Irish Daily Star - Inside Sport
SPEAKING OF THE DIVILLYS
AT heart of Kilkerrin-clonberne’s march to a third consecutive All-ireland senior club championship title against Ballymacarbry earlier this month were three families that helped to make up a large chunk of their playing and managerial personnel.
The daughters of team boss Willie Ward, twin sisters Nicola and Louise Ward played pivotal roles at centre half-back and centre half-forward respectively in a convincing 0-18 to 1-9 win over the Munster champions.
Of the final tally accumulated by the Tribeswomen on the day, 0-10 came from the combined boots of Eva and Lynsey Noone, whose father Gerry serves as a mentor for Kilkerrin-clonberne.
Moment
A third Noone — Hannah — was selected at midfield alongside Siobhan Divilly, who shared a special moment on the pitch with three members of her own family in the aftermath of their latest All-ireland success.
In addition to her father Michael being another of the team’s selectors, Divilly was joined on the starting line-up by her sisters Olivia and Niamh.
This year’s victory was particularly special for the latter, who appeared off the bench in previous All-ireland triumphs against Mourneabbey and Donaghmoyne before being elevated to the full forward-line for their 2023 campaign.
“It was nice to have her out there beside us. She came on in both finals in the years previous. It was nice for her to get the start,” Siobhan said of her teenage sister.
“I think a lot of the girls that come on as an impact, they would be starting in many other club teams in the country. The fact that they stick at it and get their chance is amazing. I think we consistently, every year, have one or two new girls joining the panel, which is really important.
“It’s really important that we continue to get the girls through, so that they can slot nicely in when other girls step away.”
Whereas her sister Olivia works in the same profession in their native county, Divilly has spent three years as an occupational therapist in Dublin.
Having first operated in the community, she subsequently moved to the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital for a brief spell and has been with the Temple Street Children’s University Hospital for two years.
After initially travelling back and forth from Dublin to Galway on a regular basis, the last two years has seen her training once a week with Kilmacud Crokes in the capital — albeit she stopped attending their sessions a few months ago when the chances of Kilkerrin-clonberne facing the Stillorgan women in the All-ireland club series started to increase.
Step
Because she is also a key member of the Galway senior panel — along with several of her Kilkerrin-clonberne team-mates — Divilly felt remaining in Dublin during the week was a necessary step to make.
While she hopes to continue balancing her club and inter-county duties with a busy working life, the 25-year-old admitted she will have to see if it will be feasible to line out in the maroon and white of Galway in 2024.
“For myself, I have to see if I can maybe commit another year to going up and down for both Galway and club, but it’s definitely something that I’d love to do. It’s just maybe taking some time to give the body a break.”