Aoife Connolly has already left an indelible mark on the Westmeath inter-county season, writes Daire Walsh.
Whatever might unfold for Westmeath against Clare in their TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate championship quarter-final at Cusack Park, tomorrow afternoon. It’s been a season to remember for Westmeath’s Connolly.
In 12 appearances across a variety of competitions, the Garrycastle ace has amassed an astonishing 10-50 for the Lake County.
Connolly’s best individual haul came against Louth in a TG4 Leinster Intermediate Football Championship clash in Ballinlough on May 13. Registering 1-10 to help Westmeath defeat their opponents on a score of 3-17 to 1-11. Included amongst this final total was a ‘45’ that garnered 0-2 for her side.
Becoming the first player from the Midlands outfit to do so at county level since the two-point rule was introduced by the LGFA in 2020. Connolly repeated the feat during their 3-14 to 0-6 win over Longford in TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship Group 4 at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on June 18.
This was a significant score. A believed maiden double for a ladies footballer to score two ‘45s' in the same season. The 24-year-old was not aware of her feat until after the game.
Converting 45's
“I wasn’t aware of it at all” explained Connolly. “I had seen a couple of videos of girls doing it in the last year or two. I wasn’t really aware of the facts behind it or whether anybody had done it twice before. That was news to me, to be honest”.
“I’ve never, ever scored one in practicing” explained Connolly, “so it was nice to get the first one against Louth. It’s a bit of a shock to myself and I’d say probably a few others. I was surprised to see it go over, but it definitely felt good anyway”.
“I would have always practiced frees and I’ve always taken the majority of my free’s from the hand” Connolly explained. “I did start taking frees off the ground a bit. I felt like I was getting more distance in them from the ground. Any of those ones around 35, 40 yards out that I wouldn’t be able to kick from my hands.”
First selected on the senior panel in 2016, Connolly and made her championship debut two-years later in a Leinster SFC decider against Dublin. Two cruciate ligament injuries significantly curtailed Connolly’s Westmeath career in the seasons that followed. Opting to take a year out from the inter-county game in 2022, Connolly believes it has helped her to rediscover her best form in the current calendar year.
“I’m definitely feeling a lot hungrier this year. I’ve really, really enjoyed being back. It’s such a good team and it’s a really good atmosphere in there at the moment. I’m really, really enjoying playing and really enjoying all the games that we’ve played. Each game I think we’re getting better and better.”
2020 Campaign challenges
While, the 24-year-old featured prominently in Lidl National Football League Division One in 2020. The covid-19 pandemic ultimately cancelled the league with two rounds remaining. Connolly missed out on that year’s Christmas time TG4 All-Ireland IFC showpiece defeat to Meath at Croke Park.
Connolly had managed to regain full fitness for the business end of the 2021 championship; and kicked a point as a substitute in their second-tier final success over Leinster rivals Wexford on September fifth.
This was a memorable moment for Connolly and Westmeath. While this is where they want to get back to on August 13. There is the small matter of a last-eight duel with Clare to contend with tomorrow.
“I think it was just a relief to get onto the pitch (for the 2021 final). It was quite a heavy defeat for Wexford in the end, but it was nice to be part of the occasion and to get game time after a tough year with the injuries”.
What a score!
See if Aoife Connolly can repeat this today for Westmeath against Antrim on the first day of the 2023 TG4 All Ireland Championships.
— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) June 11, 2023
“I think for us! We just have to take each game as it comes” declared Connolly. “I think it’s just the Clare game that we’re focusing on and we haven’t really thought that much through. Obviously the end goal, and our goal, would be the All-Ireland”.
“Hopefully after Sunday we’ll be back training on Tuesday prepping for a semi-final. You can’t be certain about these things either and we just have to give Clare all the respect. They’re the ones who topped the group and we’re definitely going in as underdogs I would feel.”
Based outside Westmeath
With the majority of the Westmeath squad, based within the county for work. Connolly is a management consultant by KPMG in Dublin. Although she finds herself in the capital for a certain number of days in a given week, her employers have also made it possible for her to do some work from home.
Whereas, instead of constantly facing with a commute from the capital to Westmeath sessions in Mullingar. In truth, Connolly has a relatively stress free lead-up to inter-county training.
“Work would be pretty flexible, to be fair” explained Connolly. “Sometimes I could get tied up in calls in the evenings, but we train on Tuesdays and Fridays. Fridays tend to be quieter. I don’t really run into too much bother with work.”
“They’re pretty understanding and the fact that we can work from home, it does make it easier on days I’m training. I can work from home and it just means I can skip the traffic a little bit easier, and I’m not going in and out of offices. I can always start earlier and finish earlier if needed".
“I think this year the majority of the girls are all based in Mullingar, which is good for training. There are a couple of girls who would have been in college, but they’re all home for the summer. Then there’s probably three or four of us working in Dublin and that’s the height of it. I think everyone else is pretty local and based in Mullingar, which definitely helps.”
