Mungret primed for All-Ireland bid

“AT this moment in time we have to focus at the job at hand and starting to think about the final result is maybe not the best approach. So we will try and keep everyone focused on the process while also enjoying the occasion.”

This was Mungret St Paul's ladies football manager John Horgan's thoughts ahead of the biggest week in the club's history.
Mungret St Paul's ladies are currently preparing for a Junior All-Ireland football final against Ulster champions Downings, of Donegal. The final takes place Parnell Park this Sunday afternoon at 2pm.

This year has been nothing short of incredible for the Mungret ladies football team who have battled extremely hard to get to the club's first ever All-Ireland final.

Speaking about Sunday's final, manager Horgan spoke about their year to date and how this Mungret team has pushed on since their Limerick Intermediate championship semi-final victory over Fr Casey's.

“In fairness since our county semi-final we have had hard games. From Fr Casey's all the way through until now we have had tough, hard games. Since getting over that county final mountain we have been away for every other match and basically go into the lions den of our opposition and battle against all the outside elements, so no one can say we got the easy route to this All-Ireland final.”

And the point is very true. Mungret had to get over the challenge of Abbeydorney on their home turf in the Munster semi-final before getting past the challenge of Midleton in the Junior Munster Final in Mallow.

This progressed the side on to an All-Ireland semi-final against Connacht champions Coolrea Strandhill, another road trip, this time to a Sligo venue.

The All-Ireland semi-final in Tubbercurry was nothing short of a dog fight with both sides unable to find the winning score in normal time or extra-time, leaving the game go to free kicks.

Mungret's stellar free-taker Grainne McKenna stepped up for their first shot at the posts, followed by Carol Bateman's effort and Fiona Morrissey to send the Limerick side through to the All-Ireland decider.

Speaking about the huge occasion it is to play in an All-Ireland final, captain of the Mungret team Aine Ryan said: “This is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play for your club in an All-Ireland final. There are very few GAA players that can say they have played in such a game and I suppose we are very fortunate to be getting this chance on Sunday.

“It's very difficult to get out of your county, never mind progress on through the Munster stages, so this is our chance to go for it and really enjoy the experience. It's super exciting for the whole club and I think everyone is ready for this final battle this year.”

Standing in Mungret St Paul's way though is a very strong side in Downing's, who beat Kilcock of Kildare in their recent All-Ireland semi-final by a goal.

At this stage of the season, every opposition will be tough to beat and this was shown in Mungret St Paul's dramatic All-Ireland semi-final win over Coolrea Strandhill.

Manager John Horgan is acutely aware of the size of the task facing his charges this Sunday and the challenges they pose to Mungret's All-Ireland dream.

“There is no bad team in an All-Ireland final and Downing's have threats all over the field. I suppose we wouldn't have the heritage or the name that a Donegal team would have, so we will be going in as big underdogs, but look, we have been underdogs nearly every round so far and we have learned to cope with that well. The bunch that we have are really dedicated and are a total pleasure to be around. We know they won't freeze on the day and our performances have shown that. We have every confidence, if nothing else, we will give it our best shot on Sunday.”

Supporters unable to travel to Dublin this weekend will be able to watch the game on TG4 Sport's Youtube Channel from 1.30pm.