Niamh McEvoy, a Dub to the core.
When the opportunity arises for any sportsperson to play professionally, it’s impossible to begrudge them.
When those chances come up in an Australian summer, in a game perfectly suited for the player and in a season that will see them home in time for inter-county championship anyway, there’s not even a discussion to be had.
Of course, personal life has to be factored in but, for McEvoy, her only concern was, ‘what will Dublin think’. Much to the confusion of her other half.
"My boyfriend was like, 'you don't care that you're leaving me for 5 months?!'
"My biggest concern was, 'what will @dublinladiesg think?!'"
Congratulations to @NiamhoMc on her move to @MelbourneAFLW 👏👏
w/ @AIGIreland #EffortIsEqual pic.twitter.com/VUBxILxaY0
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) October 2, 2019
Two stars of Dublin’s three-in-a-row All-Ireland tilt will light it up in the AFLW this season as Melbourne Demons swooped in to secure the services of Niamh McEvoy and Sinead Goldrick.
Both players have been nominated for All-Stars off the back of another victorious campaign which also saw McEvoy, the Sylvester’s sharpshooter, secure a place on the National League team of the season.
Melbourne confirmed the signatures of Dublin’s centre back and centre forward and with the athleticism of the pair, the aerial ability, the aggression and the skill of both of their right feet, it’s hard to see them being anything other than a success with the oval ball.
On SportsJOE’s PlayXPlay, McEvoy spoke about how nervous she was breaking the news to Dublin manager Mick Bohan.
“Myself and Sinead Goldrick are going to go over and play with the Melbourne Demons for the upcoming season,” she said.
“They contacted us in May and it’s funny actually, I was so nervous to talk to Mick Bohan about it, the Dublin manager, he was my biggest concern and my boyfriend was kind of like, ‘You don’t care that you’re leaving me for five months?’
“I was like, ‘What will Dublin think?'”
It means the pair will be gone from November to around March or April time but Dublin’s first game in the championship this year wasn’t until June 30 in the Leinster final.
“We’re very transparent with Mick,” McEvoy continued.
“They contacted us and they wanted to have a conversation and before we even had a conversation with them we were like, ‘Mick can we have a conversation with them?’
“And he’s very good. He’s not in the business of trying to stifle anybody’s life or progression or anything like that so he’s cool with it.”
