I had seen Cathy Donnelly play only once in all my time knowing her, and it had not ended well. The second time was seven years later and it almost went the same way.
Cathy Donnelly is now Cathy Maguire, and she has been since she got married at the turn of this year. Her husband, Seamus, is my brother-in-law so Cathy is now family in a family she has been part of much longer than I. I was simply quicker up the aisle.
As long as I have known her, I have known of her footballing prowess. Anyone in Ulster GAA circles will tell you of her talent and that of the Donnelly sisters. They have shone on the club and inter-county circuit got Tyrone to a brink of an All-Ireland in 2010.
That was the only game I had previously caught her play in. Dublin walloped them at Croke Park and Tyrone haven’t been as close since.
Seven years on and I was hoping my attendance at Oliver Plunkett’s Park in Emyvale would not be a hindrance. In Fermanagh for the weekend, myself and my wife packed up the car and headed for Monaghan. Our two children slept along the hour-long hop and we were grateful for it. At two and four, we were hopeful they wouldn’t mind being crammed into a stand for [anthems and presentations included] the guts of two hours.
We need not had worried. They couldn’t get enough their first Ulster football experience.
Best wishes to our Senior team and management as they take on Donaghmoyne in today's Ulster Club Final at 2pm in Emyvale. #seeuthere pic.twitter.com/tnxBNNPtQ9
— St Macartans LGFC (@st_macs) November 5, 2017
More often than not, the stand at Oliver Plunkett’s is there to shelter you from the wind and rain. On Sunday, as St MacCartan’s took on reigning All-Ireland champions Donaghmore, it felt like the only patch of Emyvale that was not covered in sunshine.
We found a good spot near the back of the stand, us four and Cathy’s mother- and father-in-law. A merry band of six, all wrapped up in woolly hats and scarves. Not a flag among us and sporting Teemore Shamrock colours. Neutrals to look at but very much in the MacCartans corner.
St Mac’s take in a catchment area of Augher, Clogher and Eskra and they have been outrageously successful in recent years. They have won six of the last nine senior championships in Tyrone but and Ulster had proved elusive.
From a personal perspective, the game got off to a perfect start. Cathy Maguire claimed a pass out on the fight wing and fired it back inside. She immediately spun and set off for the goal. The ball found its way back to her and she was on the charge. There was still a defender and goalkeeper to beat but she rammed her shot home.
1-0 to 0-0 up and not even 90 seconds gone.
I caught up with Seamus, further down the steps, later in the half and declared, “Some finish by Cathy! … Did you see it?”
His eyes widened. “I hope you recorded it.”
Luckily [for us both], someone was:
There was a second goal when Joline Donnelly fisted home after beating Donaghmoyne goalie Linda Martin to a miscued shot that steepled high. When Cathy knocked over a point with the outside of the boot, the Tyrone champions led 2-2 to 0-1.
During all this, we briefly lost both children [one in search of a flag and the other looking for the dog he had heard barking nearby] before locating them mere metres away. We made mental notes to dress them in brighter colours next time we brought them to a game.
MacCartans cracked a crossbar and scored another goal and point before half-time. Shannon McQuaid and Maria Donnelly were cleaning up at the back while Maura McMenamin was a reliable target for an out-ball whenever Donaghmoyne pressed up.
Still, having never won a senior Ulster title before, talk at the break was about MacCartans needing another couple of scores in the second half as they could not just sit back.
Their coaches, Ryan McMenamin [soon to join the Fermanagh men’s senior set-up] and Conor McCarroll, must have stressed the same as MacCartans came out strong for the first 10 minutes of the half. Colleen McQuaid missed a penalty but at least pointed the rebound. Unfortunately, that was it for their scoring.
Donaghmoyne were far too good a side to go down without a fight and they gambled on the full press for the final 20 minutes, plus injury time while they were at it. First came the points, then the MacCartans yellow cards [and trips to the sin-bin], and then a penalty that made it a close run thing.
St Mac’s were indebted to goalkeeper Niamh McKenna for a fine, one-one-one save that she pushed onto the post. It would end up proving crucial but, crucially, MacCartans finally realised that sitting back was killing them. They had worked to hard to be left regretting this one.
The players that had done so well in the first half began breaking away from their markers and demanding the ball. All of a sudden, midfielders and forwards found teammates in support and willing to take up the challenge.
Myself and my son ended up down by the sideline for the final few minutes and he was as transfixed by the action as I. He was as frightened as I by the yells that rang out all around us when the final whistle blew and MacCartans had made history.
St MacCartans are 2017 Ulster Ladies football champions
Congrats to sister in law Cathy Maguire!! pic.twitter.com/hqF8CRSO5B— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) November 5, 2017
We went onto the pitch for a couple of minutes at the end and grabbed Cathy to pass on our congratulations before we hit the road. Exhausted and elated, she tried to coax her in-laws back to the clubhouse for what was already shaping up to be an epic night.
The pitch was full of family and friends and that big, sun-blocking stand was empty again.
Before we left, we were afforded a truly special scene as MacCartans full-back Marie Treanor turned around to see an elder relative standing on the edge of the bouncing crowd. A grandfather, we guessed. A proud man, we knew. He enveloped her with a hug and, both beaming, they posed for a picture.
He dabbed at the corner of his eyes as she turned back and, with three short steps, was lost in celebration again.
A first Ulster title in the club’s 25 year history but this team is not willing to settle for history. Not yet.
