By Niall Gartland

MONEYGLASS ladies joint-manager Maxi Curran puts their foray into the national stage into perspective – five years ago they’d never even won an Antrim Senior Championship.

How things have changed. Now they’re five-in-a-row champions and recently they claimed a historic Ulster Championship victory with a resounding victory over Tyrone champs Errigal Ciaran.

It’s a similar story at underage level. They’ve mopped up one title after another across the age groups to the point where it’s been near-total dominance of the Antrim scene.

In that light, it’s probably no surprise they are where they are – preparing for Sunday’s All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final clash against Kilmacud Crokes, a club with plenty of name recognition.

Curran is a Donegal man who was part of Jim McGuinness’ backroom team when they landed the All-Ireland in 2012, and he later embarked on a stint as the county’s ladies manager. Now he joins Charlie O’Kane on the sidelines at Moneyglass and he isn’t particularly surprised that they’re duking it out with the very best in Ireland.

“Five years ago Moneyglass had never won an Antrim Senior title and now they’re Ulster champions. I think it was last year, the u-14s didn’t win the Antrim Championship, and I think that was the first Moneyglass team that didn’t win their championship in three years, which is a pretty mad stat.

“So you know, it’s been coming for them. Younger players have been getting ready for senior football, they’re used to winning, and there’s already vastly experienced players on the team so it’s a good combination.”

The GAA is the beating heart of Moneyglass, a small rural community. Curran is aware of how much their historic provincial success meant to the club – whether it’s the fan on the street or dedicated club stalwarts at the coalface for decades.

“Moneyglass have been huge advocates of ladies football since it was founded. It’s definitely grown steadily over the decades.

“The club opened up a state-of-the-art second pitch last year. It’s your typical country-based club where the GAA is the focus of the community, which was very evident at the homecoming provided for the girls after the Ulster final. There were some lovely scenes, and their rise to the top is a great story.”

Moneyglass had been knocking on the door in recent years, and Curran says everything seemed to come together in their latest shot at provincial honours. They dethroned back-to-back champions Clann Éireann in the semi-finals before claiming a 3-10 to 0-6 victory over Errigal Ciaran on the big day.

“Last year we had a couple of serious injuries in the middle of the summer, and while those girls were back in time for the championship, they weren’t really at full tilt..

“We had a cleaner bill of health heading into this year’s Ulster Championship than we had in previous years, and I think that helped.

“We also knew that we’d given Clann Éireann a right rattle in last year’s semi-final, so the girls knew there was nothing to fear – it was not mission impossible.

“I also think we got the rub of the green – we got goals at the right time whereas in previous years it was Clann Éireann who got timely goals.

“In the final as well, we got a couple of fortuitous goals. When it’s your day it’s your day, and those things tend to fall for you.”

Their All-Ireland semi-final opponents are last year’s beaten finalists Kilmacud Crokes, who retained their Leinster crown in merciless fashion with a 5-13 to 1-8 thumping of Tinahely. It’s something of a free hit for Moneyglass, though, so who knows what might happen on the day.

“That’s the challenge ahead of us now. The only team to beat Kilmacud in the last four years has been Kilkerrin-Clonberne, who haven’t been beaten in five years. So that’s the level we’re facing, but it’s a new challenge for us.

“I think we’re in bonus territory in the sense that our goal was definitely to win an Ulster Club. Luckily we’ve done that and we’ll go all-guns-blazing against Croke’s and see where it takes us.”

Possibly complicating matters is the fact that the Dublin side have home advantage, but that is what it is, and Curran hopes the experience will stand to Moneyglass even if their season ends this weekend.

“We have to go further as a team than we’ve ever had to travel. That’s something new for us, even though going to Enniskillen for the Ulster final was a bit of a trek.

“Still, when it comes down to it, it’s 15 v 15, the same-sized pitch, the same-sized goals and everything else, so anything can happen.

“And I think our girls have nothing to fear. It’s bonus territory and whatever happens it’ll be a great occasion, and one that will definitely stand to them regardless of what way it goes.”