Eimear Scally pictured at the launch of AIG becoming the official insurance partner of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.
By Cian O’Connell
These are encouraging times for the Cork Ladies footballers, who are eager to deliver in the All Ireland series.
National League and Munster glory has already been attained in 2019 so Ephie Fitzgerald’s charges now want to make an impact in the Championship.
Eimear Scally is satisfied with how Cork’s mixture of established and emerging players are combining so far with Cavan next on the agenda this weekend.
“Big time, we have been very fortunate so far with the silverware, we have got whatever we could have,” Scally says about Cork’s promising stint.
“The League was great in terms of girls getting run outs and getting a few wins under the belt. The Dublin game in the semi-final was a very tough one for us in terms of the extra-time, it was a psychological thing getting over that going into the final over Galway. Following it on then in Munster we had a good win too.”
During the past decade Cork have shown a willingness and an ability to integrate new talent from successful underage outfits. “Luckily enough in Cork, I know I had underage success thankfully, but I fell into a great team,” Scally admits. “They were winning All Irelands so to fall into that team was great.
“People looking at it from the outside people might have looked at it as a drought not getting to an All Ireland for a few years, but the younger girls coming in offer so much.
Eimear Scally in action during Cork's National League Final win over Galway at Parnell Park in May.
“The panel this year is stronger again which is fantastic for people pushing for places. Nobody is comfortable which always drives everyone on a bit more.
“I guess a lot of people worked hard with the younger girls, many of whom would only have been introduced to S & C last year. They were meeting up once a week with our S & C guy during the winter, that really was a good thing for us, those girls working hard brought us on too.”
With one year remaining in a Health and Fitness course at UL, Scally tries to implement some of the lessons learned in her own sporting career.
“There definitely was a bit of a crossover in some of the modules,” Scally laughs. “Picking up things like nutrition, S & C, physio, all them things there was a bit of a crossover which helped me with my sport with Cork.
“I'm going into final year now which is a lot more marketing stuff which is something I'll get caught up with once I finish college.”
That is one of the ways in which Ladies Football has exploded in popularity, and Scally is delighted to be involved at an interesting stint. “I guess the fact that there has been such a push on with the 20x20, the LGFA have tried to get as much support as possible,” Scally admits.
“It is bringing that professionalism into it has helped it push on a bit more. It is a hobby at the end of the day, we are playing to enjoy it, but having these added features, to promote our game, getting people out to our games there has been such a push.”
