Perfect ten for Leah

Ten senior county titles is an incredible achievement and just minutes after her latest success, Leah Mullins was able to rattle off all her previous medals.

“First one was in 2001, going back a few years now. There was no Bennekerry/Tinryland senior team at that time so I went in to the town and played with O’Hanrahans who were flying it at that stage. We that in ’01 and again in 2002. We kind of fell apart again in 2003, I had my daughter in 2004 so I didn’t play that year and when I went back playing football it took me until 2010 and 2011 to win my next two with Baile Ceatharlach. That was a team in the town with O’Hanrahans and Éire Óg together. I won my first with B/T in 2015, then 2016 and 2017 and on to 2021, 2023 and now today,” she said.

In an increasingly young player’s game, Mullins said this would be her last year but she will be targeting a shot at Leinster before hanging up the boots.

“I’m just over a month away from my 39th birthday and this is my 20th county final, won ten, lost eight and drew two so I think I deserve to retire gracefully. I’m going out at the top!” although her manager Chris Townsend was on hand to suggest that she might not be let off head into retirement just yet.

Aside from her own usual flawless display, Mullins also played a huge part in the win by coaxing Lauren Dwyer back to the team and the plan she plotted one evening in Athy when with the Asca men’s team played out to perfection.

“Asca would be myself and Lauren’s mens club and we over in Athy one night at a challenge game and I was sussing her out to see how the soccer was going. I asked her would she ever think about coming back and playing even a bit of intermediate in the club. She was saying maybe, maybe and when she was attending physio with Nuala she got the go ahead to come back. Amn’t I quare happy that she did. Lauren Dwyer has been a force to be reckoned with since she was 12, 13 years of age. That girl has talent to burn so it’s no surprise that she came on today and made such an impact,” she said.

The title was Bennekerry/Tinryland’s third in the last four years, after reaching ten finals in a row, and although Mullins is hugely respectful of what Old Leighlin have achieved during that time as well she feels that establishes Bennekerry/Tinryland as the county’s top team.

“Old Leighlin are a fabulous club and a fabulous team and did a three in a row and did really well but 2021 against all odds we beat Old Leighlin. In 2022 we had five cruciate injuries and were decimated with that. Old Leighlin did win that final but 2023 and 2024 are ours so I’d dispute who the strongest club in the county is. A lot of people say it’s Old Leighlin, and I’m not taking anything from them because they did do well and they did well in Leinster, but B/T should never be written off. We had a tough group stage to get to this point and we had to dig deep and fight hard and we did it in every game we played this year,” he said.

The win rounded off a memorable day for Leah and her family after the trophy named in honour of her mother Kathleen was presented to the winners of the Intermediate Championship for the first time.

“It’s such an honour to have mammy’s name remembered like that. She left football in the county in a really, really good place. It was lovely to see Jenny O’Neill’s daughter Kelly her to present the senior cup and it’s just a lovely memory to have for people who have given so much to the county. My man would be extremely proud to have her name on any cup but particularly the intermediate cup because it used only be senior and junior and she formed the intermediate competition in the county so it’s a lovely touching tribute for her, and for us as a family it’s lovely that her name will be remembered forever around the county. Nobody probably knows this, the cup replaces the Bolger Cup and that cup was actually sponsored by my sister and her husband so it’s gone from their cup to my mam’s cup and that’s lovely,” she said.