By Cian O’Connell

Muireann Kelleher’s perspective towards sport changed. For a few years camogie was off the agenda. The long trips back to Corofin in Clare from Dublin for matches stopped, but eventually Kelleher returned to competitive action in the capital with St Vincent’s.

Not too long after Kelleher operated at inter-county level for Dublin. That just happened, it wasn’t part of any grand plan, it merely was another challenge to be embraced.

“I set out to try to just get back playing,” Kelleher says about wearing the Vincent’s jersey following the sabbatical.

“I found it hard straightaway because I did have to get back at it with your touch, you just aren't up to your own standards that you set for yourself and the standards that you had reached before. It does take time for that to come back.

“So, there were times when I was disappointed not to make the club team, but that is like anything, if you're not disappointed, do you care really?

“I just put my head down because I was determined to put in a massive effort with this. Everybody does, everybody puts their head down and does what they can to improve themselves.”

With Vincent’s Kelleher found a welcoming environment, help was available. “I had great support and help in the areas I needed to work on,” she adds.

“I felt like I had the resources and the people there to help me when I did need that in Vincent's. I can only thank them for getting me to where I am now. I never thought I'd make senior county, it was something I was hugely delighted with when I did.

“I really cherished that jersey when I got it because it was something I didn't think that would happen in my camogie career.

“I was delighted to play with the group of girls I did with in Dublin, they were such a committed bunch too. It is unusual, but it isn't beyond anyone when you put your head down doing your best.”

Important matches continue to arrive thick and fast for Kelleher, who is part of the Vincent’s team preparing for Sunday’s AIB Leinster Club Championship encounter against Birr. Reconnecting with camogie mattered deeply to her. “I did stop playing for a couple of years,” she explains.

“I've always been into fitness so I would've been in the gym and that, but it just isn't the same. My husband was saying 'would you not get back into camogie, it is something you love' when we were sitting down.

“So, I sent a message to a person in charge of the camogie, Clodagh (Carroll), she got back to me straightaway. I played with the junior team first and made it up to the senior team that year.”

Kelleher suddenly was a key performer for Vincent’s. “It happened so quickly that year in 2018, I've never looked back since,” she says. “I'm so delighted I went back. Vincent's is just an amazing club, you have to be in it to realise it.

“They are just like a family, they were all at my wedding. It was in the middle of Covid, but the majority of the guests were Vincent's.

“We've had our successes too, but it is just an amazing group to be part of. I'm so glad that I sent that email when I did. The standards set at the training sessions, the people that you're marking in training, the commitment is there. I've never played with a group like that before. They are a really fantastic group.”

As a primary school teacher in Dublin, Kelleher knows all about the value of sport. Conversations about camogie and Vincent’s with students are frequently on the agenda.

“Yeah, even here, they ask about your games,” Kelleher says. “Even the exposure the county finals got this year and last year, being in Parnell Park and it being accessible, the really good streaming they did on YouTube.

“That is great exposure, people are actually recognising, they see their teacher on YouTube. It definitely has helped promote the game, it is lovely. It is really nice to hear anyone say that they saw you or asking you about the games. They do respect you a small bit more, I suppose.”

It has been well earned.