Maria Curley and Aishling Moloney speak ahead of Tipp's league opener against Cork
There is real appetite amongst the panel members - Maria Curley
Tipperary's senior ladies footballers get their league campaign underway in Cork on Friday evening next with the game to be broadcast live on TG4 at 7:30pm.
The Tipp girls have been working very hard over the last few weeks since they returned to collective training, but their endeavour had been well underway prior to this with the new management team led by former Tipperary All-Ireland winning hurling captain Declan Carr, ensuring that the squad was well up to speed in terms of fitness.
And, while the players were pleased with the novelty of lockdown for a short time, it wasn't long until the itch to get back on the field began to annoy them.
Templemore's Maria Curley explained: “After the Monaghan game last year it was nice to get a bit of a break and to just spend time with the family and chill out a bit. But, after a few weeks you just want to be back at it again and I suppose we know how lucky we are that we have been permitted to train.
“It has been great to be back with the girls and having a bit of craic as well as getting in the training. There is real appetite there amongst the panel members and I suppose the new management has brought a different approach which is fresh and which aims to take us on another step again.
“Shane Ronayne had brought us to a new level over his time with us and the hope now is that we can take it on another step,” Maria said.
Aishling Moloney
“But then the lockdown came and it gave me a chance to get back a bit of freshness and back to a level where the energy and enthusiasm is at its highest. It gave me a chance to get back and you would not take the games for granted at all now. We're just delighted to be back there playing,” the Cahir star said.
It has been a great time for ladies sport in Tipperary with the likes of Racheal Blackmore, Dorothy Wall, Aimee Lee Murphy Crowe and Oral O'Dwyer really hitting the headlines for all the right reasons. So, there are no shortages of local heroes for young girls to look up to - the Tipperary ladies footballers and camogie players included.
Aisling has watched very closely as these ladies have progressed to the highest level in their sport and has been very impressed, describing them as being “great Tipperary people and great role models.”
Maria, a physiotherapist based in Limerick, has been involved in Tipperary panels since 2014 and while she admits that the demands of the sport have increased exponentially since she first joined the squad, she finds the art of juggling life and sport far easier with proper organisation.
“When you love it you just do it and you never know when it will be all over, so you want to make the most of it all and just enjoy it. Training has been tough, but it always is at this time of the season - you can be flying it in the gym or in the running sessions on your own, but it is different when you come to play games and all that goes with it.
“Training has been slightly different this year with Declan and that has helped to freshen things up. Declan was a tenacious hurler with Tipperary and was a very hard worker on the field and you can see that he is trying to bring this mindset to us also as a team.
“We had a very young squad a few seasons back and it takes time to get them transitioned into senior players in terms of strength and conditioning and all that. But they have developed and matured now and some of those minors from 2017 are in there and making a big impression,” Maria says.
Admitting that Tipperary were hurt by coming up just short in last years campaign, Maria is hopeful that the hurt can help to drive them on in this years campaign and might just give the players that little bit of edge.
Of course they have lost the vastly experienced Samantha Lambert after fourteen season in the blue and gold jersey. And, both Aishling and Maria pointed to the influence she has been on the panel over so long a period of time. However, Tipp must put the disappointment of her departure aside and move on as they ready themselves for Cork on Friday evening - a big challenge at any time, but especially as an opening tie.
“They'll be a very difficult team to beat, but that's the kind of challenge you want. We'll find out where we are at fairly quickly against Cork on Friday,” said Aishling who has opted to concentrate solely on the football code this season.