ANTRIM defender Maeve Mulholland was delighted – not to mention relieved – to see Maria O’Neill step up to the plate with a wondrous winning point in Sunday’s All-Ireland Junior Ladies final against Carlow.

Back-to-back defeats in All-Ireland finals didn’t bear thinking about, but the Saffrons held their nerve on the home straight to land the title, marking a fitting climax to a hugely successful year across league and championship.

Mulholland, who won the Gaelic Life Dual Player of the Year for her performances on the club scene across both Ladies Football and Camogie, admitted that she was still pinching herself when speaking on Tuesday afternoon.

“We’ve celebrated this last couple of days, it’s just been mad, and I still can’t believe it in a way.

“Thank God Maria got her hands on the ball at the hand, and thank God it went over as well. Even re-watching the game, all the nerves came flooding back in those last five minutes. It really could have gone either way at that stage.”

This is Maeve’s second All-Ireland success with Antrim having won a replayed final against Fermanagh in 2022. They lost last year’s final to Louth, and they were mindful of their past experiences at Croke Park heading into Sunday’s showdown against Carlow.

“I think we owed it to ourselves to finish it on the day. We lost last year, and then a few girls including myself were on the team in 2022 when it went to a replay. We just knew we had to finish it on the day and thankfully it went our way.”

Having achieved promotion to the Division Two ranks earlier in the year, Antrim can now look forward to playing in the championship’s second tier in 2027 as well. Mulholland is confident that with the right preparation, they can hold their own on both fronts.

“It’s definitely going to be a big step up, so it’ll be more than challenging but hopefully we’ll be more than capable of the step-up. We do have the talent, so we just need to get our heads together again in November-December time for the pre-season.”

Áine Tubridy of Antrim and her son Cahir celebrate at Croke Park

Barring a change of heart, Sunday’s game also marked the end of Áine Tubridy’s intercounty career. She’ll be missed, not only for her football ability but her leadership skills as ell.

Mulholland said: “Áine’s such a big role model within the panel, she’s such a massive voice and gets us all settled. She’ll definitely be a big miss next year but she’s given so much to Antrim football down the years.”

Being part of Ladies Footballs’ triple header of All-Ireland finals also made it an extra special occasion. Growing up she was an enthralled spectator, but now she’s a successful, talented player who is aqually adept with a sliotar.

“It’s fantastic that the games get all that coverage, maybe a few years ago it wouldn’t have been as big, but I do remember going down on the bus and watching all three games, and being mesmeized by the games and the atmosphere.”

Mulholland also said that while they were desperately disappointed by last year’s All-Ireland loss, they knew that if they kept the heads up and put in the hard yards, they could get back to All-Ireland final day.

“I think by getting to the final, there was a belief that we could get there again if we worked and trained as hard. Promotion was a big boost even though we didn’t win the Division Three final. It was another thing that gave us the belief that we could get to the All-Ireland final if we kept going the way we were going.”