Granemore hungry for more

By Michael McMullan

ALL-IRELAND champions Granemore take on Ahoghill in Sunday’s Ulster Junior A final and star forward Rachael Merry insists the hunger is still there.

There is the delight of being back knocking on the door with the satisfaction of retaining their Armagh title with a one-point win – 0-12 to 0-11 – over rivals Ballymacnab thanks to a barrage of points from Merry.

“Nothing changes,” Merry said of their battles with the ‘Nab. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve got any better or any worse, it’ll always just be the puck of a goal for some reason. I don’t know what it is.”

After their December All-Ireland final win over Athleague, it was time to down the hurls. The batteries needed charged.

Connor Devlin stayed on as manager to keep the continuity ahead of their next challenge.

A month ahead of the Armagh league season, they began to tip away with their focus ramping up 12 weeks ahead of the championship.

“The girls just needed a break,” Merry said. “It’s been pretty constant over the last few years.”

Not all the county players went in with Armagh. After getting married, Merry herself wrestled with the idea of stepping away before being coaxed back on board.

The question often gets asked of All-Ireland champions. Is the hunger still there to keep delivering performances? For Granemore, it’s not an issue. Camogie is their epicentre and silverware only lights a brighter fire.

“I think after our success last year, I feel like everyone just knows what winning feels like now, so they just want it again,” Merry said of the Granemore camp.

That said, there is a focus. The next game is the one that always matters.

“You can’t look past winning Armagh because we knew how big our rivalry is with Ballymacnab is so it was always going to be so close. The hunger’s definitely still there. Every game we win, we’re like, ‘it’s not enough’. We just want to go further.”

They were level with Bredagh at half-time in their Ulster semi-final before two goals from Merry helped the Armagh side on their way to victory.

It sets up Sunday’s clash with Ahoghill after the Antrim champions steered clear of Kilrea on the other side of the draw.

It’s into the unknown. Granemore have never come across Ahoghill before but they’re aware of the test coming down the tracks.

After three weeks of down time after the county final, it’s been a busy spell with the stakes rising and an Ulster title now on the line.

“It was a long wait to get to the first Ulster game but now it’s literally just back-to-back,” Merry said of the business end of the season.

“It’s a quick turnaround, just keeping everybody right for the next game.”