By Cian O’Connell

For 11 years Áine McAllister has been a camogie player for Derry. So Sunday’s Croke Park trip for the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Final against Meath matters deeply.

It has been quite an adventure, but McAllister is still enjoying the journey. That is what sport is all about. Something is stirring in Derry which is encouraging for McAllister.

“We cannot wait, the buzz is definitely building in Derry, that is for sure,” she says. “If you look at Antrim and Down they are setting the benchmark for the likes of us and other counties in Ulster.

“It is definitely our time, I feel, to showcase the talent that is in Derry. With the success in Derry at club level you probably would have been expecting it a bit sooner, but we are just delighted to have the opportunity to reach an All-Ireland Final. We are really looking forward to the opportunity to showcase what we have to offer.”

Potential has always existed, but now Derry are delivering. PJ O’Mullan’s appointment as manager was a real signal of intent. “Whenever we got word of our management that was set in place for this year, not just PJ, who is our manager, but the backroom team that he has,” McAllister says about the optimism in the county.

“The things we have this year that we maybe didn't have last year - there is a lot more access to things like video analysis, tactical analysis, everything you'd be expecting as an inter-county player.

“It is something that PJ ensured, that if he was taking on this job that we were going to get. Anything we have requested, we have received. It has definitely helped with the preparation and reflecting on our performances which is a really important aspect of the game - to be able to reflect in order to improve things that maybe haven't been going so well.”

Learning lessons quickly and adapting to the challenges ahead are crucial according to McAllister. “Definitely, I suppose what we see is different to what management see on the sideline,” she says.

“That is something we have began to really appreciate. Even decision making, what you might decide in that time could be very different to what another forward or player around you might decide.

“It is about having those conversations, however difficult they might be, heated conversations, but they are really important conversations to have ensuring the team is aware of what forward play you or working on or how you are working the ball out of defence into the forward line, that we are all singing off the same hymn sheet really.”

Preparing for a national decider is precisely what Ballinascreen’s McAllister wants to be doing. “It is now 11 years I've been playing county senior camogie,” she says.

“The last All-Ireland Derry won in 2012, we didn't think it would be as long that we'd be back here playing at Croke Park. It has been a dream of mine since a very young age.

“To finally have the opportunity to represent my county, alongside the likes of Aoife Cassidy, who is a fantastic player that has given so much to Derry camogie over the years, it is just amazing.

“Over the few weeks, even though we are going to focus on task and try not to get carried away with the hype around us, it is important to take it in, to soak it all in, to enjoy it as much as you can.”