PEIL FEATURE INTERVIEW: ERICA MCGLYNN (KERRY)
By Daire Walsh
FOSSA ARE FLYING HIGH
Erica McGlynn of Fossa speaks to Daire Walsh about Kerry’s Lidl NFL Division 2 title win at Croke Park
When the Fossa club in Co. Kerry take a moment to pause and reflect at the end of 2022, it is safe to say that the opening ten days of April will be looked back upon with extreme fondness.
Having registered a combined haul of 1-8, local heroes David and Paudie Clifford climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand in Croke Park on the third day of the month to lift the National Football League Division 1 trophy as members of the Kerry’s team.
Fast forward seven days and another brace of Fossa stars were tasting inter-county glory as the Kerry Ladies footballers had three points to spare (1-12 to 0-12) over Armagh in a LIDL National Football League Division 2 decider at the same venue.
Donning the number 14 jersey that David Clifford had worn with such distinction a week earlier, Erica McGlynn capped a fine individual display with a brace of points from play. Her club-mate Anna Clifford (no relation of David and Paudie) was also part of the panel for this win and while it previously lived in the shadow of the all-conquering Dr Crokes in nearby Killarney, the perception of the East Kerry outfit has changed rapidly in recent years.
“It has of course, definitely. We’re a small but mighty club. I’ll tell you that much! There’s plenty more to come from us,” McGlynn explained in the direct aftermath of their Division 2 success.
After losing out to Waterford and Meath – respectively – in the Division 2 finals of 2019 and 2021, it looked set to be another hard luck story for Kerry on April 10. Heading towards the third-quarter mark, the Munster side trailed Armagh by four points (0-11 to 0-7) with 2020 TG4 Players’ Player of the Year Aimee Mackin exerting a strong influence for the Orchard County.
However, a goal from substitute Danielle O’Leary on 44 minutes gave new life to their challenge and the Kingdom pushed on in the closing stages to ultimately claim the silverware and a coveted spot in the NFL top-tier for 2023.
“To be honest, we’re absolutely shellshocked. We’ve put in the work since a good few months ago so hard work pays off. We always knew the game was going to be in the melting pot at some stage,” McGlynn acknowledged.
“We just had to keep the heads, to be honest with you. Minding the ball is a big thing for us. Keep it simple. There’s no point complicating football. It’s simple. Ball in hand, over the bar. Luckily we did it and we won. You need those days. There’s a great buzz in the camp and it’s only going to get stronger and stronger. It’s only the beginning of Kerry.”
Whereas 11 of the team also started last year’s Division 2 showpiece reversal to Meath, McGlynn faced the Royal County under radically different circumstances. At Donaghmore/Ashbourne GAA club on December 11, 2021, she was part of the TG4 Underdogs side that battled it out with the All-Ireland senior champions for the Glenveagh Cup crown.
Meath may have come away with the spoils on the day, but McGlynn’s contribution over the course of this televised series clearly left an impression on Kerry’s joint-management team of Declan Quill and Darragh Long who called her into the panel for this year’s Lidl National League.
After bagging 1-1 as a substitute in a Group A defeat of Laois on March 6, McGlynn was thrust into the starting line-up for a semi-final showdown with Monaghan at Tuam Stadium two weeks and retain her place for the subsequent national decider at Croke Park. While she enjoyed an initially routine build-up to the latter, the magnitude of what was about to unfold did eventually hit home.
“The nerves didn’t hit me until this morning [the day of the game], which is kind of different. Normally with my club games it’d hit me a few days before. I pretended I was in Fossa field, eyes closed and I played my game. That’s all I could do.
“Myself, I’d be one of the younger ones now. Obviously the girls have been through the experience, but it’s just about building on experience to get more comfortable in it. We all love playing football, that’s why we’re here. Of course it’s going to shine on the day.”
The concept of joint managers isn’t a new one for Gaelic games and there are plenty of examples that you could choose from either side of Quill and Long’s ratification by the Kerry ladies county board in the winter of 2019. Sealing a return to Division 1 suggests the squad are moving in the right direction under their stewardship, but they are far from alone in a heavily-stacked backroom team.
“They’re unbelievable and they’ve the girls in the background as well. The likes of Geraldine O’Shea and Cassandra Buckley with strength and conditioning. Even Michelle O’Connor and Sophie Houlihan [team physio], they’re all on board.
“That’s what you need. There’s no such thing as a one-man show. We’re a group, we stick together. I think that’s the reason we came out the other side today.”
Still just 22, McGlynn is currently in the third year of a teaching degree course at UCC. The past few months has involved a lot of travelling in and out of the Rebel County, but the nature of the Kingdom set-up ensures it will never be seen as a burden.
“I’m doing PE and Irish teaching. It suits me down to the ground. I’m constantly with a ball in my hand. That’s what you need. It always is tough, but when you’ve got support from the girls and the management, and the whole county behind you, it makes it way easier.”
Back on February 8, Kerry started out their Division Two campaign with a 0-11 to 1-4 victory at the expense of Tipperary at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney. Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh finished the contest with 0-8 to her name (she would end the league with an astonishing final tally of 2-37 from just five games) earned bragging right over their provincial rivals.
The two sides will renew acquaintances in a Munster Senior Championship semi-final on May 8, with the winners progressing to face either Cork or Waterford in the competition’s decider just seven days later. After that, there is the small matter of the All-Ireland senior football championship which gets underway on June 11.
There will be many obstacles to overcome if Kerry are to make it through to the Brendan Martin Cup final for the first time since 2012, but McGlynn and her Kingdom team-mates are ready to rise to the challenge.
“Every game is a battle. There’s no such thing as an easy game. Even coming through the round robins of the National League, we had our battles. It’s just about putting in that fight and work to get through it. No doubt there’ll be a few more coming up shortly. We’ll go on now, we’ll be back in the Munster championship and then we’ll go for All-Ireland championship,” McGlynn added.