Meath's dominance of the MBNA Kick Fada ladies competition continued this year with Wolfe Tones' Irene Munnelly taking the top prize. The success followed Irene's call-up to the Meath senior squad which she looks certain to be a part of for many years to come. There must be something in the Meath water that gives some of the county's top ladies footballers the ability to kick a football longer than most. This is borne out by the fact that the Royal County has provided the last four winners of the annual MBNA Kick Fada ladies competition at Bray Emmets GAA club in Co. Wicklow. Grainne Nally won it in 2002 and again in 2004. Mary Sheridan (sister of men's football star Joe) was successful in 2003, and on September 17 last, Irene Munnelly became the latest Meath winner of the prestigious competition which determines the longest and most accurate kickers in Gaelic football. "I was delighted with the win and delighted to have kept the title in Meath for another year," says Irene, who established herself as goalkeeper on the county senior team this year. "This was the fourth year in-a-row for a Meath woman to win the Kick Fada title so we've got a very good record in the competition. On a personal level, it went some way towards making amends for the disappointment of losing the All-Ireland quarter-final to Cork a few weeks earlier." Irene was asked to enter the competition by Sarah Shiels of the Meath ladies football board. Pitted against the best long kickers in the country, the 19-year-old won the first prize of a EUR1,500 holiday voucher with a kick of 44 metres in the penultimate round. She surpassed that with a kick of 45 metres in the final round. "I probably wouldn't have taken part but for the fact that both Grainne Nally and Mary Sheridan were playing for Seneschalstown in the Leinster club championship the following day. They wanted to rest for that game, so I took their place. "As it turned out, things went very well for me and I was deemed the winner with one round left. I finished off with a competition best of 45 metres which I was very pleased about." Irene, who is a second year student of Sports Management at UCD, attributes her success to the amount of kicking practice she gets in her role as a goalkeeper. "I'm a goalie so I get plenty of practice," she jokes. Irene has represented Meath at every level of ladies football, having made her senior championship debut against Longford this year. Under the management of Trim's John Andrews, the Royals recovered from an opening round defeat to holders Dublin in the round-robin series of the Leinster championship to qualify for the provincial final where they renewed their rivalry with the 'Jackies' at Dr Cullen Park. In the event, Dublin emerged as 2-13 to 1-13 winners after withstanding a stirring second half comeback from the challengers. John O'Leary's Dublin team dominated the first half and were 0-9 to 0-2 in front at the interval. However, Meath grabbed the initiative on the restart and within 10 minutes, had reduced the deficit to just two points, 0-7 to 0-9. But Dublin responded with points from Gemma Fay and a goal each from Sinead Aherne and Lynsey Davey to take a grip on proceedings once again. The Royals battled to the end, though, and a Mary Sheridan goal ensured an anxious finish for the winners. Meath regrouped for their All-Ireland quarter-final clash with Munster champions Cork at Portlaoise. And they made a dream start when right half forward Geraldine Doherty had the ball in the Cork net inside the first minute. Briege Corkery replied with a Cork point but in the fifth minute, Mary Sheridan scored a second Meath goal and when captain Elaine Duffy added two points, they were seven in front. Cork eventually settled down and a flurry of points from Regina Curtin, Nollaig Cleary and Amanda Murphy saw them reduce the deficit to the minimum after 21 minutes. After Jackie Shiels shot a brace of points for the Leinster side, Cork had the chance to draw level when they were awarded a penalty. However, Valerie Mulcahy's well-struck shot was brilliantly saved by Irene Munnelly, but Mulcahy scored a point from the rebound. A minute later, the penalty taker was replaced by Deirdre O'Reilly and with her first touch, she scored a superb goal. A point from Corkery saw Cork take the lead for the first time in the 30th minute. Meath should have had a third goal in injury-time, but Kate O'Brien's shot from close range was smothered by goalkeeper Elaine Harte and Cork led 1-9 to 2-5 at the break. Within a minute of the restart, Geraldine O'Flynn increased Cork's lead and Munnelly was then called upon to make two great saves. Taking inspiration from those saves, Meath restored parity with points from Shiels and Duffy before the former goaled from the penalty spot to give the Royals a three-point cushion. But Cork rallied again and four unanswered points had edged them back in front by the end of the third quarter. Points from Louise McKeever and Shiels kept Meath in touch, and the game remained in the balance until substitute Mary O'Connor scored a late goal to give the Rebels a 2-19 to 3-10 victory. "While we were disappointed to lose to Cork, their subsequent victory in the All-Ireland final gives us plenty of hope going into next year," Irene says. "They proved they were the best team in the country this year by winning both the National League and All-Ireland titles. But we can take encouragement from the fact that we came very close to beating them. Even though we didn't win anything this year, we made good progress and we have a lot to build on next year." Irene is quietly confident that Meath can end Dublin's four-year reign as Leinster champions in 2006, but realises that a bigger effort will be required if they are to challenge for All-Ireland honours. "There is nothing between Dublin, Laois and ourselves in Leinster and I think we have every chance of winning a provincial title next year. Dublin have been the dominant team for the last few years, but they might be feeling a little bit disheartened after losing two All-Ireland finals and a semi-final in the last three years. "We contested our first Leinster final in five years this season and our aim has to be to win it next year. And while Dave Nolan did a fantastic job with the training this year, we'll need to train even harder next year if we are to make a bid for the All-Ireland title. Cork were that bit fitter than us this year and that's what made the difference. "Overall, Meath ladies football is in a healthy state. We have an excellent sponsor in Martin Donnelly and I feel privileged to be a part of the senior squad." Irene also enjoyed an eventful year at club level with Wolfe Tones reaching the junior 'A' final which they lost to Walterstown. "It was a good achievement to qualify for the junior final considering this was only our second year to field an adult team. I was a member of the team that started out at under 12 level seven years ago and we have stuck together ever since. Wolfe Tones have come a long way in a few short years and we'll be going all out to get promoted to the intermediate ranks in the coming year." Tweet

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