'The buzz around the club is unreal!'

Ulster JFC Final

Lavey vs. Dungloe

Healy Park

Sunday, 12:30pm

SUNDAY will be a huge day for Lavey and none more so then the Scullion family with Laura lining out and her dad Brian the manager of the side.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Laura ahead of the big game and from the moment you walked into the club and the training session, you could feel the buzz and you knew there was something very special happening around Lavey.

“The buzz around the club is unreal, the buzz among the girls, nobody can really believe it but we deserve to be there, there’s great excitement,”  said Laura.

Back-to-back county champions after fielding at adult level for the first time in 2022. It’s fairytale stuff and given that a number of these girls were tasting football for the first time makes it even more impressive.

“I was one of those girls that had never kicked a ball, a couple of the girls had played for Glen, we have a couple of girls came in this year that are marrying into the club. If you had seen the first training session, the first couple of matches we were hitting the corners standing in front of the goals. We have progressed so much with every training session. After winning last year we believed we could do it again and here we are getting ready for an Ulster final,” she said.

The one thing was very noticeable at the county final and in the aftermath celebrations and victory speech from team captain Catriona Toner was a very special girl in the eye of this team. That girl is Maria Scullion who suffers from a form of dwarfism. She is younger sister of Laura and daughter of manager Brian. “Inspirational” is how Laura describes her.

Maria is only 14, a student at St Patrick’s, Maghera but in April of this year she went through surgery to correct the alignment of her legs.

“She became a massive part of this team, attending training sessions, the girls loved seeing her and she loved seeing them. Before she went for her surgery, the girls presented her with a big hamper and you can just tell what she means to the girls. She was so chuffed hearing Catriona mention her in her speech.

“In team talks, Maria is mentioned before the game, at half time and again the lifting of the cup at the end - inspiration we can take from Maria,” said Laura.

Maria travels to Dublin weekly for check-ups and will in Omagh on Sunday cheering on her Daddy, sister and all the girls that she is adored by.

“Every day she is so inspiring. If I ever find it tough during matches, I just think of what she had gone through and nothing stops her, she just keeps going and has come to all our games. She doesn’t let it bother her.”

Laura, who graduated this year in Radiography, also has her father on the sideline, roping him in when she went home one evening after a meeting where it was asked if any parents would like to get involved.

“He hesitated at first but he has never looked back since. He is constantly thinking, you don’t realise it until you see it how much work they put in away from the training sessions preparing and thinking of the games ahead.

“It’s unreal, the stuff of dreams. It has been a long time since Lavey were in an Ulster final, the minor boys a couple of years ago and the reserve camogs a few years ago too, we can’t get over the support we are getting - we are just raring to go,” added Laura.