“A massive thing for our family to have two girls from Shanahoe on the panel as sisters. It was brilliant” - former Laois footballer Mary Kirwan

A QUARTÉR of a century on from reaching the promised land with her county at the same venue, Laois’ Mary (Kirwan) Griffin was thrilled to be back on the hallowed turf of Croke Park last Sunday.

The commemoration of Jubilee teams has long been a feature on All-Ireland finals day in the LGFA and this year was the turn of the Laois side that defeated Mayo to claim the Brendan Martin Cup for the very first time in September 2001.

Already with an exceptional tally of 1-6 on the day, Mary etched her name into LGFA folklore when she knocked over a last-gasp free to earn the O’Moore County a 2-14 to 1-16 victory on Jones’ Road.

To mark this milestone anniversary, Mary (who went by her maiden name of Kirwan during those days) and the rest of the Laois set-up from that triumph were given special medals at a lunch in Croke Park on Sunday. Later on, they were presented to the crowd at half-time in the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate football championship final between Roscommon and Fermanagh.

“It was lovely being back. Meeting up with everybody and reminiscing. Even to take a look at the actual match. We had it on and it was lovely just to see the different moments throughout the game together. Looking down memory lane. 25 years is a long time and it’s such a lovely occasion to be honoured in Croke Park,” she acknowledged.

“Because as time goes on, you really appreciate the actual occasion. When you’re 19, you think you’ll be back there again and it just doesn’t happen that way. For the team that we had, we were probably thinking the same. It just didn’t work out, but we’re very grateful to get at least one.

“Because there was many players who had gone before us. At the time, 25 years ago, we were doing it for the panel of players, but also for the girls that worked tirelessly the years before and didn’t get to achieve that All-Ireland.” 

While their drawn and replayed encounters against Monaghan in 1996 (she had joined the panel earlier that season at the tender age of 14) were the only previous finals Mary had played in, Laois lost seven deciders in total before being crowned All-Ireland champions in 2001.

Despite the fact it was their female compatriots they overcame to eventually secure the Brendan Martin Cup, she sees parallels between her side and that of the current Mayo men’s football team.

After 11 losses and two draws along the way, the green and red finally ended a 75-wait for their fourth All-Ireland senior football championship title by defeating Kerry in a memorable showpiece at Croke Park on July 26.

“I see that Mayo team that won there recently and we were at the time, ‘always the bridesmaids’. That was the term that was always used, ‘always the bridesmaids, but never the bride’. I was involved in 1996, that was my first time, but Laois were always in All-Irelands.

“It’s the pride you have for your county and the pride for playing for your county that you keep drawing back and playing with the group of girls that you play with.

“It didn’t work out for a lot of girls, but it just sends a message there to keep trying. Just like that Mayo team that have gone down through the years there and after 75 years, winning a final.” 

On the same day Mayo ended that long quest for a Sam Maguire Cup success, the Galway side that claimed the same title in 2001 were honoured as the Jubilee team. There was a tinge of sadness attached to this commemoration, however, as their dependable right half-forward from that day Paul Clancy had passed away just a few weeks earlier – a little over two years on from the sad passing of team manager John O’Mahony.

Similarly, Laois’ All-Ireland winning boss Sean ‘Goggie’ Delaney died in 2004 and just three years later the team’s influential full-forward Lulu Carroll tragically lost her battle with cancer. These inspirational figures were sorely missed in Croke Park as was Carrroll’s late father Mick and Mary Ramsbottom - both of whom played key roles behind the scenes in this period.

“Lulu for me personally, she was so full of energy and she was so welcoming. She’d do anything for you. As young players coming into the team, she looked after us. Lulu and her Dad Mick who was a selector, he has passed away since as well,” Mary said.

“She used to play with her heart on the sleeve the whole time. She was just so proud of playing for Laois and for Timahoe also. She was just an unbelievable character and such a loveable person. Definitely dearly missed.” 

Now the mother of three children who acts as a club coach and a junior footballer with Shanahoe, it was also largely a family affair for Mary during an inter-county career for Laois that spanned from 1996 to 2013.

Joining her on the Laois panel for that 2001 All-Ireland victory - the O’Moore County’s sole senior championship success to date - was her sister Martha. Their fellow sibling Noreen also lined out alongside them for both Laois and Shanahoe, which proved to be a real source of pride for their devoted parents.

“A massive thing for our family to have two girls from Shanahoe on the panel as sisters. It was brilliant. Very proud. There was a photo at the end of the game where I was showing my Mam the cup and I lifted up the cup. My Dad, he got his face in under a flag and I think that was on the front of the Irish Independent,” Mary added.

“Martha then and my other sister Noreen, we once upon a time made up the half-forward line on the Laois team. We definitely had fantastic times playing for Laois. Mammy and Daddy both followed us the length and breadth of Ireland going to all the games. Since then, Daddy has passed away. To look back, they were very proud parents to have both of us on the panel.”