FAR’ AND AWAY
20 years on, the love is still there for Martin
“I’m happy to be able to do it with a young, enthusiastic group that enjoys itself and makes me feel good.
“We enter this
Rugby World Cup with ambition, to get as far forward as possible, but at the same time aware that we have to take one step at a time. The first step is Namibia and then we will talk about what awaits us next.”
Italy head coach Kieran Crowley has made two changes from the side which beat Japan 42-21 in their final warm-up match a fortnight ago.
Lock Dino Lamb and loosehead prop Danilo Fischetti replace Niccolo Cannone and Ivan Nemer respectively, while openside flanker Michele Lamaro continues as captain.
Namibia, ranked 21st in the world — eight places below their opponents today — are looking for a first victory on the biggest stage.*
ON August 27 in Aghabog, former Monaghan goalkeeper Linda Martin began the latest chapter in her extraordinary club championship story.
Back in 2003 – in her very first year playing top-tier adult football – Martin was between the sticks as Donaghmoyne claimed a maiden triumph in the Farney County’s Senior Championship.
Given she was the club’s U16 captain in the same year, it was beyond her wildest dreams to be part of a groundbreaking success.
This was only the start of her journey with Donaghmoyne, however, as an astonishing 19 consecutive county titles have followed in the intervening years.
A further 14 Ulster SFC titles and five All-Ireland senior crowns have been thrown into the mix for good measure and her quest for a 40th major honour in club football began with a 1-10 to 0-9 victory over
Emmet Og in Group B of the Monaghan Senior Championship.
They also accounted for Magheracloone on home soil last weekend and will now continue their quest for a 21st successive county championship in a semi-final clash against Scotstown later on today.
Auld
“It has been a long auld run now, but we’re still enjoying it and looking forward to it as well, which is the main thing,” Martin explained.
“If you got to this stage and you were sort of dreading it, it would be a different story.
“We have good craic with the girls. It makes all the difference.
“It would be nice to keep the run going now, but we’ll have to see how things go in the next couple of weeks.”
Remarkably, even though it was all of two decades ago, Martin isn’t the only survivor from that breakthrough county championship win to still be a part of the Donaghmoyne senior set-up.
Aside from Martin, Hazel Kingham and three of the Courtney sisters – Fiona, Sharon and Cora – played in the 2003 senior final victory at the expense of Aghabog and were also in the match squad for last month’s aforementioned group stage opener.
Yet as good as it is to have a handful of the original crew still very much amongst the ranks, Martin acknowledges the influx of youth into the panel is what helps to keep them motivated year after year.
“There are a few girls who have stuck with us down through the years,” he said.
“It is great to still have them there. As we say, we’re experienced. We try not to call ourselves old!
Blend
“We have a good blend, we have a couple of young girls coming through.
“We’ve the Garland twins (Amy and Lauren) there and Eimear Traynor.
“Hopefully they’ll stick with it for as long as we have.”
While their most recent AllIreland final victory was back in 2016 – a 2-9 to 0-8 win over Dublin club Foxrock/ Cabinteely at Parnell Park – Donaghmoyne showed last year that they remain a potent force outside of Monaghan.
“After once again climbing the Ulster summit with a final triumph against Antrim’s Moneyglass, they reached the currentaccount.ie All-Ireland senior club football championship decider for 2022 with a semi-final win at the expense of Kilmacud Crokes on November 27.
A day on from her wedding at the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, Cathriona McConnell arrived by helicopter to Donaghmoyne’s home pitch and proceeded to kick seven points for the Farney women.
This placed them alongside Kilkerrin-Clonberne in what was the first Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup showpiece to be held at Croke Park.
That showdown in GAA HQ didn’t go their way as the Galway and Connacht champions retained their All-Ireland crown on a score of 0-13 to 0-7 – but it was an experience that Martin and her team-mates cherished nonetheless.
She added: “We sort of just build game-on-game, but last year I have to say was very special, having the All-Ireland in Croke Park for the first time.
“It was really special for them to experience a day out in Croke Park.”