'I thought football had been written off in Kilkenny but it's actually not'

“Last year, we weren't really training. We were only fulfilling our fixtures."

JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP AIMS: Junior players Longford's Caoimhe McCormack and Kilkenny's Ellen Lawlor at the launch of the TG4 Leinster LGFA Championships at Durrow Castle in Laois. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Kilkenny’s aim in this year’s All-Ireland Junior Championship is simple: Lose by less. That’s not due to a lack of ambition but a sense of realism. It’s what’s achievable right now for a football team in camogie country, one which only rejoined the National League in 2023.

Last year, they lost all four of their league games, their three championship games and this year all seven of their league games. Their smallest margin of defeat was by 10 points to Derry in last year’s league. Results like that will make your targets modest.

“I think we're sticking in with teams until about 40 minutes and once they go two goals up, our heads drop,” says Kilkenny captain Ellen Lawlor.

“We just need to focus on getting to the 40 minutes and holding concentration for the rest of the match. We’re definitely not as skillful as the other counties because they've been together since U14 and we're only a new team.

“The pace of the game, we're just getting used to that as well. We're good for half an hour. To counteract that, we've just got to get as many matches under our belts as we can.” 

They will get at least three more games this year after being drawn in a group with Limerick, Longford and Louth.

Reducing those margins of defeat is a realistic goal. The work, far more of it by far more players than last year, is being done. Strength and conditioning is no longer an add-on in the women’s game. It’s a necessity to be competitive. 

“Last year, we weren't really training,” says Lawlor.

“We were only fulfilling our fixtures. We were training maybe every second week and we'd only have five people at training. It was disheartening.

“This year, we're training three times a week; we have strength and conditioning with our coach Willie. It did give girls something to buy into this year. That's why the numbers have been better.

“There's a proper county setup in place. The majority of nights, we'd have a full squad there, which is great. Girls love a challenge. You see how much of a difference you've made in the gym from October to now. It's been a good year in that sense.” 

The 20-year-old does play club camogie but favoured football growing up. Her aunt Mary and grandfather Packie, who was a long-time chairman of the Muckalee club, are “huge football people”.

There have been many breakdowns in the Kilkenny ladies football journey. Last year was the first time they competed at adult level since 2019. The car is now fully serviced and on the road again, fuelled with the belief of players like Lawlor that there’s a destination worth reaching.

“I work in a gym in Kilkenny,” she says.

“Some of the people coming in, who I wouldn't really know, would say to me that'd they'd seen we were playing a match at the weekend. There is belief behind us. There's support from a lot of people in the county, which has been a surprise for me because I thought football had been written off in Kilkenny but it's actually not.

“Success for us would be getting that score difference down. For the league, we set out with high expectations, that we wanted to win. Rome wasn't built in a day, you're not suddenly going to go out and beat these teams who have been together for years. The standard in junior is unbelievable; you wouldn't believe it until you're actually playing it.

“When I was growing up, U16, I was thinking 'There's not even an adult county team. Where does this all go?' U14, U16, we were very strong. You didn't have that stepping stone. It is good for younger girls now that there is that stepping stone.”