IT’S THE MOTHER OF ALL SEASONS FOR KELLY
ALICE KELLY is experiencing the joys of motherhood – but the joy of paying ladies football is proving a strong draw. Last August, she welcomed her first child, daughter Neala Dowd, but with a club championship up for grabs, there was no slowing the Roscommon star down. Five weeks after giving birth, mother and daughter were there as Kilbride won a fifth county title in a row, and the turn of the new year saw Kelly trade that ceremonial event for a full return. ‘I was a bit apprehensive about going back playing until Diane (O’Hora, Roscommon boss) rang me. She spoke with me before I committed to anything,’ said 30year-old Kelly. ‘I had spoken about it with my husband,
Kieran, and he is very supportive. He bought me a new pair of football boots for my Christmas present... Then my father said to me: “You won’t be playing forever Alice; play while you can and go for it.” ‘Clare Noone is part of Diane’s management team, and she said her teenage daughter would be happy to mind Neala at training any time I needed. That was the real turning point, seeing how supportive everyone was.’ Despite feeling the effects on her first day back, the speech therapist was keen to show that pregnancy doesn’t mean the end of a sporting path. ‘Sometimes I think I am a bit crazy trying to do it, but I want to give it a go. I want to show it to myself and others that it can be done, that you don’t have to give up everything once you have a child,’ Kelly said. ‘I went back training a week before the county final. I was probably mad in the head. It was just because it was such a special occasion, I wanted to be part of it. I was kind of shaky at the start. I got a great welcome from the girls and I took it easy enough. ‘I was a bit aware going back into contact though. After nine months of carrying a baby you are very conscious of protecting her, and then all of a sudden the baby is here and you don’t need to protect her like that. That was a bit strange. But after one or two trainings I got back into the swing of things.’
Kelly has been working with Westmeath-based physiotherapist Eimear Fox since November and that combination of guidance and a simple training plan has her ready to make her comeback. She said: ‘Coming back from having a baby, it’s really like rehabbing from an injury. You have to do it right. I was really glad I did that, just for peace of mind.’ Like the rest of her team-mates, she has ramped up her training in recent weeks as the Roscommon panel aims to be ready to give 2021 a real shot when training resumes. Kelly remarked: ‘Diane is leaving no stone unturned . ... She has a strong management team around her too and that is giving us the best chance to succeed.’