There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
It’s unlikely Miley Cyrus would last five minutes of a camogie match in Croke Park.
She doesn’t strike us as the sporty type and her garb rarely looks suited to athletic pursuits.
However Cyrus’ most famous song keeps going around in the mind as we think of Killimor’s journey back to the All-Ireland club senior camogie final on March 6th, where they will once again face Milford of Cork.
Killimor’s path to the All-Ireland final has not been easy. Why would it be? Base camp is the gruelling Galway championship. Possibly the toughest of all club championships.
At ground level you need to fight teams like Mullagh and Ardrahan, for every ball, for every score, for every inch up that mountain.
The path is not straightforward – even if it is well worn by so many of your group from years before.
The pinnacle has also changed since they tasted glory in 2011. And Killimor know that only too well from three years ago when they made their last final appearance.
When it looked like Killimor would once again ascend the toughest peak Milford beat them to plant a rebel flag beyond the reach of the Galway side at the very summit, and the Cork outfit will be looking to do so again.
What can be more painful than being within touching distance of your goal, only to have it disappear in a blizzard of blue and white.
The climb is not without its casualties. There are potentially season-ending injuries to Ann Marie Starr and Emer Haverty.
But the pain of loss is greater than the joy of winning, and sometimes that’s all you need to move you forward, one foot at a time.
And they return, better, stronger, bionic in the case of Starr – with the steel pin in her arm and the permacast she wears to protect it.
How better to show team-mates that scars will heal, but the pain of losing is a pebble in the shoe you can never quite remove.
Killimor know the closer you get to the top the thinner the air gets. Your lungs begin to tighten, the lack of oxygen makes you tired, it dulls the senses, and it drains your energy. The closer you get to the 60th minute, and ultimate glory, the harder the body strains.
For Killimor the closer they get to March 6th the more ready they will become. Tommy Callagy told SportsJOE.ie that “if you want it you have to work for it”.
Work is what this club is all about. The work will not end until the All-Ireland title travels west once again, until the memories and demons of 2013 are fully exorcised.
Ultimately Killimor’s journey will only be complete with one final climb, one last push on March 6th. The final ascent for this team, this group of girls who have given their all, is the journey up the Hogan Stand.
Those 20-odd steps may just be a few inches apart, but to climb each one takes miles in shuttle runs, thousands of kilometres driven in the darkness of winter and early spring, and millions of beads of sweat.
The Galway side have been to the top of the mountain, they have made that climb once before. Now they are ready to do it all over again.
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb
Brought to you by AIB GAA, proudly backing Club & County. Follow AIB GAA on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
