Former Cork player Roisin Phelan says Aghada hope to push on to Munster glory this time

Cork's Roisin Phelan. ©INPHO/Tommy Dickson.

By Daire Walsh

They earned top honours in their county for the second time in the space of three years just a few short weeks ago and now Roisin Phelan and Aghada find themselves within touching distance of adding a Munster senior club football championship crown to their list of honours.

Winners of the Cork Senior ‘A’ football championship title when making a maiden top-tier final appearance in 2024, Aghada recorded an impressive 4-8 to 1-13 win over Naomh Abán in their latest Leeside showpiece outing at MTU Cork on October 4.

Whereas two years ago the East Cork outfit suffered a narrow Munster semi-final reversal to Waterford’s Comeragh Rangers, this year has already seen them accounting for Cahir (Tipperary) and Southern Gaels (Kerry) in the provincial series. A decider now awaits them against another Deise representative in Gaultier next weekend and Phelan is hopeful Aghada can go a step further the next day out.

“Two years ago we won the county for the first time and I don’t think we are treating it the same way this year as we were then. There was a lot of regret around that. We still trained hard in between, but I just don’t think we really understood what an opportunity it was,” Phelan acknowledged.

“This year I think people really have been going after it. Training has been going really well. There’s a really good set-up there. Hopefully we can do ourselves proud the next day.”

Of course before they could plot a way through the provincial club championship, Aghada had to first ensure they came out on top within their own county. Having claimed that breakthrough success on free-kicks against Eire Óg in the autumn of 2024, Phelan and her colleagues came up short to the same opposition in a replayed encounter 12 months later.

An early return to collective training had Aghada fully motivated for this year’s county championship and even though a key player in Hannah Looney was absent owing to her AFLW commitments with Hawthorn, the Rostellan-based side returned to their third successive Cork senior final last month. Phelan played a captain’s role from midfield in this entertaining affair with her personal haul of 1-2 contributing handsomely to a four-point victory in the end.

“It was great to get over the line in normal time. We’ve had a couple of replays, a couple of extra-times. My whole family were delighted anyway that we didn’t put them through the wringer one more time. We went back training in November after that county final loss. That was in October that we lost and we went back in November,” Phelan recalled.

“The margins were so small, we really just felt like we could go again. I’m glad that we all decided to put in that effort. It’s satisfying to see that come good for us. Just because you work hard doesn’t mean you get what you want. Anyone who has been in sport long enough learns that lesson the hard way. I’m thankful that we were able to and we decided to go again.”

Given she last played for the side in an All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Dublin in July 2023, five-time TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship winner Phelan is now well removed from her lengthy stint on the Cork panel.

She maintains a keen eye on their progress, particularly with her club-mates Abigail Ring, Katie O’Farrell and Rachel Leahy all being part of the senior county set-up this year.

Also a winner of five Lidl National Football League Division 1 titles with the Leesiders, Phelan watched on as Cork secured the same crown under Joe Carroll with a showpiece triumph over eventual All-Ireland champions Galway.

There were some difficult results for the side in the TG4 Munster senior football championship and the early stages of the All-Ireland series, but after pulling off a dramatic comeback victory against Waterford, Cork produced an excellent display before being pipped at the post by Dublin in the last-eight of the Brendan Martin Cup.

The display in the latter game provides Phelan with plenty of grounds for optimism as new manager Pat Sullivan gets set to take charge of the side in the new year.

“I think how they played in that quarter-final against Dublin, that’s the best I’ve seen that Cork team play in an awful long time. There was such grit and determination. They were so, so unlucky not to get the result on that day. Sometimes there’s things that go against you and it feels like it’s not meant to be.

“Pat Sullivan is after going in with them. He’s a really positive person, he brings a lot of energy. He has been a really interesting person to listen to and get feedback from. Hopefully the girls can drive on from there.”

While Phelan has dipped into some underage coaching with Aghada in the past couple of years, a former club-mate of hers has just assumed a major managerial role. Now employed as an associate dentist with Corabbey Dental & Orthodontics in Midleton, Phelan previously worked in Dublin and played her club football with St Brigid’s during that period.

The goalkeeper for the side at the time was then-Dublin netminder Ciara Trant, who Phelan also battled against on a number of occasions at inter-county level.

After being part of their backroom team last year, Trant has now taken over from Paul Casey and Derek Murray as manager of Dublin for 2027 and Phelan is pleased to see someone of her playing pedigree take on such a high-profile position.

“Fair play to her. We played in the same Dublin club for a couple of years. She has gotten involved in management and it’s great to see females getting involved and someone particularly who is so fresh out of inter-county herself. She has new ideas of how to play. I can only wish her the best of luck, but not against Cork!” Phelan added.

“It’s great to see that former inter-county players are happy and willing to go through on the other side of the fence. It’s great to see that is starting to happen. That females are starting to get more involved and that they’re given those opportunities.”