Croke Park: Field of dreams, field of legends

Croke Park. The Field of Dreams. The Field of Legends. The field that since 1896, when the Jones’ Road venue hosted it’s first All-Ireland final, has witnessed the full gamut of emotions, the joy unconfined of victory, the utter devastation of defeat, the anti-climactic limbo of a drawn decider. 128 years of delight and despair.

For the lady footballers of Bennekerry/Tinryland last Saturday afternoon it was joy unconfined as the Carlow club created history on the double, the first Carlow ladies football team to play in Croke Park, a fantastic achievement in itself, the first Carlow ladies football team to lift silverware in Croke Park, an incredible achievement.

The Croke Park factor worried your scribe beforehand. There are many, many examples over the course of those 128 Jones’ Road years of breakthrough teams being overawed by the venue, many admitting afterwards of being guilty of ‘playing the occasion’ rather than playing the match. You could sense from their soundbites that the Bennekerry/Tinryland management were trying to get the balance right. “It’s the Holy Grail of the GAA,” admitted manager Chris Townsend. “We will mention it but we can’t let it define us. You just have to do your job. Manage the game. Two goalposts at the end of the day. You just want to win the game. It will be lovely. Of course it will but we have to keep ourselves focused it terms of what we want to get out of it.” Wise words. And Chris and his management team didn’t just talk the talk, they walked the walk for they had the Bennekerry/Tinryland ladies team so superbly mentally tuned for Saturday’s final that the girls appeared as relaxed as if the were indulging in a kick-around while waiting for Tom Sheehan’s bus to arrive to ferry them to the venue! Every single player was so comfortable on the ball, every single player knew exactly what the game-plan was and the quality of their keep-ball possession game was such that it furnished the platform for victory as it fashioned the openings for their players of flair and finesse to pepper the posts, the Croke Park posts! Yes, some early shots sailed wide but again mental fortitude ensured the kickers wouldn’t abdicate their duties and adhered to the mantra, ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.’ Slowly but surely the scores started mounting but before we say more on those it has to be stated that the new champions defensive performance was outstanding, their tackling without fouling, their swiftness to the breaks, their facility to get a hand in to pilfer the ball away all attributes that made their opponents path to goal a difficult one.

Now is as good as time as any to return to the ‘field of dreams’ theme and recount how the night before Myshall’s Kate and Breege Nolan played a big match in Croke Park their mother posted on Facebook that her daughters and their team mates “should play for the little girls they were in the back garden.” Every child who has kicked or pucked a ball has dreamt of playing in Croke Park and have lived out those dreams in the back garden, scoring goals, scoring points, making saves, going up to collect the Cup.

Oops, sorry Clíodhna Ní Shé and Lauren Dwyer, ye will have to wait a little longer for ye’re scoring mention! Exhibit A from the back garden of long ago, goalkeeper and captain, Shannen Cotter! ‘Making saves.’ ‘Going up to collect the Cup.’ The very second she began her acceptance speech with “Tá an-áthas orm and corn seo a ghlacadh’ you just knew the Bennekerry/Tinryland captain had as a little girl pictured a moment like this. The captain too in one special moment during the game provided evidence of the perfect balance the team had reached between enjoying the occasion and getting the job done: in a break in first half play due to injury, the TV cameras honed in on the Carlow champions No 1 and her appearance on the big screen at the Hill 16 end evoked a big cheer from the yellow and black clad supporters in the Hogan Stand. Shannen had obviously spotted herself too and a big smile and a little wave was quickly replaced by the game face. And just as well too as the free was played back to the alert ‘keeper who earlier had made a few great saves, one silencing the Annaghdown roar which was greeting their first ‘score’, another a brave advance that prevented a morale boosting Galway goal.

Talking of morale boosting goals, back to Clíodhna (scorer of 2-4) and Lauren (who notched 0-4) and let’s include Sinead Hayden (0-2) here too. Clíodhna netted at the Hill 16 end in the first half, a clever low shot eluding the advancing ‘keeper, the assist down to an immaculately timed pass from the raiding Lauren. And when in the second half Sinead raided in towards the Canal End posts, a magical jink brought her past a would-be tackler before her run was illegally impeded. Penalty! Up stepped Clíodhna Ní Shé who many, many times as a young girl in her back garden buried match winning penalties. She buried this one too. Effectively, it was the clincher, the goal that ensured ‘Let’s Go BT, let’s go’ would echo from the Hogan Stand as the girls clad in yellow and black jerseys with AK embroidered on the shoulder accepted the Cup and emotionally honoured the memory of Amanda Kinsella.

