It could have been soccer, tennis or even the AFL but the GAA is in Aishling Moloney’s blood.
Her dad steeped in it with the Cahir Slashers, her club building something special from when she was young.
She’s a brilliant camogie player too you know. Played for Tipperary at under-14s and scored five from play to win the 2016 All-Ireland club final for Cahir.
Down here in south Tipperary though, it was only ever heading one way. Football, Ladies football, any kind of football. It rules the roost for the lads and it turns the ladies’ heads too. Quite honest about it, it doesn’t matter if it’s lads or ladies. Football is football and that’s what you grow up on. It didn’t matter for Aishling Moloney.
“She played with the lads team underage and she was as good as any of them,” says Cahir Chairman of 28 years, Liam Shinnick to SportsJOE.
Some things never change. As Tipp’s number 11 has taken ladies football by storm over the last few years with her immaculate skill-set and flawless all-round game, it has left many Tipperary fans wondering whether Moloney, the gifted, rangy forward would be an addition to the lads’ team.
It's no wonder they call Aishling Moloney the most skilful ladies footballer in the country.
What. A. Score 😱😱 @TippLadiesFB @LadiesFootball pic.twitter.com/tSjS5X7XMk
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) March 25, 2019
In Cahir they know all about it.
“I’ve seen her training in Cahir with the senior team with her brothers and she’d be playing backs and forwards or whatever and she’d be showing them how to score, showing them how to do it. She’s always down in the field and I remember when John Evans was the Tipp manager, they’d be training down in Cahir she’d stand in for the Tipp training too and she’d be well able for it with the lads,” Shinnick added.
“She’s a wizard.”
There’s no doubt about it. Cahir knew they were onto a good one from when Moloney, Roisin Howard and Aoife Corcoran – the three wizards as Shinnick calls them – were young.
“She first played with Cahir as an under-11 and ever since she’s been an inspiration, a fantastic player for Cahir. The three wizards – they won everything up along from under-14 to 16 and in camogie as well, they won two county senior titles in 2017 and 2018 and they played a key role in each one of them. It could just as easy have been the hurling for Aishling but football was her first love…
Video: What a goal! See Aishling Moloney somehow first the ball to the Cork net in tonight's Lidl NFL game, from the @MacAV_NI Live Stream with @BridStackie on co-commentary.. @LadiesFootball pic.twitter.com/MT8l8r4y7p
— Jerome Quinn (@JeromeQuinn) February 23, 2019
“The one thing that always stood out about Aishling was the speed. Absolutely lightning speed. So since she was so fast, she’d play in the backs for us and it wouldn’t matter one bit, she’d still be able to run through the whole field and score…”
It’s still the same way today as Moloney’s speed of foot and of skill offers Tipperary and outlet that few other teams are lucky enough to have. On Sunday, she’ll be a key player for Shane Ronayne’s Tipperary intermediates as they bit to retain the crown they won in 2017.
“She’s always there for Cahir, always so consistent and it’s the same with Tipperary. A leader and if she doesn’t gt an All-Star, we’d be very disappointed, she’s a fantastic ambassador for ladies football in general and a fantastic ambassador for our club.”
Indeed, it’s going to be a proud day for the Cahir club with players Aisling McCarthy, Emma Buckley and Rosanna Kiely joining Moloney on the Tipp team who take on Meath.
