The ascent to the throne in any sport is paved with roadblocks.

One has to overcome ultimate adversity to reach the very top. Westport tried for many years to clinch the senior crown in the county, but semi-final and final defeats were painful bumps on the road.

However, last year, the team rose to the ranks of senior royalty. Westport beat Knockmore to finally claim their first ever senior championship. They did it again this year, while also winning the Division 1 league title along the way.

Now, they face the juggernaut from Galway: Kilkerrin-Clonberne, the All-Ireland champions, who defeated Westport in last year's Connacht final.

“It was a nine-point victory, but I don't think that was reflective of the game, and we weren't happy with our own performance in certain areas that day, so we're all looking forward to meeting them again,” Westport manager Pop Geraghty, tells The Mayo News ahead of the rematch in Westport next Sunday.

Geraghty’s women are up against a formidable foe. Kilkerrin-Clonberne have been dominating Ladies football in the last few years.

"They have won 13 Galway county titles in-a-row, followed by seven successive Connacht crowns, topped by four All-Ireland wins in as many years. An extraordinary record.

“We always say to the girls, we believe that the team and the group we have can beat anyone,” comments Geraghty: “And this year we feel we're fitter and stronger.

"We feel we have a bigger and better panel, and every competition we've entered this year we've won, so that certainly gives us confidence going into this Connacht semi-final.”

Westport actually put it up to Kilkerrin-Clonberne last year and only the last ten minutes decided the game. Maybe that was on Pop Geraghty's mind, when he and his management team set out on this year's journey.

Right from the start, Geraghty pointed out that giving more players crucial game time and increasing the panel, would be a main objective this season. 

“We're confident that we can finish nearly stronger than we can start, because you want players coming in fresh, and you've seen in the county final, Sherin El-Massry came in and was outstanding.

"To be able to bring in a starter in inter-county football off the bench was amazing, and another addition, Christina MacEvilly, a Mayo Minor, gets a goal and a point. We have trust in all of our players.

"You see some teams subbing off players, and bringing that player back on into games, which for me then doesn't really say there's a whole lot of trust in the panel,” Geraghty explains.

Westport have arrived where they are, because of years of effort.

The amount of work that's gone in over the last number of years has been huge, from previous management teams, underage coaches, committee level: “We're the fortunate ones that we're at the helm now, but we're only minding it,” he humbly remarks.

For example, Tim Campion, a member from the Westport men's senior team, does the strength and conditioning for the women’s team. Campion is a qualified strength and conditioning coach, he's a personal trainer and he implements individualised programs for the women.

They use an app that they do all the work through, he sets up the workouts for them and checks in with them. There's a lot going on behind the scenes to push the players on.

“It takes a village”, reminds Geraghty. “We have food after training on Fridays, we have our meetings on Fridays, and my mother cooks the food. We have all the food laid out, and there’s apple tarts too,” he adds with a smile.

“That's another example of what people are doing to help the girls, that makes them feel proud that they're part of something bigger.”

The Westport women have already proven that they are cut from championship cloth. Battle hardened, Pop Geraghty's troops know how to operate when the going gets tough. And who knows where that will take them this weekend. Some years ago, Kilkerrin-Clonberne ended Carnacon's once firm grasp on the Connacht championship. Maybe this is the moment, when Westport turn the tide again.

As Pop Geraghty puts it laconically: “Every empire has to fall eventually.”

When do Westport play Kilkerrin-Clonbere?

FIXTURE:

Westport v Kilkerrin-Clonberne

Sunday, November 2, at 1pm in Westport