St Ergnat's dream of writing next great Moneyglass tale

The folks in Moneyglass are no strangers to cheering on one of their own on a big stage.

Willie John McBride, who went on to star for the British and Irish Lions, hails from the County Antrim village. So, too, does Grand National winner AP McCoy.

Now, St Ergnat's are hoping to follow in their footsteps.

It has already been a memorable year for the club. After securing a fifth straight Antrim title, they conquered Ulster for the first time in November, beating Errigal Ciaran in the final.

Ruling the province was a realistic aim for Moneyglass this year, but few outside the squad - who are led by former Donegal ladies boss Maxi Curran - would have expected them to reach the All-Ireland final.

But they have gleefully defied expectations. Beating Dublin's Kilmacud Crokes in the semi-final a fortnight ago means they will become first Antrim side to grace the biggest stage in ladies club football at Croke Park on Saturday (16:00 GMT).

"Coming into this year, we just wanted to go a bit further than last year," says Aoife Kelly.

"Getting beaten in the semi-finals two years in a row, off the back of getting to the 2022 Ulster final, so the goal was to get back to the Ulster final, we got there, won it and we've been taking it game by game.

"It was no coincidence we won Ulster, we have been building to it for the last few years."

Several members of the Moneyglass squad returned to Millquarter Primary School in Toomebridge this week, where the current pupils regaled the players with their own spin on Kingfishr's Killeagh.

While that understandably tugged on the heartstrings, Beverley Graffin says the team will remain level-headed when the ball is thrown in at headquarters on Saturday.

"We've got a lot of level-headed girls on the team, they know what is ahead of them," said Graffin.

"A few of them have played at Croke Park before so they know the size of the pitch. As Maxi says, it is the same size goal posts, so we just have to go out and do the job.

"You see these girls more than your family, they are family, so we have to pull together, do it for each other and everyone who is behind us."

Moneyglass have been striving to reach this level for a few years. In 2022, they lost the Ulster final to Monaghan's Donaghmoyne, the province's most successful team.

That was followed by successive Ulster semi-final losses to Clann Eireann, so beating the Armagh club at the last-four stage this year was a significant checkpoint in the journey.

And while a 13-point win over Errigal Ciaran in the provincial decider was impressive, they sent shockwaves through the ladies club scene by beating four-in-a-row Leinster champions Kilmacud in their own backyard in Stillorgan.

"We went to Kilmacud with the perspective of how good a team they are, how strong they are and I think we shocked ourselves with how well we did against them," admits Maria O'Neill, who scored 1-3 against Crokes.

"This season has been unbelievable. It's been never-ending but I wouldn't have it any other way."

While O'Neill reckons the Kilmacud result shocked even the Moneyglass players, Kilkerrin-Clonberne star Nicola Ward insists the Galway club were not overly surprised.

"They probably did shock people in that they beat Kilmacud, but Moneyglass have been on our radar for a while," claimed Ward, who was named the 2024 TG4 Senior Players' Player of the Year after playing a key role in Galway's run to the All-Ireland final.

"They've won five county titles in Antrim, their minors have won five county titles in a row. So to us, it wasn't a big shock but probably was to everyone else."

Kilkerrin-Clonberne have become stalwarts on the biggest stage.

After losing the 2019 decider to Mourneabbey, they exacted revenge on the Cork outfit two years later (the 2020 championship was axed because of Covid) and have since been unbeatable in this arena.

"It's such a special occasion. In Kilkerrin-Clonberne we've been unfortunate down the years to not make All-Ireland finals," added Ward.

"We've been on a really good run the last four or five years so we're just trying to cherish every one because it's not going to last forever."