Bridie McMenamin Cup final
By Liam Tunney
“That was a real game,” remarked St Mary’s Ahoghill manager Dermot Graham after his side clinched the Bridie McMenamin Shield in Saturday’s thrilling final in Lavey.
“In all the other games, we were so far ahead of the opposition it was unbelievable” explained a beaming Graham as the raucous celebrations continued behind him.
Of the 15-39 scored by the Cloney side in their last three games, 10-09 of that came from the well-worn hurl of Noreen Graham. Even more impressively, the full-forward only played in two of them.
Graham acknowledged her importance but was keen to stress how she was well-assisted by those around her after being closely marshalled by a well-prepared Lavey defensive unit.
“Noreen Graham would be looked on as a real scorer, but Lavey double-marked her and we found it more difficult to get ball into her. Thank God the other girls stood up when they were needed and got the scores.”
After Graham’s 58th minute rocket the cake was iced by Paula Gribbin in the final minute, a redemptive moment for the half-forward who suffered the bereavement of her father during the season.
The heartbreak of loss is something that the team feels keenly, with Ciara and Brona McGuigan also suffering the loss of their sister Claire earlier in the year and Graham touched on the day’s emotion.
“The year Paula has had along with Brona and Ciara McGuigan, it’s a nice finish for all of them to have. It’s really, really brilliant, a really, really good feeling.”
Captain Fiona Blaney hinted in her victory speech about the influence of the manager in driving their success during the season and hinted at the possibility of another term at the helm for Dermot, who will be no doubt keen to keep the momentum going from this season.
“The camogie team had been struggling for a while and when we started going on this bit of a run in championship you could feel the momentum there.”
“We were getting better numbers at training and girls seemed to get that bit of enthusiasm for it,” he continued, “and as everybody knows, a win really gels people together. That really showed out there today when it was needed.”
With the talent in their ranks and momentum behind them, Graham’s Girls will be hoping he remains in the dug out next season.