Aisling is lost for words but delighted to lift the Lulu Carroll Cup

PORTLAOISE ladies captain Aisling Kehoe got to lift the Lulu Carroll Cup on Saturday evening as her side overcame St Conleth’s in Stradbally GAA.

The Town skipper was almost lost for words after the final whistle as she tried to describe what the victory meant.

She said the success was particularly special for the more experienced players on the team, with many knowing opportunities like this don’t come around often.

“Unbelievable, absolutely thrilled. I'm actually lost for words to be honest. This one means a lot, especially to a lot of the older girls, you know, time is ticking for us. But look, after the heartache last year, we promised ourselves we'll come back this year and do everything we can to win it. It's been a tough battle. A few games have gone right down to the wire, but look, we've got over the line and we're thrilled to be on the right side,” Kehoe said.

Portlaoise ran out eight-point winners, with St Conleth’s failing to score in the final quarter. Despite the strong finish, Kehoe admitted there was no relaxing until the job was done.

“To be brutally honest, you don't really think that. Conleth’s are an exceptional team, and they could have come back at us at any time. So we just had to keep tuned in, which we did. But look, when the final whistle went, that's when the emotions came. It's great. We're absolutely thrilled to get over the line and back with the Lulu Carroll Cup,” she said.

This season saw Portlaoise under new management, with Kevin O’Grady and his son Ryan taking charge. Kehoe was full of praise for the father-son duo and the work they’ve done since stepping in.

“They came in, and they didn't know much about us. When we met them, the first thing we said to them was that we wanted to win the county final and they said, ‘Right, so we'll help you do that.’ They put in a lot of hard work. You're coming into a group of girls that you don't know anything about, but look, the lads did some amount of work with us, got us over the line there, so absolutely thrilled,” Kehoe commented.

It’s been a memorable year for Portlaoise LGFA overall. Their U/16s won their championship earlier in the day, while the club’s Junior team also reached a final, narrowly missing out on silverware.

“It’s massive, especially underage, seeing the under-16s winning today, it's great for the club. We have a minor team there that are unreal, they're a brilliant bunch of girls. A lot of them have come in and given us great injection and pace into our game this year. But not even the girls who got game time. We had our junior team that got to a final as well this year.

“We're all training together, and we all drive each other on. We're a really tight-knit group. It helps, it does. We're all playing for the same crest on the chest. We all want the same thing. We'll celebrate tonight as a team,” she said.

Portlaoise will now enjoy a brief break before turning their focus to the AIB Leinster Senior Club Championship, where they’ll face the winners of Longford Slashers and Kilmacud Crokes.

“I've never even thought about Leinster. All we wanted to do was get over the line today; that was our main objective. Anything after today is a bonus; we'll take that. I suppose we'll enjoy the next few days and then knuckle down and probably be back to training on Tuesday or Wednesday. It’ll be a different level then, so when we come to that, we'll face it head-on,” Kehoe ended.