'Killavullen is a small area but for too long we had no ladies football team'
The Killavullen junior ladies footbal lteam that defeated Ballygarvan in their first ever Cork LGFA junior league match recently.
THE Killavullen ladies football club made history by completing their first junior ladies football league fixture against Ballygarvan recently.
The fledgling North Cork club made an instant impact as a panel of 31 players delivered a resounding 4-14 to 2-3 victory.
A series of challenge matches in the lead-up to their first league match had the desired effect and Killavullen are ready to kick on and make a name for themselves before the year is out.
“The club is a few years old but have been fielding underage teams from U6 upwards although we had never fielded an adult team until this year,” Killavullen LGFA chairperson Mick Rae told the Echo.
“For a number of years before we set up the club, anyone from Killavullen who wanted to play ladies football had to do so elsewhere. There was a number of us who felt that had to stop. We had to try and keep players here and develop them ourselves.
“It is a small area but for too long there was no ladies football for girls living in the locality.
“There was a feeling within the club that, although we had good numbers at U12 and U14, the numbers weren’t as good, as in enough to just about field teams, at U16 or minor.
“Organising, let alone fielding a junior team was a couple of years off. At least that’s what we thought.”
So, with their underage foundations in place, Mick Rae and additional members of Killavullen LGFA decided to put structures in place for a junior ladies team.
No specific timeline was imposed until Rae and his fellow committee members were shocked at an unexpectedly positive reaction.
So much so, that the decision to set up a junior team was confirmed two years earlier than originally hoped for.
“The amount of buy-in we got from older girls living in the area in their late 20s and early 30s was absolutely phenomenal,” Rae admitted.
“From nothing, we had a panel of over 30 players for our junior team. That was just fantastic.
“A lot of people, too many to list, were instrumental in getting things up and running but I have to mention Niamh Buckley. Niamh is a former captain of an All-Ireland winning Cork LGFA junior football team and is originally from Killavullen.
“When she was younger, Niamh would have been one of the individuals who had to leave and play her football elsewhere.
“Niamh’s in-depth knowledge and love for ladies football meant we were delighted to have her back in the club.
“She was helping with our U14s and one of the first people I approached about coaching a junior team. Niamh jumped at the opportunity.
“I’m happy to say that Niamh as our player-manager, along with Cathal Cronin (coach), Ann Walsh, Catherine Norris, Dick Griffin and John Hannon are doing a brilliant job with our juniors.”
Gaining victory over Ballygarvan in their first ever league outing was just reward for a Killavullen club that put in a Trojan effort to get their junior ladies football set-up off the ground.
Naturally, there will be some setbacks along the way, but a panel of over 30 players gives the North Cork side every chance of building on their early season momentum and establishing themselves as a respected team in the coming years.
It is fair to say that none of the current feelgood factor around a new ladies football team would have been possible without the help and support of Killavullen GAA.
“The club has been very, very supportive,” Mick Rae commented.
“In the last two years, because of that, we have upped our underage and now our junior training.
“We want all Killavullen LGFA players to train, at a minimum, twice a week.
“So, the help and buy-in we get from Killavullen GAA is massive.
“Any time we have looked for something, they have done everything in their power to give it to us. That works both ways too.
“It is a small place and a lot of the families with boys or Dads already playing, now have girls playing with us as well.
“I have heard stories of other LGFA clubs who do not have the same goodwill from their own GAA clubs.
“I can tell you that Killavullen has massive goodwill from ours.”
App?
