McCann embracing the ultimate challenge

By Niall Gartland

IT isn’t dramatising things to say that this is pretty much the ultimate challenge for any ladies team – Kilkerrin-Clonberne in an All-Ireland final at Croke Park.

The Galway titans stand on the cusp of a remarkable fifth All-Ireland title in-a-row (not completely unprecedented by the way – Ballymacarbry of Waterford won an astonishing seven successive All-Irelands between 1989 and 1995).

At the time of writing, they’re a virtually unbackable 1/10 with the bookies, but the confident message of Moneyglass footballer Laura McCann is pretty simple – bring it on.

McCann is a veteran of the Moneyglass cause and returned to the field of play after having a baby five months ago to play a significant role in their surge to Saturday’s All-Ireland showdown.

So let’s cut to the chase: it’s clearly going to take something very, very special to defy the odds against a team whose unbeaten run now stretches to a ludicrous 52 championship games.

“I understand that but if you’re going to be the best, you have to beat the best,” came McCann’s retort.

“I wouldn’t want to play anyone other than the very best in an All-Ireland final. Put it this way, if we win on Saturday, we’re definitely the best.

“I wouldn’t have wanted Kilkerrin-Clonberne to have picked up an injury in the semi-final if it meant that the best team didn’t progress. So from our perspective, it’s just a really positive challenge and I’m really looking forward to it.”

That’s not just fighting talk – Moneyglass have already shown their mettle in spades this year. Downing back-to-back Ulster champions Clann Éireann in an Ulster Championship semi-final felt like a breakthrough moment, and then they made no mistake against Errigal Ciaran with the title on the line. What’s more, they clinched a narrow All-Ireland semi-final victory against a Kilmacud Crokes team blessed with home advantage.

“We’d no fear of them – fear definitely wasn’t an emotion that I felt was in the camp. Again it was an opportunity and a very positive challenge.

“We’d been down to play Croke’s in a friendly a couple of years previously, and though they were very much the dominant team on that occasion, I think it still stood to us.

“We’d been to the venue, we knew the pitch was small, and we have Maxi Curran in the management team and he’s a tactical wizard.

“We don’t just go out every week and play the same way – he coaches us how to play against different teams. It shouldn’t have been a shock to anyone within the camp that we won that game, because we’d done the preparation and it was just a matter of whether or not we could do it on the day.”

McCann comes from a family steeped in Moneyglass football. Sisters Christine and Sarah have now hung up the boots, while Anna has opted to take a year out. She’s also married to Benny Herron, a former manager of the Moneyglass ladies team, and while they recently had a baby, she wasn’t away for too long.

“I made a conscious effort never really to go away. Obviously I couldn’t do the pitch work when I was pregnant, but I did the pitch work all year long, up until I had the baby.

“Obviously I took some time off afterwards, but I came on as a sub in a friendly game about five weeks after she was born. I started the first group game of the championship which was about 12 weeks after she was born, so I’ve been back in the thick of things.”

Moneyglass can call upon some of the most high-profile players in Antrim ladies football. Team captain Niamh McIntosh was named on the TG4 Junior team of the Championship for her performances for the county this year, while Bronagh Devlin is county captain. On the flipside, they have a batch of newcomers coming through the ranks for whom Croke Park will be a brand new experience, and that needs minding.

“As one of the older girls on the team, I suppose it’s my job to look out for the younger ones who haven’t had an experience of playing in Croke Park.

“It will be a different type of experience, and I think it does actively need managed. A lot of our girls have played in Croke Park so while it’s a big venue and you can easily be overwhelmed, I think they’ll keep their heads on their shoulders and will be able to pass on advice to the younger girls.”