INTERVIEW
IT’S IN THE BLOOD
By Daire Walsh
When it came to seeking guidance about how to approach an All-Ireland final in Croke Park, Kildare defender Lauren Murtagh didn’t have far to go in advance of the Lilywhites’ intermediate championship showpiece against Clare on August 13.
On her mother Orla’s side, Murtagh is the granddaughter of legendary Tipperary GAA figure Michael ‘Babs’ Keating. Over the course of an 11-year spell as a senior hurler with the Premier County, the Ardfinnan native played in four Liam McCarthy Cup deciders at the Jones’ Road venue – coming out on the winning side against Kilkenny in the 1964 and 1971 finals.
Keating later went into management and was at the helm for Galway’s All-Ireland SHC reversal to Kilkenny at Croker in 1979. After losing out to the Tribesmen as Tipperary boss in 1988, he steered them towards national championship triumphs in 1989 and 1991.
Having experienced All-Ireland finals day in Croke Park on eight occasions as an adult (and three times with the Tipperary minor hurlers), Keating had considerable wisdom to pass onto Murtagh for what turned out to be a nail-biting 2-11 to 2-10 victory against Clare.
“I had a few chats with him. I had a few phone calls before today, telling me about Croke Park. The wind and the grass. To have him there even telling me. He has his All-Irelands and now I get to show him mine. I’m absolutely delighted,” Murtagh remarked outside the winning dressing room in GAA HQ.
Keating isn’t the only family member that Murtagh is able to look for inspiration, however, as her father Johnny is a well-known Irish flat racing trainer and former jockey with over 100 major wins to his name. He has also been heavily involved in coaching with the Milltown club that are based just outside of Newbridge in south Kildare and is currently in charge of their senior ladies team.
This means that both Lauren and her sister Grace – who is also a part of the extended Lilywhites set-up – are managed at club level and he was a constant presence along with his other half at Kildare’s games throughout 2023.
“Him and Mam have been an inspiration for me. My Mam grew in the GAA game. He [Johnny] has done his bit and I think we’re getting into our bits now. I’m absolutely delighted and to have them there as well cheering me on. Both my Granddad and my Mam, and my Dad, everyone. It was great.”
In claiming the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship crown for the second time, Kildare finished the year with three trophies to their name. Before securing the TG4 Leinster IFC title with a 2-12 to 1-8 triumph against Wexford at Laois Hire O’Moore Park on May 28, the Lilies enjoyed another dramatic success over Clare in the Lidl National Football League Division 3 showpiece at Parnell Park in the previous month.
Inseparable at the end of normal time (2-10 apiece), it took a late Roisin Byrne point (her 10th of the game) to ultimately squeeze Kildare through in extra-time.
It came as little surprise that a single point was the difference between the sides in this encounter, given the Lilies also defeated Clare by the bare minimum in the 2016 intermediate decider (1-13 to 1-12).
They looked set for a more comfortable victory in their latest All-Ireland final appearance as goals from Trina Duggan and Ellen Dowling handed the Leinster champions a seven-point interval advantage over the Banner County. This cushion remained intact until the final minutes of the game, when Chloe Moloney and Fidelma Marrinan rattled the net to give Clare a fighting chance of success.
This led to some nervous moments amongst Kildare’s players, management team and supporters alike, but the Lilies eventually held out for another slender win. When you consider they had just two points to spare (0-9 to 0-7) away to the same opposition in the group stages of NFL Division 3 back on February 5 at Cooraclare, Murtagh knew there was always likely to be a sting in the tail – particularly with Kildare men Wayne Freeman, Brian Willis and Lee Hunt all part of the Clare management team.
“We knew coming into it, it was going to be a battle. It’s always a battle with Clare. It was the last two times. We thought we had them three-quarters of the way through and obviously then they threw everything at us.
“Fair play to them and I’m just glad we came out the right side of it. We’re absolutely delighted. To be fair, we know Wayne and we know Brian. Fair play to them, they put it up to us and they knew us inside out. I’m just glad our girls got on top of it in the end.”
While 2023 was Freeman’s first season at the helm of Clare, the same was true for the woman in charge of his home county. After spending a year in the set-up alongside her fellow Mayo native Sean Finnegan as a coach, Diane O’Hora was appointed to the role of Lilywhites supremo in October 2022.
Like Murtagh’s grandfather, O’Hora had a stellar playing career before moving into management – winning three All-Ireland senior crowns with the green and red. She was captain for their breakthrough Brendan Martin Cup success in 1999 and was honoured along with 48 other All-Ireland SFC skippers during the half-time break for the senior final between Dublin and Kerry on the same day as she guided Kildare back to the top grade of inter-county ladies football.
As you might expect, Murtagh was fulsome in her praise for O’Hora, who was also part of the Down backroom team for their All-Ireland IFC triumph over Fermanagh in 2014.
“It was insane and to have her experience, and to have her knowledge and just the love for the game [is massive]. She loves the game, she did it for Kildare. She came in and the first thing she said is ‘I’m doing this for Kildare’.
“It wasn’t her, it wasn’t the management, it was for us. I’m just delighted that we got it over the line. She has been an inspiration to all of us and she’s shown us the grit that we needed.”
Remarkably, Kildare are now the fourth Leinster county in succession to win the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship title – following the footsteps from Meath (2020), Westmeath (2021) and Laois (2022). Come 2024, the Lilies with join forces with Meath, Laois and current Brendan Martin Cup holders to form a four-team eastern provincial championship.
Stepping back up to the senior grade could be daunting for Kildare – and there is also the small matter of their return to Lidl National Football League Division 2 – but Murtagh is adamant they are more than capable of mixing it with ladies football’s biggest teams.
“It’s a big jump up, but we’ve the players coming up and the players now. If we just stick together, senior will be unbelievable. We’ve such good girls coming up. They were in the Minor ‘A’ final against Galway, so we’ve good girls coming up. This team will stick together and we’re going to give senior a good bash next year,” Murtagh added.