Bellewstown's Eimear McAuley has blazed an impressive trail since breaking onto the Meath senior team two years ago. Royal County talked to the 18 year old about life on the Meath senior team and the progress being made by the Bellewstown ladies. In Eimear McAuley, Bellewstown can boast to possessing the brightest jewel in the the Meath ladies football treasure chest at the present time. Since breaking onto the county scene two years ago, the 18 year old has earned many admirers with her direct style of play and scoregetting ability. Eimear is in fact a native of Stamullen but her footballing allegiances lie firmly with the Bellewstown club. "I have been playing with Bellewstown for three years now and it has been really enjoyable. Prior to that I had played with the St. Pats boys teams up to U14 level but them Mickey Collins asked me if I'd be interested in playing with Bellewstown's ladies teams and it's really through him that I got started. He was also mainly responsible for me getting picked to play with Meath because he arranged a trial for me with Christy Regan and I've been involved ever since. "Mickey's the manager of the team and is the main influence here along with Peter Reilly, who's a selector, and Anne Collins, secretary of the club." Bellewstown ladies ply their trade at Junior level but unfortunately haven't enjoyed the best of luck on the playing fields to date. Simonstown ended their hopes of a championship and league double in '98 at the final stages while this year was no more successful, Dunboyne beat them in the championship decider. "Unfortunately we haven't won much, all I have got is championship and league runners-ups medals, but it's great craic and we all get on really well. I've every confidence that it won't be too long before we're celebrating a championship win and after that who knows, anything is possible." There certainly doesn't appear to be any shortage of talented players at the east Meath club. Eimear was accompanied on the Meath senior panel this year by Cathriona Cunningham while Grainne Farrell (U16) and Grainne Meade (U14) also wore the green and gold jerseys with distinction during the course of the year. In the years to come, the county full forward will look back on 1999 with mixed fortunes. She certainly played a captain's role when the minor team captured the Leinster championship by beating Dublin - receiving the 'Player of the Match' award in the process after scoring 1-6. Mayo proved to be the rock on which the minor's aspirations perished at the semi-final stage and the senior campaign, unfortunately, followed a similar pattern. Laois fell by the wayside in the provincial decider - 1-3 was Eimear's return on that occasion - but the Westerners upset the odds to knock the Bellewstown clubwoman and the Royals out at the penultimate stage. "Losing to Mayo was very disappointing," she reflects. "We played reasonably well in the first half and when we were four points up at half-time I thought we had it won. But they got their two goals at the start of the second half and our heads just seemed to drop. Christine [O'Brien] did get a goal back but it was too late in the game. We were devastated at the final whistle." While the majority of the Meath XV which took to the Parnell Park field for the semi-final in early September failed to do themselves justice, Eimear was an exception. She repeated her Leinster final total of 1-3 and once again was Meath's outstanding performer. She admits to have been surprised at the strength of the Mayo challenge. "I knew they were a good team as we had only drawn in the National League with them earlier in the year but I did expect to beat them. But they just seemed to be on top of us throughout the field, we didn't get going at all. We can have no excuses, the better team won on the day." The Colaiste Ide Sports and Leisure Management student made her competitive senior debut as a substitute against Leitrim in the League in '97. Since then she has established a reputation as one of the most potent forwards in the business. The highlight of her intercounty career so far was her selection as 'Player of the Match' in her first Leinster senior final against Dublin last year. Again 1-3 was her contribution. A broken wrist, sustained in a National League clash with Westmeath at the start of the year failed to halt Eimear's progress. Her performances with Meath attracted the attention of the Leinster selectors and along with Niamh McNeilis, Christine O'Brien and Darina Shaw, she played a part in the provinces' Shield success at the Interprovincials in Monaghan earlier this year. All Star recognition arrived this year when she was selected as a 'replacement'. Eimear is pleased with the growth in popularity which the ladies game is currently enjoying. "From underage up to senior level there has been unbelievable growth and that is a good sign for the future. You just have to look at the crowds which attended the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals this year. The Meath supporters were brilliant during our game, they never stopped roaring and shouting. It was just a pity that we couldn't give them the win to celebrate." As regards the preparation which went into the Meath senior team this year, Eimear reveals that no stone was left unturned. "A lot of commitment is required if you're to play at the top level. We trained on Wednesday and Friday nights as well as Sunday mornings. We were in Bettystown, the Hill of Tara, Summerhill, all over the county. It's 32 miles from Stamullen to Summerhill which is a lot of travelling but the effort has to be put in if you're to succeed." As regards the future, the affable McAuley wouldn't mind an All-Ireland souvenir to add to her medal collection. At 18 years of age, time is on her side. "That's the main ambition now. We've had a lot of underage success at county level in recent times so that's a good sign. Hopefully it won't be too long before we win the All-Ireland," she concluded. Tweet

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