Aisling has been our guiding light says Brídíní Óga skipper

By Niall Gartland

IN early January, 2023, the Brídíní Óga camogs made history for the club by winning the All-Ireland Junior Championship. And now they’re back.

The team hasn’t changed much in the interim, but there are a few notable changes ahead of Saturday’s All-Ireland showdown against St Dominic’s of Roscommon. Laoise and Maria McKenna have moved down south so they’re out of the picture.

Aisling Millar was one of the heroines of their 2023 success, scoring a crucial second-half goal in their 2-7 to 1-5 victory over Wicklow side Knockananna. She was diagnosed with cancer but she still plays an important role in the set-up, and captain Tori Edgar explains that Aisling is a continual source of inspiration for her teammates.

“We’ve lost a few players but we still have about 10 starters from the team that won the All-Ireland three years ago. Aisling Millar would have started, but she was diagnosed with cancer at the start of the season. She’s still on the line and does stats, but unfortunately she’s not getting out on the pitch.

“She’s one of our biggest supporters and has still been there right throughout the whole campaign.

“After our county final win in Antrim, we spoke about Aisling being our driving force, and that we’re doing it for her, and that’s definitely still the case.

“She’s an inspiration – nothing ever fazes her even though she’s had such a hard year. She’s so dedicated and she’ll be one of the main voices on the sideline this Saturday.”

Edgar led the way in their All-Ireland semi-final win over Limerick outfit Patrickswell, contributing 2-6 of their overall tally of 3-9. It was an impressive team performance though, and she said they knew they needed to up their game after they stuttered past Fulham Gaels in the last eight.

“I think the quarter-final generally was tricky for us. It wasn’t the best performance we’ve put together, though it was probably a timely scare for us. We knew we couldn’t get away with a performance like in the All-Ireland semi-final. We’d a busy run of fixtures with three games in three weeks, so it’s been good to have a fortnight’s break ahead of the final. It’s allowed us to regroup and get a bit of rest in between intense training sessions. We definitely performed better in the semi-final and hopefully we can step it up again this weekend.”

While Brídíní Óga are bidding for their second title in four seasons, these are still heady days for the club. Edgar says she’s very appreciative of the support in Glenravel – where the club is based – and beyond.

“The support that we’ve had from everybody has been fantastic. We get brilliant sponsorship from businesses in Glenraval and our neighbouring clubs. Glenravel are definitely a massive support to us, but I would say Antrim in general has been very supportive. The whole county has definitely got behind us in this campaign.”

Edgar also has warm words for the management team who have brought the team to the cusp of national honours. There’s been some tricky outings against the Loughgiels of this world, but they’ve never wavered in their commitment or belief.

“There’s Chris Dornan, Jason Harris and Ronan Donnelly. The three of them have been there from the start of this journey.

“They’ve been there whenever we’ve been playing Division One league campaign against the likes of Loughgiel and Dunloy’s first teams. We’ve experience of being put to the sword, so they’ve been with us in the tough bits and hopefully now they’re reaping the rewards of sticking with us.”

On that note, Edgar believes playing at the highest echelons of league campaign is very much a matter of short-term pain, long-term gain.

“We play Division One league, so we have experience of playing the likes of Loughgiel, Cushendall, Dunloy and Ballycastle. If you want to get anywhere, you have to test yourself against the best.

“It’s not always enjoyable going out and getting a bit of a tanking but they’re the sort of games that you learn from, so I definitely think it’s standing to us.”

Their opponents St Dominic’s booked their spot in the final with a 15-point victory over Dunboyne. Edgar says they won’t get too bogged down worrying about their opposition.

“We try to focus mostly on our own performances, both in terms of building on previous outings and looking at things we struggled with. The management have taken a look at St Dominic’s but we tend to focus mostly on ourselves.”