Milford camogie club turns 18 this year but already its graduated to the big time in terms of writing its own special place in the GAA history books
So how is a side that is still in nappies, in GAA terms at least, looking to secure a third AIB All Ireland Senior Camogie Club title in a row this Spring?
From the breakthrough in 2012 with a 25-point county final win over St Catherine’s, the Munster champions have been on an unbeaten run of over 20 games since with Mullagh of Galway the latest side to test their mettle against the Rebelettes in the All-Ireland semi final next month.
So what’s the secret to turning a side who lost county finals in ’09 and ’11 into the all-conquering team of the decade so far?
Manager Frankie Flannery has been in charge for two of their three county and Munster successes and he says their formula is very simple, ‘When I came in I knew the club had unbelievable talent and they reminded me a little of Galway. Great players and underage success but just couldn’t transfer it to senior level. I saw a side with great individuals but not playing as a team and that was our biggest challenge. What we brought was belief, discipline and an unquenchable spirit.’
What he also brought was a dream and he announced his great plan at his very first team meeting. It was to be a defining moment. The legend goes that he told the team they were just eight steps from All-Ireland final:
‘100% I said it but did I 100% believe it? No. A friend of mine said you aim for the moon to get to the stars and I though that winning the county would put too much pressure on them so I just made it a part of the journey for them and we had to aim higher to get over the real hurdle in front of us.’
Part of that plan would be to generate a new mantra for all involved in Milford, one which has seen them dominate senior camogie over the last two years,
‘We have a motto that the hardest girl you mark all year has to be the girl in training. In our first year there was a lot of black and blue legs and bruises and the girls were probably looking at us thinking what were we at.’
Midfielder Aisling Thompson admits Flannery deserves a huge amount of credit for the turnaround in Milford’s fortunes.
‘It’s not that we weren’t doing the right things before but I think he came in and gave us incredible focus. I mean he came into the dressing room and said it’s eight steps to an All Ireland. Like, we nearly laughed at him but he was so serious and the focus and hard work afterwards we just really believed in everything he said.’
Once Milford did make that breakthrough in 2012 the club were determined to enjoy their time in the spotlight.
They swept past Burgess-Duharra of Tipperary in their first ever Munster final before going on to secure a maiden AIB Club Camogie senior title in March by overcoming Galway’s Killimor.
It’s hard to imagine that the club is still in its teens with what has happened over the last number of years. It’s formation emerged from two successful All-Ireland winning camogie sides at the National Community Games finals 1995 and 1996. According to club chairperson Ellen Ann Geary and treasurer Kayo Galvin the germ of the idea came from Anne Watson and Sheila Thompson, who oversaw the success in Mosney and decided in 1997 that the talent in the parish needed a proper club.
The club’s development coincided with an incredible run of juvenile success for the teenagers from north Cork who began to make a name at both local and national level.
Ellen Ann Geary says that the early years were made much easier by the enthusiasm of the girls as well as everyone in the community, ‘there was a huge group of interested girls looking to play camogie at underage and the older girls started a Junior B club to get things off the ground.’
The club became senior in 2003 and qualified for a county final in ’04, which they subsequently lost, but it was clear that there was something very special happening in North Cork
So what changed a side that lost finals in 2004, 2009 and 2011 to a team that just could not be stopped? Aisling Thompson feels that once the pressure of winning that the very first county title was lifted from their shoulders the team were finally free to play to their potential,
‘That first county success was just a dream really for everyone in 2012. When we were working our way up and we started winning it became almost surreal for everyone and capping it in 2012 with a first ever senior title was just icing on the cake after so many tough years.’
The success of Milford however has not pleased everyone within County Cork. Once the underdogs became the top dog attitudes to the club and the team have changed significantly according to Flannery:
‘I’ll be brutally honest here but when ladies sides are going well there seems to be an attitude of ‘knock them, knock them down’. We don’t get much support in Cork, to be brutally honest, from county board structures, and we’d hardly get wished best of luck before matches but outside of the county we have nearly more support. County and club sides have asked us what type of training we do and we’d be delighted to show people as well.
The experience the side have built up over the last 24 months has been used more than once to get the Cork side out of trouble, most recently in their own county club championship when facing Douglas in a quarter-final. Milford emerged one-point winners and Flannery admits that his side were lucky to win,  ‘I’ve no doubt that we should have been beaten that day. We played bad and we dug out a fabulous result to win by a point and we wouldn’t have won it without the character built up in the last 24 months.’
Character. It’s a word that keep popping up when talking to Flannery and Thompson. What has made a group of girls from a small hamlet in North Cork one of the best teams of the last decade?
Thompson describes it as a close intimacy with every other player that not many teams can achieve:
‘It’s not so much a team as a sisterhood among the girls in the dressing room. We all started camogie with Milford and about 90% of us went to primary school here so its just a close bond really that is very hard to break. We’ve been a part of each others lives for so long and if someone gets knocked down you pick them back up and you come back stronger.’
Milford’s preparations for the All-Ireland semi final have been hampered by the absence of five players who began the journey in 2012 through retirement, and they will also have to plan without Deidre Reilly who is recovering from an hip operation. Flannery admits he’s been impressed by Mullagh:
‘I saw the Galway county final and their manager is Eugene McEntee and he would have been involved with Portumna and they have county players so we face tough test there’s no doubt. We’ve struggled a bit against Galway sides and we know its going to be a massive massive test.
Thompson is also aware of what faces the reigning champions:
‘It’s not just going to happen, they’re out to do the same thing as us. You prepare for war and that’s what we are doing and you have to battle on and keep going and work as hard as possible as you can for the 60 minutes.
Milford are looking to join an exclusive club of senior clubs to have claimed the All-Ireland club title three years running and Aisling Thompson is determined that the team that won have it all over the last two years aren’t finished yet
‘We know everyday there is a chance you could go out and you might be beaten but we’re not prepared to let that happen yet. Looking back in 20 or 30 years time to be able to say you won a third senior county, a third senior Munster and  a third senior All-Ireland would be an incredible. Some of us have had success with Cork as well as the club and we’re hoping it’s not quite finished yet.’
