BACK ON TOP
Sarah-Anne Fitzgerald talks to Daire Walsh about her exceptional teammates and their delight at the support the team has received from the Gaelic Games community in Laois
It wasn’t something she had expected to happen, but Sarah-Anne Fitzgerald was thrilled to climb the steps of Croke Park’s Hogan Stand for the second time in her life on July 31 of this year.
Back in 2015, Fitzgerald featured at midfield on a Laois team that were crowned All-Ireland junior camogie champions with a 2-12 to 1-6 triumph over Roscommon. The Portlaoise woman bagged the opening goal on the day as the O’Moore County shrugged off past heartbreak to claim national glory.
Despite the best efforts of Fitzgerald, Laois had lost previously to Kildare and Down in the 2013 and 2014 junior deciders respectively. She continued to line out in the small ball code with great distinction, before eventually calling time on her inter-county odyssey at the start of 2020 – or so she thought.
A return to the club scene in the same year caught the eye of Laois football manager Donie Brennan, who subsequently called Fitzgerald up to his squad. She has since become a mainstay of the side and was rewarded with a second All-Ireland crown following Laois’ 1-13 to 1-11 victory over Wexford in a tense intermediate decider at Croker.
“I thought my days were done, I didn’t expect anything like this. I can’t believe I’m here to be honest and experiencing this. I honestly thought these days were done. To get back here and to get a win like that, it’s just incredible,” Fitzgerald explained outside of the winning dressing room in the minutes that followed their success against Wexford.
“A few people were saying you have that experience in there, but it’s Croke Park at the end of the day. No matter how many times you play there, no matter how many times you go to a game, it still takes your breath away. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that roar when we ran out there during the first half and the Laois crowd was just amazing.
“Crowds of people were up there. I’ve never experienced anything like it. The hype and everything has just been incredible. I’ve been lucky to play a few times with camogie, but it’s the first time Laois has been up here in football terms in 21 years. It’s a special day. As Donie says ‘it’s not too often any Laois team gets here’, but when we do, we tend to perform. I think we did that there today.”
Fitzgerald and Laois had looked set for a stress free return to the senior championship after developing a 1-9 to 0-3 buffer midway through their all-Leinster showdown with Wexford in north Dublin. The Slaneysiders refused to throw in the towel, however, and a late goal from Caitriona Murray left them within range of their O’Moore counterparts.
In the end, Fitzgerald was grateful they had created significant daylight before Lizzy Kent’s charges came storming into contention during a compelling final-quarter.
“Thank God we had that cushion. I think if we didn’t have that cushion, it would have been a different story come that second half. I think the two teams would have gone in very differently in the dressing room, but thankfully we had that cushion. We didn’t panic either.
“I suppose our only downfall during the game was nearly that goal towards the end, but thankfully that came in the last few minutes. Not earlier on in the second half, when things could have gotten really ropey.
“We held out and I think we learnt a lot throughout the year. I think that was a really, really mature performance. One that we’ve been waiting for all year and no better day to do it than an All-Ireland final.”
Lining up alongside Fitzgerald and the youthful Emma Lawlor on the inside line for their successful march to an All-Ireland was Timahoe ace Mo Nerney. A debutant in 2013, Nerney was Laois’ scorer-in-chief against Wexford with a superb haul of 1-5.
This brought her final tally in the All-Ireland series up to an astonishing 5-31, earning her the ZuCar Golden Boot award for 2022. While acknowledging it is a dream to play on the same team with someone of Nerney’s calibre, she is quick to point out there is more to her game than scoring prowess.
“She’s unbelievable. Everyone knows she can score, but what really impressed me this year is just her work-rate. It was just incredible. That’s Donie, he instilled that in us. It starts with work-rate and he pushed us to the limit. He pushed me to limits I’ve never been pushed before and we got the just reward.”
Every bit as crucial to Laois’ success was a strong defensive effort that kept Wexford at bay for long stretches. Coming up against a player in Aisling Murphy who had registered 8-10 in advance of the game, Aisling Donoher (née Quigley) produced an exceptional performance at full-back that made her a deserved recipient of player of the match.
Donoher first lined out for the county in 2005, but had been away from the squad in recent years after she and her husband Niall (himself a former Laois footballer) welcomed two children into the world. However, like Fitzgerald, she jumped at a chance to get back involved when Brennan contacted her last winter.
Given the challenges she had faced off the pitch in caring for her son Dan – who captured the hearts of the nation when the ‘Do It For Dan’ campaign was launched in the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic – Fitzgerald was delighted to see Donoher thriving on the big stage.
“The bedrock of our team is built on our defence. The blocks that they made were unbelievable. The whole full-back line, the whole half-back line. Eimear Barry pulled off an incredible save there at one stage. It was unbelievable.
“Aisling Quigley there, she rolled back the years. She’s an inspiration to everyone and what she did there in that match, to get player of the match. I’m over the moon for her.”
Winners of the Brendan Martin Cup in 2001 – and runners-up on seven occasions before that – a return to the All-Ireland senior championship is long overdue for Laois. Although it isn’t something she is ready to contemplate just yet, Fitzgerald agrees it is crucial for the midlanders to be back in the top-tier of ladies football once again.
“The tradition that the county has, and we have a good, strong club system in place as well, we should be up senior. Now we are thank God. I’m just happy we get to bring a cup back to Laois.
“Day like this are rare. We’re just crying out in Laois for a team to support and I’m just happy the entire county got behind us, both the hurling side and the football side got behind us,” Fitzgerald added.