We play with respect, but we don't play with fear: Róisín Byrne

The last time we met Kildare and Sarsfields star, Róisín Byrne was during covid.

I spotted Róisín out doing a run one day (within her designated area) and thought to myself now that is a lady who would make a right good interview, especially during lock-down.

And she certainly did not disappoint.

And as Róisín said when we spoke at the Meet & Greet morning at Manguard Park last week in front of a great attendance “a lot has changed since then.”

And how right she was.

“We didn't know at that time when our next match would be and personally I have been out for 18 months or so with a bad knee injury, so I missed the end of 2021 and all of 2022 seasons, but great to be back now and looking forward to the All-Ireland final” said Róisín with her usual infectious smile.

So what has changed in the meantime?

What has changed that now sees Diane O'Hora's team on the brink of an All-Ireland intermediate title having already won the League and the Leinster Championship?

The free-scoring forward did not hesitate with her answer.

“No doubt” she replied instantly “the depth of the panel,” adding, “I don't think we ever had a panel like this, there are no weak links, everyone is really unbelievable and then the subs we have to bring in, five on the day, and each of those five subs will make a huge contribution, and while I know that sounds kind of cliché but that is the difference; everyone on the panel is just gunning for places, really it is absolutely deadly.”

And the management?

“The management are just at the next level, I did not work with Diane previously, I came in at the start of last year, thinking I would get back for part of the season but I ended up having to have the second surgery; I met Diane at the start of the year when she was a selector; then I came in this year properly with Diane now manager.

“I worked with Con (Brennan) before; he is from Donegal; he is a real forwards' coach; he is absolutely brilliant; he is ruthless and while I never met Brien (Noonan) before. the three of them together are absolutely top class..

“And having Diane there is just brilliant, remember she has won All-Stars, she has won an All-Ireland medal with Mayo, she has been in the situation that we want to be in, so whatever she says you know it is coming from that place and from someone who has actually walked the walked and not just talked the talked.”

Is the present management vastly different to what you have experienced previously?

“In a way yes; the other side of it is that in the last three or four years there has been a huge change in women's football in general; the pace, the speed, the strength of the athletics that actually play, that is one thing but it is probably a lot more player-led now than it has been in other years.

“I think in the last seven or eight years in Kildare we have had a very young panel; when you look at when we won in 2016 a lot of players have retired; you now look at the older players on the team such as myself, Grace Clifford when were 22, 23, so a player-led environment that's led by young players isn't the same as when you have older, more experienced players and I think that really has made a difference; and that's not down to any players individually, it is just age difference we have in the panel now, there is just a lot more depth.”

While this will be the third time that Kildare and Clare have met this year, history between these counties back when they met in 2016 and even back to under-age level there was rarely much between the counties, regardless of what level they were competing at, and no doubt this Sunday will be no different.

However while Róisín is really looking forward to the game she insists for the next week or ten days “we have to just focus on Kildare; we know what we need to do; we know their key players but I often think that teams can get too wrapped up in focusing on opposition rather than on themselves, so from here on out we will be focusing on what Kildare can do because we are the controlables now, not them.”

Róisín insists that a mantra they have had throughout this year is “we play with respect but we don't play with fear; we respect every opposition that we play; there are no easy games in this championship; it can be absolutely ruthless but mentally you just have to look at what you have done yourself; that our team has done; we have left no stone uncovered this year and that should give us the confidence going into this match.

“Remember the only thing you can control on the day is how you behave and how you play; there is no way you can control how another player is going to react on the day; if you start thinking about that you just simply go down rabbit holes so you just have to control the controlables on the day and that means focusing on Kildare and nothing or anyone else.”

Another big difference that Róisín sees is the amount of young players who are playing, who are involved and they can now see that in maybe eight, ten years they can be where we are today; so we can be some sort of role model for the young kids and say this is not unreal, this is reality, this could be us in a couple of years time if they apply themselves.