EILIS HAND
LOUTH
By Daire Walsh
Geraldines defender Eilis Hand has fond memories of the last time Louth and Carlow clashed in a Leinster LGFA Junior Championship decider.
A day after Louth suffered relegation from the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate football championship courtesy of a 2-12 to 2-8 defeat at the hands of Roscommon in Kinnegad on July 8, 2023, Hand ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in a club game against St Kevin’s. This kept her sidelined for several months and she missed the Wee County’s entire 2024 campaign in Division Three of the Lidl National Football League.
However, she made a cameo appearance in the early stages of last year’s Leinster JFC and subsequently made her first start for Louth in more than 10 months when they took on Carlow in the third-tier provincial showpiece at Laois Hire O’Moore Park on May 19, 2024. Named at centre half-back, Hand played a significant role in an eventual 2-10 to 1-5 victory for her side.
Louth are now looking to defend their provincial crown when they renew acquaintances with Carlow in today’s Leinster junior final here at TEG Cusack Park today.
“I togged out with my club in a league game and I ruptured my ACL unfortunately. That was July 9th, so I had surgery then in August and obviously the long road to recovery after that. This time last year I was prepping to come back,” Hand recalled.
“I played 10 minutes against Longford in the group stages and then my first start was the Leinster final against Carlow last year. I managed to last the whole game, which was great. A bit of a change in the last year. It’s a bit different this time around, I had plenty of game time over the course of the league. Looking forward to it.”
Alongside her colleagues Kate Flood and Aine Breen, Hand was named on the Division Three Team of the Lidl National Football League after producing a series of outstanding defensive displays. It was a highly productive spring campaign overall for Kevin Larkin’s charges as a record of five wins from seven games saw them finishing third in Division Three – just behind the promoted duo of Cavan and Wexford.
This was an ideal boost coming into the Leinster championship and Louth will also have major aspirations for the upcoming All-Ireland series. Hand was selected at left corner-back when the Wee County lost out agonisingly to Fermanagh in last August’s national junior showpiece at Croke Park and she and her team-mates are eager to go one step further in 2025.
“That loss last year was really tough to take. We had just come down from intermediate championship the year before. We had been competing at intermediate for three years or so. We had been doing quite well, holding our own, but we had a bit of bad luck.
“Things didn’t go our way the year previous, got relegated and we were hoping last year that we would bounce straight back up into the intermediate championship. Unfortunately, that just didn’t happen.
“We came up against a very strong Fermanagh team, who on reflection were probably a lot better prepped and just up for it more. They were the better team on the day. We have a lot to rectify now this year. Hopefully we can do that and hopefully win the All-Ireland. That’s our aim, that’s our goal.”
To say there is a feel-good factor around Gaelic football in Louth at the moment would be the proverbial understatement. Following a gargantuan 68-year wait, the county’s men claimed a Leinster Senior Football Championship title with a magnificent 3-14 to 1-18 win over arch rivals Meath at Croke Park last Sunday.
Their male underage sides are also highly competitive at the moment with their U20s securing a provincial crown of their own, while their minor team are set to face Offaly in a Leinster MFC showpiece in Newbridge tomorrow evening.
With the help of a loyal support base, Hand is hopeful the Louth ladies can maintain the momentum that has been established in recent times and embark on a summer to remember.
“It’s fantastic, there’s a great buzz around the county at the minute. There’s Louth flags on every second house you pass. The atmosphere and the buzz around the county is just incredible at the minute,” Hand added.
“Great buzz around the county and I just hope that we can continue that as well. It has been good, the support has been great. We just hope that the supporters can get behind the ladies as well. It’s really important because the support for the men has been fantastic. Hopefully they’ll row in behind us now throughout the All-Ireland championship as well.”