has rubbed off on us and hopefully we can go that extra bit this year.”

Coming onto the panel late in 2003, she experienced defeat to Tipp, and the hurt doubled in 2004. While some of that pain was expunged last year, now the Rebelettes are on the cusp of back-to-back titles.

However, it’s pressure the team could do without, says Geary.

“Two All-Ireland titles in a row is something we don’t think of — it’s not spoken about in our camp, which is just as well. Sometimes those sort of things can be blown out of proportion. There’s a job to do and that’s to win the match. Anything after that is a bonus. It’s another game and another team.

“You get nothing if you lose. It’s heart breaking. It’s something I don’t want to experience on Sunday. I want to keep the memories alive.”