Kilkerrin/Clonberne heroes aim to make it Ladies Day!

Former Galway All-Ireland Gaelic football winner John Divilly may have put Kilkerrin/Clonberne on the map with his heroics in 1998, but ever since then it has been the senior ladies’ footballers who have kept the flag flying high in the parish.

This Saturday, Kilkerrin/Clonberne take on reigning All-Ireland champions Mourneabbey of Cork in the LGFA national decider, where they will bid to become the first club since Galway Gaels in 1982 to win a title at this grade.

The journey to what is a rare All-Ireland final appearance for a Galway team—the last was St. Grellan’s in 1990—has been a long one, with Kilkerrin/Clonberne, themselves, having suffered three semi-final defeats in the last six years.

However, the seven-in-a-row county champions finally made the breakthrough when they defeated Dublin’s Foxrock/Cabinteely at the penultimate stage earlier this month and Club Chairman Michael Divilly says it was a relief.

“We are delighted to be in an All-Ireland final now,” continues Divilly, who has two daughters, Olivia and Siobhan, on the team. “We feel we are in there with a chance, but it will be difficult. Again, though, we are there, and we will give it a go. Hopefully, it will go the right way for us.”

In 1999, Kilkerrin/Clonberne won the All-Ireland intermediate ladies club title, defeating Cooley Kickhams of Louth in the decider, but it would be another decade before the next generation of talent began to emerge.

These included twins Nicola and team captain Louise Ward—both of whom won their first LGFA All-Stars last Saturday night—Sarah Gormally, and Michael’s own daughters, Olivia and Siobhan.

See full story – and full preview in Sport – all in this week’s Connacht Tribune.