‘St Paul's will be a team to look for in the future’- Captain Shannon Costello

Shannon Costello, captain of St. Paul's, expressed her joy after lifting the Junior County championship trophy in Annanough on Friday evening.

“Unbelievable, we have worked so hard this year and to come out with that win is just superb. We really, really did fight till the end. Killeshin really put it up to us as well, so it's an unbelievable feeling,” Costello said.

The primary objective for St. Paul’s this year was to form a cohesive team after struggling to field one for the 2023 championship. Reflecting on their journey, Costello shared how much this victory means to the team. “It's unbelievable, honestly, we've had a tough year. A lot of you may know what has gone on with St. Paul's, but we won't talk about that. But yes, the main aim this year was to keep a team together. We have such young girls coming up, so it was vital to keep them with us and to keep them going with us, and to win a county title as well, I can't describe the feeling, it's unbelievable,” she added.

In a critical moment of the match, Costello stepped up to take a penalty in the final quarter but was thwarted by Killeshin's Sinead Dowling. She admitted to worrying about the potential impact of the miss. “When they levelled the game, I was like, why didn't I score that penalty? But stepping up, I don't really know to be honest, I picked the bottom right corner straight away, but she's a good goalkeeper and she saved it. So, it was unfortunate for me,” she explained.

The importance of teamwork was highlighted by the performance of substitute Anna Keegan, who came on and kicked the winning score. Costello emphasised that success relies on the entire squad. “She was one of our young players to come on and she came on and she showed what she could do, it's superb. At the end of the day, it's the 35 players that we have, it's not just the 15 on the field,” Costello said.

Looking ahead, St. Paul's will move up to Intermediate for 2025, and Costello believes they will be a team to watch in the future. “I wouldn't say two in a row, but I think if we just compete and go in and win two or three games to keep us in Intermediate, I think we'd be doing well. I think to get experience in Intermediate is needed. St. Paul's will be a team to look for in the future, I can tell you that,” she concluded.