Bríd O'Sullivan eyes milestone victory as Mourneabbey captain
Mourneabbey captain Bríd O'Sullivan raises the trophy after defeating West Cork in the Cork Senior Championship final at CIT last year. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Not that it had even registered with her, but Bríd O’Sullivan could land a unique five-in-a-row this weekend.
The Mourneabbey midfielder is nearing the end of her fifth season captaining the dominant force in ladies club football and was Shane Ronayne’s side to successfully defend the John Hurley Cup at CIT Saturday evening (5pm throw-in), it would see Bríd become a five-time county championship-winning captain.
O’Sullivan took over the armband from her namesake Roisín ahead of the 2016 campaign - the latter captained Mourneabbey to their first two Cork wins - and since then she has had the distinction of accepting county and Munster silverware on four occasions and, most notably, the All-Ireland club title in 2018 and 2019.
When told she must be doing something right to hold onto the captaincy for such a period of time, the 26-year-old secondary school teacher lets out a laugh from down the other end of the phone.
Is it, perhaps, that she is one of the more talkative members of the group and that is why manager Shane Ronayne has retained her in the role year after year?
“I probably talk too much at times! But I don't know, you'll have to ask Shane that one.
“I am just glad he did ask me and it definitely has been an honour for me to lead this team out over the last couple of years. I suppose I am just thankful we have been as successful as we have been,” says O’Sullivan.
“To be asked to be captain of this team is something I am really proud of and I am lucky enough to be able to accept any cups or anything like that that we are presented with, but we are fortunate in Mourneabbey that we have leaders all over the pitch, from Maebh O’Sullivan in goals to Doireann O’Sullivan in the full-forward line, and the girls coming in off the bench.”
A native of Killavullen, which is 20 minutes over the road from Mourneabbey, O’Sullivan played with the local U10 and U12 boys teams before joining Mourneabbey at the age of 13 along with Emma Coakley.
She reckons her early education with the boys teams did her no harm but feels it is important nowadays that girls start off with the players they will be lining out alongside into their teens and twenties.
“It is good to build that camaraderie with your teammates from a young age. I joined Mourneabbey because it would have been the closest ladies football club to me at the time.
"But in terms of the friends I have made and the experiences I have had through playing with Mourneabbey, it is definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
Blocking Mourneabbey’s path to a seventh consecutive county title is familiar foes West Cork. This is their third consecutive county final meeting, Mourneabbey needing a replay in 2018 before getting the job done. There was further stalemate when they met in the group stages earlier this summer, a game in which West Cork had chances to sneak victory.
O’Sullivan knew that July evening the pair would cross paths again before the season was out.
“We did have a tough test against Éire Óg in the group stages, but we knew in the back of our minds that it was going to be ourselves and West Cork going forward. At this stage, we know each other inside out. That familiarity makes for an exciting game on Saturday.
"When we won the first of our six, that was our first ever county senior title in Cork and so if you had told us that in seven years' time, we'd be going for seven-in-a-row, none of us would have believed you. But we are delighted with what we have achieved and how consistent we have been the last few years."
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