Aishling Moloney and Aisling McCarthy face off routinely in Australia in the AFLW these days, but there was a rare showdown back home a few years back.
Moloney wore the DCU colours in the 2018 O’Connor Cup final, ultimately leading them to glory, while McCarthy togged out for University of Limerick.
As the Cahir ladies football stars did battle for opposing universities, their club chairman, coincidentally, was an umpire.
“They were an inspiration and by God, did they give it (their) all,” Liam Shinnick tells The 42.
“It was very hard for the two of them to be playing against each other. It was a passion that you’d be so proud of, they came from Cahir.”
Shinnick feels that same sense of pride in the wake of “the two Ais(h)lings” being named in the All-Australian squad.
Moloney excelled for Geelong Cats and finished as joint-top scorer after the regular season, while McCarthy was instrumental for her new club, Fremantle Dockers, as they contested the play-offs.
Hawthorn pair Aileen Gilroy and Áine McDonagh, from Mayo and Galway respectively, have also been included in the selection of 42 players.
The final team of 21 will be announced next Monday at the W Awards, but whatever happens, for two Irish players from the same club back home in Tipperary to be in the running is remarkable.
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Moloney squeezing a kick between two Brisbane Lions players. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
“We are so proud, but they’re an awful loss,” Shinnick says.
“When we won our first senior title in 2017, we had the two Aislings. They were like the twins, and they were an inspiration — to this day, they’re an inspiration. The club is proud of them, but at the same time, we would love to have them playing with our club.
“They have a wealth of talent. To go to Australia and to perform so well, it is unbelievable. I’d like them to stay at home but they have to follow their dreams, that’s very important.”
Shinnick casts his mind back to his earliest memories of the duo. The long-time coach remembers them as “well able for the boys” at a young age, before blossoming through the underage ranks with the Cahir girls teams.
They won county medals at pretty much every level, and made the seamless transition to adult football. Their potential was clear for all to see in the small Tipperary town.
McCarthy celebrating a goal in the 2019 All-Ireland intermediate final, with Moloney behind her. Oisin Keniry / INPHO
Oisin Keniry / INPHO / INPHO
“A number of years ago, Aishling Moloney came in with her brothers. They were playing senior football with Cahir, and Aishling was on the field, showing the boys how to put the ball over the bar. The boys were a bit embarrassed, because every time the boys went to kick the ball, they went wide.
“Aishling would be a star in her own way. The same with Aisling McCarthy. She was a performer, a strong player in our club. Her ability was outstanding. She worked from one end of the field to the other. And Moloney, as we’d know her, she could come out of anywhere with the ball, and she was a brilliant player in the backs or the forwards. In later years, she has come on to be a tremendous forward.
“We had her this year in the first round of our senior championship. We were beaten by Commercials, but when the girls came off, they were so proud to play with Aishling Moloney. That was an inspiration alone.”
Long before they were stars in the AFLW, Moloney and McCarthy lit up the inter-county ladies football scene. They led Tipperary to All-Ireland intermediate glory in 2017 and 2019 and landed a haul of individual accolades.
While McCarthy has focused on AFLW of late, Moloney has balanced both. She was nominated for an LGFA All-Star award on Saturday, and is undoubtedly one of the best forwards in the country.
Both Moloney and McCarthy are also talented camogie players. They helped Cahir to All-Ireland intermediate club glory in 2016, a couple of months after losing the football decider.
The Cahir Camogie team celebrate their 2016 All-Ireland intermediate club title. Moloney and McCarthy are both central in the picture. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
McCarthy was captain, while Moloney scored 0-5 in a Player of the Match display at Croke Park. 2024 Camogie All-Star nominee, Roisin Howard, was also instrumental, the trio having grown up together and excelled across both codes.
“They were called The Three Amigos on the forward line in Cahir, because when you had them playing with Cahir, you can be taken for granted, we were going to win,” Shinnick smiles.
The Corkman tells several other brilliant stories about Moloney and McCarthy, and hails the support of their parents, Martin and Gertie Moloney and Karl and Margaret McCarthy.
He recalls a mock wedding in 2019, for which Moloney was the bride and her father, Martin, dressed up as Santa and offered live turkeys as a wedding present. He talks about McCarthy helping to start ladies football in Rockwell College and being Cahir LGFA’s first captain.
But above all else, he speaks of their impact on the club — in its 30th year — and their influence on its younger members.
“We have young girls playing in the Parish League and they all look up to the two Aislings,” Shinnick says.
“We had a summer camp last year and years gone by, when Aisling McCarthy and Aishling Moloney would come in. Some people would hold their heads up high… these two girls would tog out and play with the younger girls. That’s what you call leadership.”
He keeps an eye on their exploits Down Under and crosses paths with them when they come home. The hope is they’ll stay put in Ireland on a permanent basis at some point, but for now, Liam Shinnick is delighted to see them representing Cahir ladies football on the world stage.