DEIRDRE TOMLINSON: 

Staying with little girls in their back gardens dreaming their sporting dreams we come to Deirdre Tomlinson who will gladly admit that it was not to-day or yesterday she was that little girl! One of the biggest cheers of the day came when Deirdre came on in the 56th minute, it was a hugely popular decision as the bubbly veteran has nurtured many of these girls, coaching some of them at U-12 and, one we hear, had Miss Tomlinson as her Junior Infant teacher! Your scribe has seen first hand how positively Deirdre promotes Gaelic games in Bennekerry Primary School where her combination of enthusiasm and fun and competitiveness gives the children a rounded introduction to sport. She herself, of course, apart from a long football career with club and county, was a useful young athlete with Bennekerry/Tinryland Community Games and St Laurence O’Toole’s and has had a very successful basketball innings at the highest level, her exploits on the court shared with her twin sister Grainne. And Deirdre and her partner Richie Coady can now add one further item to their list of things they have in common: All-Ireland club medal winners in Croke Park.

‘WHAT’S RARE IS WONDERFUL’: 

It’s well recorded now that Saturday was the first time a Carlow ladies football team played in Croke Park. What might not be nearly as well known is that this was, counting hurling, football, camogie and ladies football, just the eighth time a Carlow club has played a competitive fixture in GAA headquarters.

The first to do so were, of course, Éire Óg on St Patrick’s Day, 1993 (a Wednesday) when the townsmen, captained by Noel Fallon, played an exciting 3-6 to 2-9 draw with Cork’s O’Donovan Rossa in the All-Ireland Senior Club final, losing the replay narrowly, a game played in the Limerick Gaelic Grounds. Éire Óg were back in Croker and the Senior Club final on St Patrick’s Day 1996 (a Sunday), beaten 4-5 to 0-11 by Kerry’s Laune Rangers, Garvan Ware, an uncle of Bennekerry/Tinryland’s Elaine Ware was on those Éire Óg teams.

On Sunday, February 12, 2006 in the All-Ireland Junior Hurling final, Erin’s Own of Bagenalstown were beaten 2-16 to 2-10 by Fr O’Neill’s of Cork before on Saturday, February 11, 2012 in All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling final, Mount Leinster Rangers (Ballymurphy, Rathanna and Borris) beat Na Fianna of Middletown, Armagh 1-13 to 1-11, Karl Lawlor becoming the first Carlow man to lift club silverware in Croke Park. The Rangers were back in Croker on St Patrick’s Day 2014 (a Monday), beaten 0-19 to 0-11 by Galway’s Portumna in the All-Ireland Senior Club final. Richie Coady, partner of Bennekerry/Tinryland’s Deirdre Tomlinson played with the Rangers in those games.

On Sunday, March 5, 2017 Myshall became the first Carlow club camogie team to trod the sacred sod of Croke Park and made it a winning debut , beating Egish of Tyrone 1-10 to 1-9 to win the All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie final, Niamh Quirke becoming the first Carlow woman to lift club silverware in Croke Park. Niamh was in the Hogan Stand again last Saturday to support the BT girls and delighted in their historic win.

The seventh appearance by a Carlow club was on Sunday, November 27, 2022 when St Mullins were beaten 1-24 to 1-12 by Dublin’s Kilmacud Crokes in the Leinster Club Senior Hurling semi-final.

And then, December 14, 2024, Bennekerry/Tinryland beat Annaghdown of Galway 2-10 to 1-17 to win the All-Ireland Ladies Football Intermediae Final, Shannen Cotter becoming just the third Carlow person to lift club silverware in Croke Park.

PASSING PARADE: 

Here’s one for you? And to be honest I’m not sure of the answer, maybe a reader can clarify? Were Bennekerry/Tinryland ladies the first Carlow club team to parade in Croke Park? Marching behind the band in Croke Park was/is/will be another back garden fantasy for young children. BT got to live that musical dream on Saturday. Fairly certain there was no parade before St Mullins’ semi-final. Did Éire Óg, Erin’s Own, Mount Leinster Rangers or Myshall experience a parade ahead of their finals?