School days over – Sacred Heart girls determined to finish on a high

THESE are the best of times for Westport’s Sacred Heart School.

These days, you're rarely more than two steps away from a Connacht title-winning footballer or rugby player, an up-and-coming athlete, a chess whizz, a budding actor, an intrepid mathematician, or some other manner of high achiever.

Whatever the outcome of tomorrow’s All-Ireland Senior A final, Sacred Heart have enjoyed a golden age in Gaelic football.

In three years, their seniors have won three Connacht A titles, contested two All-Ireland finals and a semi-final, while their U-16s recently took home Connacht junior silverware.

Indeed, this year the zest for Gaelic football was such that they fielded two U-14 teams to meet demand.

With less than a week until the biggest game of their lives, the Sacred Heart girls were as relaxed as could be when they sat down with The Mayo News in their school’s ‘Round Room’ last Thursday.

But behind all the smiles and laughter, Sarah Mulroy, Mae Murray (Westport), Eabha Carney (Kilmeena), Alana McDonnell, Ava Palasz and Ava Kelly (Burrishoole) know there is a serious job to be done.

Tomorrow will be their very last chance to get it done.

“I think in Leaving Cert now we’re so close now it’s even more enjoyable going to training. We realised this is the last year, we are probably never going to do this again with the same group. It makes us appreciate it even more,” says Ava Kelly.

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Four of these six Leaving Certs started last year’s All-Ireland final defeat to Loreto St Michael’s Navan; a game where they led by five at half-time and lost by three.

It did not break them. If anything, the furnace of heartbreak forged a friendship that has never been stronger.

Away from the All-Ireland final, there’s the small matter of the Leaving Cert – most notably the oral exams taking place later this week.

Much of that will soon be forgotten, but the last six years kicking ball definitely won’t be.

“We’re all really good friends, playing together. We’ve been going to school together six years now so obviously we know each other so well,” says Sarah Mulroy

But when the final whistle blows sometime after 3pm tomorrow, they will go back to being club rivals forever more.

“I think when we’re older we are going to look back on school days and not be like ‘Oh, I spent all these evenings studying’ and kind of go ‘I was out training with the girls, and we were in the All-Ireland final.’ That’s going to be the big thing that we look back on in our school days,” says Burrishoole full-back, Alana McDonnell.

“Obviously the Leaving Cert’s important, but it’s about the memories as well.”

Éabha Carney sampled All-Ireland glory when her cousin, Jack Carney, was part of the legion that brought the biggest prize in junior club football to Kilmeena in the spring of 2022.

“The whole community was behind us,” she recalls. “It’s the same here with the girls, we all get on so well, we’re such a tight-knit group. It’s great, and the school has shown so much support as well, which is nice. It brings a huge spirit to the school at the same time.”

That’s not to say the nerves aren’t there.

But unlike last year, there’s experience.

“It’s definitely nerve racking because we haven’t been able to win it before,” says Ava Kelly.

“But at the same time, we have nothing to lose. It’s our last shot at it and I think we’re confident in that we’ve put in the work and as long as we perform, we know we’re good enough to win.”

But most importantly of all; there’s belief.

“When you look around and see how good everyone else is it just kind of gives you the confidence when you have such good players around you,” Kelly adds.

And no man believes in them more than their manager and career guidance teacher John Coyle.

“I keep saying to the girls, I sound like a broken record, when they play at their best, there’s no one that can stop them,” the Kilcommon man tells The Mayo News.

“When they’re at their very best, they just tend to win and that’s it. They are an exceptionally good team and as the old-saying goes, look after the performance and the result will look after itself.”

There’s one thing they’ll do differently this time – they’ll enjoy it more.

“So many schools would love to be in an All-Ireland final,” says Coyle, “so just go and enjoy the fact we’re there and show everyone how good you are.”

ALL IRELAND PPS SENIOR A FINAL

Sacred Heart, Westport v Our Lady's Castleblayney

Wednesday, March 20 at 1pm

St Rynagh's GAA Club, Offaly