Playing Senior Championship Excites Kildare Captain Grace Clifford
ALL-IRELAND LADIES FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP – PREVIEW
By Daire Walsh
FOLLOWING a significant gap, Kildare captain Grace Clifford is excited by the prospect of playing in the All-Ireland senior ladies football championship once again.
Having missed out on their national intermediate success against Clare the year before through injury, the Eadestown midfielder was back in harness for the Lilywhites’ return to the top-tier in 2017. She was a starter on August 5 of that year when Kildare suffered championship relegation as a result of a heavy qualifier defeat to Mayo at Duggan Park, Ballinasloe.
History has since repeated itself on two counts as, firstly, the Lilies enjoyed another All-Ireland intermediate final triumph over Clare at Croke Park in the summer of 2023. Although there isn’t as much at stake as their previous meeting, Kildare will begin their All-Ireland SFC Group Four campaign away to Mayo this coming Saturday.
“Sometimes I think maybe people forget there are a few of us that were there! As I say, a few of us are part of the decline and now we’re part of some of the incline in that sense. That’s senior football and that is what it’s about. You want to play against the best and that’s what we’re at,” Clifford remarked at a recent launch of the All-Ireland championships in Croke Park.
While their forthcoming opponents Mayo have reached the semi-final stage of the Brendan Martin Cup in the past three seasons, Kildare are lucky to have someone within their ranks who knows the county inside out.
A native of Ballina, Lilies manager Diane O’Hora was part of the Mayo teams that won All-Ireland senior titles in 1999, 2000 and 2003. In addition to captaining the county for that breakthrough triumph all of 25 years ago, she also struck the winning goals when the green and red defeated Dublin in a low-scoring 2003 decider – the most recent Brendan Martin triumph for the Connacht side.
“It’s close to home for her! You wouldn’t nearly know that she’s from there in that sense. She’s all about Kildare and that’s the way she runs with things. I think with the way it has gone, the profile of the game, it is easy to do your homework on opposition because all games are now streamed and televised,” Clifford said.
“Mayo are super, they’re a senior team forever. It’s going to be tough, we’re under no illusions. We’ll be definitely marking it.”
Following this weekend’s tussle with Mayo, Kildare will have eight days to prepare for their second and final group game against defending All-Ireland champions Dublin. This will be the toughest challenge imaginable for the Lilies, but with the game set to take place at Manguard Park in Hawkfield, Clifford is very much looking forward to their duel with the Jackies.
“I don’t when the last time Dublin ladies played in Kildare at senior level. They’ll get a nice welcome, I’m sure, at Hawkfield. I think it has panned out as best it could in the tough group that we’re in,” Clifford added.