“I can’t say enough for the two Aislings, because they still have their heart and they’re proud of our green and white flag for Cahir, which is very important,” he concludes.
“We believe that those girls will return home and play with the club before they come to their retirement.
“I can tell you that as chairman of Cahir ladies football, we are so proud of them and what they have achieved this year, and we wish them the very best of luck in their future.”
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'They're an inspiration' - The two Tipp clubmates named in AFLW All-Australian squad
CLUBMATES SELDOM GO head-to-head.
Aishling Moloney and Aisling McCarthy face off routinely in Australia in the AFLW these days, but there was a rare showdown back home a few years back.
Moloney wore the DCU colours in the 2018 O’Connor Cup final, ultimately leading them to glory, while McCarthy togged out for University of Limerick.
As the Cahir ladies football stars did battle for opposing universities, their club chairman, coincidentally, was an umpire.
“They were an inspiration and by God, did they give it (their) all,” Liam Shinnick tells The 42.
Shinnick feels that same sense of pride in the wake of “the two Ais(h)lings” being named in the All-Australian squad.
Moloney excelled for Geelong Cats and finished as joint-top scorer after the regular season, while McCarthy was instrumental for her new club, Fremantle Dockers, as they contested the play-offs.
Hawthorn pair Aileen Gilroy and Áine McDonagh, from Mayo and Galway respectively, have also been included in the selection of 42 players.
The final team of 21 will be announced next Monday at the W Awards, but whatever happens, for two Irish players from the same club back home in Tipperary to be in the running is remarkable.
“We are so proud, but they’re an awful loss,” Shinnick says.
“When we won our first senior title in 2017, we had the two Aislings. They were like the twins, and they were an inspiration — to this day, they’re an inspiration. The club is proud of them, but at the same time, we would love to have them playing with our club.
“They have a wealth of talent. To go to Australia and to perform so well, it is unbelievable. I’d like them to stay at home but they have to follow their dreams, that’s very important.”
Shinnick casts his mind back to his earliest memories of the duo. The long-time coach remembers them as “well able for the boys” at a young age, before blossoming through the underage ranks with the Cahir girls teams.
They won county medals at pretty much every level, and made the seamless transition to adult football. Their potential was clear for all to see in the small Tipperary town.
“A number of years ago, Aishling Moloney came in with her brothers. They were playing senior football with Cahir, and Aishling was on the field, showing the boys how to put the ball over the bar. The boys were a bit embarrassed, because every time the boys went to kick the ball, they went wide.
“Aishling would be a star in her own way. The same with Aisling McCarthy. She was a performer, a strong player in our club. Her ability was outstanding. She worked from one end of the field to the other. And Moloney, as we’d know her, she could come out of anywhere with the ball, and she was a brilliant player in the backs or the forwards. In later years, she has come on to be a tremendous forward.
Long before they were stars in the AFLW, Moloney and McCarthy lit up the inter-county ladies football scene. They led Tipperary to All-Ireland intermediate glory in 2017 and 2019 and landed a haul of individual accolades.
While McCarthy has focused on AFLW of late, Moloney has balanced both. She was nominated for an LGFA All-Star award on Saturday, and is undoubtedly one of the best forwards in the country.
Both Moloney and McCarthy are also talented camogie players. They helped Cahir to All-Ireland intermediate club glory in 2016, a couple of months after losing the football decider.
McCarthy was captain, while Moloney scored 0-5 in a Player of the Match display at Croke Park. 2024 Camogie All-Star nominee, Roisin Howard, was also instrumental, the trio having grown up together and excelled across both codes.
“They were called The Three Amigos on the forward line in Cahir, because when you had them playing with Cahir, you can be taken for granted, we were going to win,” Shinnick smiles.
The Corkman tells several other brilliant stories about Moloney and McCarthy, and hails the support of their parents, Martin and Gertie Moloney and Karl and Margaret McCarthy.
He recalls a mock wedding in 2019, for which Moloney was the bride and her father, Martin, dressed up as Santa and offered live turkeys as a wedding present. He talks about McCarthy helping to start ladies football in Rockwell College and being Cahir LGFA’s first captain.
But above all else, he speaks of their impact on the club — in its 30th year — and their influence on its younger members.
“We have young girls playing in the Parish League and they all look up to the two Aislings,” Shinnick says.
“We had a summer camp last year and years gone by, when Aisling McCarthy and Aishling Moloney would come in. Some people would hold their heads up high… these two girls would tog out and play with the younger girls. That’s what you call leadership.”
He keeps an eye on their exploits Down Under and crosses paths with them when they come home. The hope is they’ll stay put in Ireland on a permanent basis at some point, but for now, Liam Shinnick is delighted to see them representing Cahir ladies football on the world stage.
“I can’t say enough for the two Aislings, because they still have their heart and they’re proud of our green and white flag for Cahir, which is very important,” he concludes.
“I can tell you that as chairman of Cahir ladies football, we are so proud of them and what they have achieved this year, and we wish them the very best of luck in their future.”
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