‘ROME WASN’T BUILT in a day.’
John Gorey keeps going back to the old adage. The Kilkenny ladies football manager has used it plenty of times over the past few days and weeks.
Last Sunday, the Cats fielded their first women’s team at adult inter-county level since 2019.
They fell to a 4-13 to 0-2 defeat to Limerick in their Division 4B league opener in Dunmore, but this was never about the scoreline.
It was simply a starting point, and Kilkenny were back in action after trojan work behind the scenes.
“Believe it or believe it or not, it was a relief to get the weekend over,” Gorey, the man leading the revival on the field, tells The42.
“Lookit, before the game, we knew the outcome. It was David and Goliath — for anyone that’s not sure we’re definitely David. We have no big apprehension or anything.
“What we, the management, wanted to see was the players enjoying the game of football, trying to be competitive and really, at the end of the game, that heads were high rather than bent down. To be quite honest with you, after the game, I was very pleasantly surprised with the reaction of the players.”
Pre-match, instructions were basic. The main focus? The adjustment to inter-county football, as most made the considerable step-up from club level. Just a split-second to think when you get the ball.
As the final whistle sounded, the 23-point deficit on the scoreboard “didn’t do the actual game justice,” Gorey concludes, pleased with some of the positive spells against last year’s Division 4 runners-up and All-Ireland junior semi-finalists. (As recently as 2019, Limerick were an intermediate outfit.)
The post-match words of his captain are still on his mind when we speak. “Look girls, at stages we played very good football,” as Kelley Comerford, one of several players from 2022 Leinster junior finalists Muckalee, told her team-mates.
“To be quite honest with you, that was music to my ears,” the manager beams a few days on. “I said, ‘Right, there’s a bit of morale here now.’”
He knows the importance of such all to well. Player first, always. Enjoyment is key. He’s been around the block at this stage, an experienced coach and an affable, colourful character.
“As regards football in Kilkenny, I’m probably around too long,” he laughs, detailing his involvement with U14 and U16 county teams, Féile-winning club sides and the Leinster post-primary squad. Many will be unaware, but Gorey worked with the Meath senior ladies football team just before Eamonn Murray took over.
Eoin Hennessy has been by his side for the most part and he is once more, along with Nickey Purcell, Tom Cousins, Regina Moran and Sinéad Booth.
“I said last year was going to be my last year, but the final challenge is this Kilkenny team.”
Kilkenny are back on the national LGFA map after fielding a team today in the Lidl NFL after an absence of three years. It was never about the score line for these players…it was a starting point to build on over the coming months and years.@LeinsterLGFA @LadiesFootball pic.twitter.com/JPIgm3Afy3
— Kilkenny LGFA (@kilkennylgfa) January 22, 2023
From the outside looking in, one obvious challenge within Gorey’s overall Final Challenge will be contending with the traditional camogie dominance on Noreside.
There are dual players on board, but they’re club camógs and inter-county footballers, he explains.
“Football is not really associated with Kilkenny, as in men probably more so. Ladies football is good at the moment, and thriving. The dual player in Kilkenny, I think, at county level is virtually non-existent.
“The dual player that’s playing inter-country camogie, with their training schedule, it’s not possible for them to fit in football because there’s only so many days in the week. What we have at the moment is — and hopefully it stays that way — a core group of girls that want to commit to this football team.”
Kilkenny LGFA are fielding at all grades this year, and there’s a big focus on building successful underage ranks, a “conveyor belt” which can lead to a change of shift. “We’ll creep before we walk but we’ll stay at it and get a victory — or prove that we can be competitive.”
“Support from the county board has been excellent,” Gorey adds. “I’ll put it this way, we’re not looking for anything. Probably in a nutshell, [what we need is] time to improve.
“No team wants to go out and get trounced every day of the week, because that demoralises people, but at the same time, once we understand that if we get a heavy beating — ‘Right, what did we learn from it and how do we improve on it?’
“At the moment, the ingredients for a good cake are on the table. It’s just getting the right mixture, and then making that cake.
“Hopefully in a short time, we will get up to the pace, but the only way we will do that is keeping up the work, playing competitive and staying positive.”
This is a fresh start, a new beginning.
There are no lasting links to the 2007 All-Ireland winning junior team, though Gorey recalls watching on in Croke Park that day — his daughter was on the panel, which was boosted by the Cats’ premature camogie championship exit.
Most current players will hardly even remember that triumph 16 years ago, with no shortage of young, fresh-faced talent among the new crop.
So much so that there’s a notable clash with Leaving Cert Mocks ahead.
A trip to high-flying Leitrim lies in wait on Sunday, with exams getting underway on Monday morning.
For Gorey, it’s back to his well-worn principles.
“I would not ask or expect any student to come and play football on Sunday with their Mocks starting on Monday in the event that anything did happen them. I always put the player first; management, we’re there to support them.
“To me, player welfare is massive. I would not expect these players to train three days a week, plus they’re playing other sports — come June, who will be able to play? They’ll be burned out. Rather than Leitrim on Sunday or Derry in two weeks’ time, I’m looking forward to the All-Ireland series in June.”
“The foundation blocks are going in,” he concludes. “As a fella says, I’m not sure when we’ll be at roof placement with the house but we’re going to stay building the house anyway.
“It’s very easy for someone to put a team together, but keeping them together and keeping morale and a happy bunch, that’s the challenge. The only way you’ll keep them is by looking after them.”
Get instant updates on the Allianz Football and Hurling Leagues on The42 app. Brought to you by Allianz Insurance, proud sponsors of the Allianz Leagues for over 30 years.
