All-Ireland Junior Football Final
ANTIRM Ladies hope to make history on Sunday after the pain of last season when they suffered a sore loss in the Junior Football Final against Louth.
The Saffrons have enjoyed a massively positive campaign this season in both league and championship having earned promotion to Division Two in the National League before sealing another Ulster Junior title after beating Derry in the final.
Their All-Ireland Junior campaign then followed and they had one goal – to win the competition.
This week the Andersonstown News caught up with Antrim Ladies stalwart and West Belfast native Duana Coleman ahead of their trip to Croke Park this weekend.
"It’s been a positive campaign for us so far," said Duana. "We came off the back of a good league campaign where we came up a bit short in the final (losing to Louth). But ultimately getting to Division Two was the goal and it is a massive achievement for Antrim ladies football.
"And I think it is a testament to the work that has gone on for the last few years and the great group of players that we have together.
"We had a competitive run in the group stages. The defeat to Derry was tough, but we regrouped and worked on what we needed to, and came out with some really strong performances after that game."
Despite a great season, it has been one where the squad has undergone some serious stretching in numbers with many key players falling to injury.
The Sarsfields clubwoman feels that despite the heavy losses to injuries, including regular Ciara Brown, their biggest strength has been allowing to show the great group they have available to them.
"Yeah, definitely injuries have had its say on our campaign," said Duana.
"But we pride ourselves on having a really strong squad this year and that comes from the foundation that was set last year.
"We have a great togetherness in the group, everyone is very close and we want to work hard for each other both in training and in games. There is a great team spirit and we all know how to fight for one another.
"We have taken some big hits in terms of injuries in the likes of Ciara Brown, but as a team we talk about being resilient and I think that’s something we have shown over the campaign. There’s a want to put the effort in for the whole panel, especially those who are injured."
Duana began this year on her fifth campaign as an Antrim star and it began with that bad taste of defeat in Croke Park when the Saffrons were beaten by Wicklow in 2021, but the following year they were spurred on to victory over Fermanagh and lifted the Junior title.
"I was speaking about it (Wicklow final) the other day. I played in my first All-Ireland final when I was 18-years-old against Wicklow, and although we were unfortunate that day, we went on to have a great performance the following year winning against Fermanagh.
"I was one of the younger girls in the panel then and probably didn’t feel the pressure as much. But that experience as well as the tough few years we had following it will definitely stand by me.
"A lot of the younger girls in the 2023/24 season are now core members of the team which highlights the development we have had over the last few years. Those girls as well as the more experienced members of the panel, some of which have been there for up to ten years, have helped the younger talent that is coming through thrive during the pressure moments."
Duana admitted that last season's defeat to Louth was a tough one to take, but the Saffrons went into that final as underdogs, and Louth prevailed by a small margin.
"It was a tough loss last year, and although it is nice to have that expectation to win, we aren’t getting ahead of ourselves, we know there is a lot of hard work that has to be done. They don't hand out medals for being favourites.
"We are expecting a tough game against a good Carlow side.
"Like I mentioned, as a team we talk about resilience and hard work, that is something that will hopefully stand by us."
Duana said the players are fully focused on the task at hand.
"Trainings have been good and intense, and a lot of hard work has went in from the management and the players. We know what is expected from us and the message from Chris (Scullion) and Mickey (Devlin) is very much to focus but enjoy the next few weeks and the game itself, last year we forgot that and hopefully we can remember it this time."
The final itself will coincide with a fantastic two-year tenure from the co-management team who have managed to develop a young and strong Antrim panel.
Tickets for the game can be bought on the Ticketmaster website and the entry fee of €30 will pay for a triple header as Antrim v Carlow kicks off the finals day just before midday, followed by the Intermediate Championship final between Fermanagh and Roscommon and Galway v Kerry in the Senior clash.
The game will also be live on TG4 and TG4 Youtube with throw-in set 11:45am for Sunday August 2nd.
