A footballing odyssey

Life with the ladies


Ladies football has always been popular in Knockmore

Laurita Blewitt

THE secret of the Knockmore ladies success back in the 1970s was using bogs for training pitches and togging out in the back of a van. Things have changed quite a lot  for this year’s county and Connacht  junior champions, despite what they may tell you.
The Knockmore ladies also claimed the county title back in the season of 1975/76, a feat that was not emulated again until this year, despite numerous attempts.
This writer has played football with the Parish of Backs since the age of six, togging out with the likes of Lisa Howley (sister of Knockmore and Mayo’s Trevor).
We started learning the fundamentals under the guidance of Dessie Ruttledge, along with dozens of blossoming male footballers who now are regulars on the senior team. We trained every Sunday after 11 o’clock Mass and life was good!
It wasn’t long before word spread that ladies football in Knockmore was the new ‘in thing’ to be doing. Little did any of us know though that the new craze was going to stand the test of time and even outdo shell-suits. Rumour has it the ladies will be donning them for the pre All-Ireland banana sandwiches en route to the match...
I lasted a while myself too; well, a little longer than the tracksuits anyway!
But, it’s time now to let you in on a little secret. When I came home from training in the evenings I used to spend a bit of time in my bedroom with a tape recorder and a hair brush, listening to Dusty Rhodes on Atlantic 252, convincing myself that I was destined for great things.
So when the opportunity arose a year ago, I had to pack my bags and move to Galway where I got my break with iRadio, which resulted in me having to turn my back on my first love, Knockmore. Damn LW252 anyway!
A self-proclaimed prophet told me recently when I was expressing my heartache at not being involved, ‘Laurita, sometimes winners do quit’.
So, what can I tell you about the Knockmore ladies and the management that you don’t already know? The manager Ann Clarke was a member of that winning team of ’76 that captured the county title. Of course, she assures me that she was only a very young teenager at the time. But if you need any sports-related form filled in, nobody can do it better than Ann.
By her side is Frank Mulvihill, and when he’s not trying out for the local drama society production to play a female, then you’ll find him on the pitch blowing his whistle, shouting, ‘And again, now push it out for the last one’. He’ll also be grinning from ear to ear as some take what they think will be their last breath.
Denis Lacken is also on the management team, the man that brings calm to the storm. He seems to speaks only words of wisdom and is also a dab hand at the bingo. His daughter Siobhan tells me he finds it hard to locate the volume button when Richie Kavanagh comes on the radio too!
Messing and having the craic never really was to the fore in Knockmore football until the old folks bus from Bonniconlon dropped off the now goalkeeper, Deirdre Devine with all her belongings. She’s currently doing a weekly stand-up gig for all the members in the club house on a Saturday night as well as shortening the bus journeys with her stories of old.
Banter aside, this Knockmore team is one of the most dedicated and focused teams to ever represent the club. They beat Westport in the county final as well as overcoming a very experienced Four Roads team from Roscommon in the Connacht final.
Mayo ladies have a long history of success in finals and with this team’s tenacity and determination throughout the campaign, I’m sure it will be no different next Sunday. For the second time in almost twelve years the saffron and blue will be represented in an All-Ireland club football final. Back then it was St Patrick’s Day 1997, and heartache in Croke Park. Let’s hope it’s a different story next weekend.
As the saying goes: Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.

Laurita Blewitt is a native of Knockmore and now resides in Galway where she works for Ireland’s newest regional station iRadio (102-104fm).