'It's been a year of football I'll never forget' - Leader Sports, Siadbh Redmond

NEVER would I have thought that I would ever be involved in an All-Ireland final at any grade, never mind with a club that I only joined at the start of 2024.

After falling out of love with football I was on the verge of packing it in this year but thankfully I found the grá for it again through Mungret.

There is something special about this ladies team in Mungret and it’s easy to say that I have found another family there. Living away from home can be difficult at times but without a shadow of a doubt the people in Mungret have become a huge constant in my life and I’m forever thankful for their support throughout the year.

After moving up from Ballydehob in West Cork to work full-time with the Limerick Leader I continued playing with my home club of Gabriel Rangers during the summer of 2023, but with work commitments and the three hour one-way journey, I decided to make the switch and move to Mungret St Paul’s at the start of this year.

This was a huge decision for me, after playing 18 years of ladies football with my home club. As with all rural parishes it was always a struggle to field teams and I felt a form of guilt leaving, but I felt like it was time to either give up football for a while or join a new club in Limerick.

Living in the city left me with few options to pick from in terms of club, as camogie was the number one sport for most of them. While searching for the right club I stumbled across Mungret and after seeing how close it was to the city it was a ‘no-brainer.’

Thankfully transfers went through without any problems and I was to link up with my new team after the February Bank Holiday .

Between the gym sessions in Train Limerick and our own gym in Mungret with our S&C coach Dylan Kenny, I started to feel stronger than I had ever done before.

These gym sessions coupled with the running sessions already felt like a totally different world to what I was used to and with a good few new girls joining the team, it felt like an extremely welcoming environment.

In West Cork we would usually rock up to a league game with one or two training sessions done, never mind having a spreadsheet training plan with two to three trainings a week and a gym session. With all my giving out about being tired, I loved going out to Mungret and meeting the girls who I had already made a strong bond with. With the large numbers we had Mungret were able to field two teams in the league and the championship. I played on both the Intermediate and Junior team throughout the league, with both sides successful in reaching league finals.

It had been years since I had won a GAA game, nevermind make it to a final, and from the moment I went out to Mungret St Paul's I could tell that this squad would be successful in 024.

I had never been a part of a club that cared so much about their ladies teams, with four to five coaches at training every night and the commitment by the girls to have maybe 20 to 30 people at our sessions every time.

It was a strange feeling for me to be winning games, the last time I had won anything with GAA was maybe under 14 or even under 12!

This winning feeling was contagious with the team moving onto the Limerick intermediate and junior championships. An unbeaten intermediate and junior championship run brought us to the second set of finals this season. An unlucky result in the junior was overturned with a thrilling one-point victory over Knockainey in the Limerick Intermediate final, progressing us on to the Munster championship.

We had now entered bonus territory and after another hard battle against Abbeydorney in the Munster semi-final we were Munster final bound, for the first time in the club's history.

A huge victory over Midelton down in Mallow in the Munster final saw us gain our second Cup of the season and the feeling was just one of disbelief. The squad mentality in Mungret is something I’ll never forget and everyone from numbers 1 to 30 offers something different to the team.

I think that is what has gotten us so far this season, the never-say-die attitude and the utter belief we have in each other to get over the line. This belief was put to the test in our All-Ireland semi-final, which was not easy viewing by any means as we drew with Coolrea Strandhill after full-time and extra-time periods. As Fiona Morrissey stood up to kick the winning score everyone went mental! It was possibly one of the best feelings I had every experienced.

Regardless of this Sunday's result, it has been a privilege to gain a new group of friends in this team and a year of football I'll never forget. It will be an honour to run out onto the pitch in the Mungret colours and hopefully return with the All-Ireland title. (Siadbh Redmond)