CLIODHNA NI SHE
CARLOW
By Daire Walsh
More than any other county in the land, Clíodhna Ní Shé and the Carlow ladies footballers are able to draw on past experience whenever they take on Louth in the competitive arena.
For the second year in succession, the Barrowsiders will face the Wee County in a Leinster LGFA Junior Championship final this afternoon. Whereas their 2024 clash was held at Laois Hire O’Moore Park in Portlaoise, TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar is the venue for their latest provincial decider showdown.
Their final meeting 12 months ago was preceded by a round robin encounter between the same two sides and was later followed by a reunion at the semi-final stage of the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship. Today’s game will also be the third clash of Carlow and Louth in 2025 – a Lidl National Football League Division 3 affair was the precursor to a recent Leinster JFC group stage duel – and Ní Shé is well aware of the challenge that awaits in Westmeath this afternoon.
“As long as I’ve been playing for Carlow, I’ve been playing Louth. I think this is the fourth time we’re playing them in a Leinster junior final. It could be more. We definitely know them quite well and it will be the third time we’ve played them this year. It might not be the last. Two teams that know each other very well. It should be a tough battle,” Ní Shé said.
“They were unlucky not to win the junior championship last year, the All-Ireland against Fermanagh. They’re a team littered with talent from their goalie all the way to the forwards. It’s definitely something we’re aware of after playing them so many times.”
Having lost out to them by 15 points (3-16 to 0-10) when they met in the league last March, Carlow were hoping to turn the tables of Louth in their Leinster round robin clash at the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda a fortnight ago. Yet having already trailed 4-5 to 0-7 at the break, Brian O Ruairc’s side were on the brink of a heavy defeat when their opponents bagged a fifth goal less than five minutes after the resumption.
However, Carlow refused to throw in the towel and brought the gap down to the bare minimum before a Kate Flood point sealed a 5-8 to 2-15 victory for the Wee County. While there were great signs of encouragement in how they performed during the second period of this game, Ní Shé acknowledged that they can’t afford a repeat of their opening half for their latest meeting with Louth.
“We thought we could have gotten the game at the end. There was only a point in it and we got chances. We were obviously happy with our second half performance, but you can’t expect to win games with the kind of first half performance that we put in.
“The goals that we let in and the lack of scoring threat that we had. Hopefully we can learn from that game and play more like we did in the second half for the full 60 minutes.”
Despite that defeat to Louth, wins either side of it against Kilkenny and Longford have ensured Carlow’s return to the Leinster junior final for the third year in succession. Back in 2023, Ní Shé struck 2-3 when the O’Hanrahan County defeated Kilkenny to claim provincial honours at Laois Hire O’Moore Park.
The UCD student would dearly love to get over the line in Mullingar and maintain the growing accumulation of silverware within Carlow. Last year was a double success for Ní Shé as she helped Carlow to get their hands on the Lidl NFL Division Four crown before firing 2-4 in an historic AIB Intermediate Club Championship final triumph at the expense of Annaghdown in Croke Park.
This latter victory was an incredibly special moment for Ní Shé and served the highlight the work that is being done on ladies football in Carlow.
“Those are days you don’t even dream of as a club from Carlow. It’s not something that would ever have been in our sights, to be honest. It was the stuff of dreams to win an All-Ireland alongside your friends you’ve been playing with growing up,” Ní Shé added.
“There is serious working being done in Carlow. Even the underage squads they’re thriving, which is great to see. We’re off the back of a great club success. We’re looking to build on that and build some experience.
“There’s a good group of us from the club in with Carlow this year as well. Hopefully we can keep to winning ways, but we’re well aware of the threat that Louth pose and hopefully we can get a result on Sunday.”