‘Aoibhinn McHugh will make your sprint look like a jog’

Zoë Loughran, right, chats about the players she has soldiered alongside down through the years

Name: Zoë Loughran.

Age: 30.

Teams you play for? Killeeshil and Tyrone.

Earliest GAA memory?

Travelling the country with my Da to watch Tyrone playing or going to the Féile with Killeeshil in ’05 – specifically watching Lisa-Marie Toal (nee. Skeffington) win the All-Ireland skills competition.

Which team-mate has been the most inspirational and why?

Honestly playing with Neamh Woods was great, she had unreal passion.

Who’s the best team-mate to train with and why?

Caitlin Campbell, we’re slightly competitive, which isn’t a bad thing! She still always wins. We’re gym buddies too (shout out Evolve) so we’re always pushing each other on.

Which team-mate is the worst to train with and why?

Aoibhinn McHugh, she will make your sprint look like a jog.

Which team-mate do you want to mark in training and why?

Sasha Byrne so I can get caught up on her current love life…

Which team-mate do you dread marking in training and why?

I would try to avoid Chloe McCaffrey for obvious reasons.

Best score you’ve seen from a team-mate?

Grainne Rafferty’s equalising free to bring us to extra-time against Macartans in the 2022 championship semi-final. Outrageous.

What win has your team celebrated the most?

We celebrate every win in Killeeshil like it’s our last.

Which team-mate is the best on journeys away?

Bronagh for her banana supplies on the way to Aghyaran.

Which club is the worst for journeys away?

Moortown – get lost every time and their scoreboard doesn’t seem to work properly.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve heard in training or in a match, and who said it?

Ah I won’t say names, but it was a referee there this year. In response to a lady in the crowd who was giving him a bit of grief he says “I bet your husband is glad you’re here tonight and not at home so he doesn’t have to listen to ye.”

What’s the worst excuse you’ve heard to get out of training?

Orla loves a bit of go-karting and Shelly is partial to an eyelash appointment

Which team-mate is the loudest in the changing room?

Emma Mulgrew or Alanah D, hard to get a word in.

Which team-mate would you want standing over a last-second penalty?

Grainne Rafferty all day.

Which team-mate would you never want to see hitting a last-second penalty?

Myself or Emma.

Which team-mate is the most sensible?

‘Chugs’ would’ve had a sensible head on her on some nights out, the mummy of the team.

Who is the smartest of all your team mates?

Shelly – fun fact she has never failed a test in her life.

Who’s the best team mate to celebrate with?

Any one of them, I’m not fussy when it comes to celebrating.