An Cosantóir

| 19 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE time, the real high for this generation of players was about to come. A representative tour to New York in February 2008 was in the pipeline. The ladies team felt that their contribution to the DF through sport was finally being valued. Equality in the GAA was still a long way off but the leadership of GAA in the DF at the time, particularly the late Lt Gen Dermot Early (RIP), Col John Courtney (Retd) and Col Pat Herbert (Retd), recognised the ladies' contribution and the need for equality. This level of support was invaluable to the morale of the ladies' team and is regularly commented upon to this day. The hard work began almost straight away as the manager at the time, Shane Conlon, and his backroom team of stalwarts, Caroline Burke, Therese O' Keeffe, Louise Conlon, Gillian Martin and Niamh O' Mahoney were tasked with cutting the panel to meet numbers allowed to travel. A number of fixtures were organised, and each player went to battle! If Parnell Park was a high point, then the Gaelic Grounds of New York was cloud nine! The facilities alone were on a professional level new to many of the panel. Few players had played a football match on astroturf at that time and playing a county standard team on their home turf would be a tough challenge. The National Anthem was played, and the players paraded around the pitch. To many, this was the closest to an All-Ireland Final that they would experience. Unfortunately, the home team pipped the ladies at the post but that didn't deter the spirits and the team went on to enjoy the New York experience! Unknown to a lot of the ladies at the time, the New York game would see the last of those inaugural leaders bow out of DF football after years of hard work to get the team to this significant point, sharing parity with their male counterparts. "In a time when ladies rarely ever got the opportunity to play in a county's ground at home, I remember the sheer excitement of playing on a fabulous all weather floodlit facility." — Comdt Siobhán O' Sullivan Whilst the team continued on, the void of losing a number of core leaders and mentors was a blow to those who remained. This, coupled with a decline in a commitment to sport across the DF due to the intensity of training and operations, left a steep hill to climb after being on top of the world so recently, in New York. The few years that followed lacked any passion and even 'the craic' that was enjoyed over the previous years. Players were finding it increasingly difficult to be released from their units and this had a secondary effect on the morale of those who were available to play, due to numbers for training being so low. No training or operation can function without support and ladies' football was no different. In 2015, refreshed again by the introduction of the relentlessly hard working and talented duo of Shelly and Stacy Kehoe, along with Siobhán Tierney, Cíobh Dollard and Gráinne Kennelly, the DF team began to grow in strength and spirit again. Comdt Padraig Murphy saw the footballing talent that was within the team and inspirationally began to take a leadership role, coaching and managing and relentlessly trying to improve all aspects in order to create a well-gelled group of girls. His loyalty and selflessness to the team revived a lot of enthusiasm and brought a fresh and inspiring energy. A number of games were organised with various clubs in order to build esprit de corps among the girls and to promote the DF externally amongst Ladies' GAA circles. Murphy's results came and momentum in DF ladies football began to grow once more. There were now whispers of a GAA Tour, similar to New York but this time it would be the UK. The team continued to work hard and improve knowing that places could be at stake for such a trip. Unfortunately, bad news came at short notice; the men's team would be the only team that would travel. After years of building up parity with the counterparts, this was a big blow to morale for the ladies' team and resulted in the loss of some players that would not return again. Once again, the ladies found themselves with gaps to fill and morale to build. As history repeated itself, the ladies' games came and went with little interest or excitement. The fixtures appeared to have become a 'tick the box' exercise on the sporting calendar, and this was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one leader steeped in GAA passion began the ball rolling again (no pun intended!). Comdt Áine Gilmore had retired her gloves and trademark ankle support, and swapped them for a clipboard and stopwatch! Gilmore could have taken the easy route and left her legacy on the pitch, but she was mentored by the greats of the inaugural team, those who led the team to New York, and now it was her duty to do the same for the current generation. "I wanted to give back and ensure that the club continued to exist and grow." — Comdt Áine Gilmore Over the past three years Áine Gilmore has been re-building www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE First Ladies Gaelic team Ladies team in NYC 25th Anniversary 2007 Match days always good fun getting together

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