Meath ladies determined to show all challengers that 2021 was no fluke

Royals goalkeeper Monica McGuirk says they will continue to play 'with no fear and no complacency' ahead of rematch with the Rebels on Saturday

Meath manager Eamonn Murray celebrates with players, from left, Emma Troy, Niamh O'Sullivan and Shauna Ennis following the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship semi-final win over Cork. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Meath ladies turned the Gaelic football world on its axis last September by downing Dublin’s ‘Drive For Five’ but their sensational semi-final comeback against Cork was even more dramatic.

Which is why their rematch with the Rebels, in Páirc Tailteann on Saturday, is the tie of the opening round of the 2022 Lidl National Leagues.

“Cork are not just coming up to play us, they’re coming up to prove a point so it will be a massive game,” says the Royals All-Star goalkeeper Monica McGuirk who revealed just how pivotal that extra-time semi-final victory was.

“Seven points down to Cork with just over two minutes to go,” she groans. “I was looking up at the clock with five minutes left thinking ‘get me out of here’. As a goalkeeper, when you’ve let two goals in and you’re trailing like that, your head is gone.

“When Emma White got the penalty I thought ‘yes, Stacey (Grimes) will score this and the scoreline won’t look so bad’. but when she scored it, the girls’ mentality just changed.

"They were like we’re not going down here without a fight. We pressed high and then Emma Duggan slotted the second goal and the place went mental.

“When the whistle went and we got into a huddle Eamonn (Murray, manager) said: ‘We should be on the bus home! You can win this now. There’s no point in doing that if you don’t go on and win it,’ and we ended up winning by two points.”

In attendance at the launch of the 2022 Lidl Ladies National Football Leagues is Monica McGuirk of Meath. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

They brought that same belief and energy to winning the All-Ireland final in their first season back in senior, just three months after winning Division 2.

“I think we’re after showing other teams that you can do what you want to do when you put your mind to it. We started in Division 3 and won Division 2 in our first year but we also lost two All-Irelands at intermediate (versus Tyrone and Tipperary) which were massive knockbacks.”

Like it or not, Meath are no longer happy underdogs but McGuirk says they won’t be cowed by expectation and will still continue to play “with no fear and no complacency”, especially because they are back in the league’s top division for the first time in years.

“Division 1 football is a new challenge which really give us something to focus on so we’re very much in the mindframe of parking 2021 now and moving on.”

Last season culminated in a second All-Star for the Duleek/Bellewstown keeper who almost quit team sport a few years ago after her soccer career stalled. 

She played in an FAI Cup final for Peamount, lined out for UCD and also had some Irish trials, but had decided “I had enough. I was up and down to Dublin but had a lot of setbacks in soccer — being told I wasn’t good enough — so I decided to finish.”

She had no intention of returning to Gaelic until a call from Eamonn Murray at the start of 2018. 

“Somehow he got wind I’d finished soccer and rang me and was like ‘just give me two weeks and if you’re not enjoying it, fine walk away’. I’d been in and out with Meath since 2011 and thought it would be easier to balance and I’ve never looked back since.”

She is one of eight Meath All-Stars facing a Cork side who got just two in 2021 — Erika O’Shea and Hannah Looney. The Rebels will be without Looney as her work as a chemical engineer has taken her to New York.

Dublin’s Sinead Goldrick and Lauren Magee are playing Down Under and Mayo are without the Kelly sisters, Rachel Kearns, and Sarah Rowe — due to Aussie Rules.

Dublin, who face Cork in the second round and then Meath (away), will likely start without their St Sylvester’s contingent (including Sinead Aherne) who just won the All-Ireland intermediate title but there’s been no talk of retirements from them yet.

All-Munster clash

The pick of this weekend’s Division 2 games is the all-Munster clash of Kerry and Tipperary in Killarney, who last met when the Kingdom won their relegation play-off last summer.

Tipperary are still without Aisling Moloney whose recovery from a torn cruciate has been delayed. Kerry have lost two stalwarts in Aislinn Desmond and Louise Galvin. 

Galway will likely start without their talented Kilkerrin-Clonberne contingent and still have not officially replaced manager Gerry Fahy, who stepped down last month.

The league finals are scheduled for April 3 (Divisions 3 and 4) and April 10 (Divisions 1 and 2) and, despite the end of lockdown, the LGFA continues to stream every game and offer a streaming ticket for the season (all league and championship matches) for €50.

Lidl confirmed another four years of sponsorship yesterday to 2025, which is estimated to represent an investment of €10m over the 10 years and the LGFA said there has been a 73% increase in underage playing numbers since they came on board in 2015.