THERE WAS A training session for the Galway Ladies football team some years ago that brought the stars of the day with the stars of the future together.
The year is not known but what is known is who was in attendance at the session in the St Mary’s school grounds in Galway. Annette Clarke, who had captained Galway to a first-ever senior All-Ireland in 2004 was there. Lorna Joyce and Emer Flaherty, teammates of Clarke’s and fellow All-Ireland winners, were also training.
But it was those who were looking on at proceedings that were the most important characters of the story. Twin sisters Nicola and Louise Ward from the Kilkerrin-Clonberne club were U14 players at the time. They had just completed their own training at St Mary’s, and decided to stay and observe the seniors going to work.
There had been some talk bubbling around about the young interested duo. They were already being identified as future leaders of ladies football in Galway. This Sunday, they will play in their second senior inter-county All-Ireland final against Kerry, aiming to end a 20-year wait for Brendan Martin Cup glory.
It was Clarke who enjoyed that honour as the Galway skipper in 2004, scoring a crucial 1-3 from midfield in a gripping final against Dublin. She too belongs to the Kilkerrin-Clonberne club, is a former teammate of the Ward sisters, and has a first-hand account of their rise from U14 starlets to generals of the Galway team for the last decade.
“The likes of Nicola, Louise won a county final at national school level. They were coming from that and got stronger at U14 and U16. So there was a core group of them that were coming. And then you get the next crew and the next crew.”
It’s not just the Wards siblings representing the red of white of Kilkerrin-Clonberne in the current Galway team. Another pair of sisters, Olivia and Niamh Divilly, are also in the team. In fact, the club dominated the entire half-forward line against Cork with Olivia and Niamh on the wings while Louise started on the ’40 as Galway overcame their Munster opponents to return to the All-Ireland final for the first time since 2019.
Ailish Morrissey also started that game at corner-forward while another clubmate, Chloe Miskell, was named among the substitutes, bringing the total number of the Kilkerrin-Clonberne contingent to six.
It’s an impressive spread within a county squad about to contest an All-Ireland final. And a true reflection of the club’s dominance, both within Galway and beyond. Last December, Kilkerrin-Clonberene completed a remarkable All-Ireland three-in-a-row after accounting for Waterford giants Ballymacarbry in Croke Park. Willie Ward, father of Nicola and Louise, was the team manager. Prior to that, they were crowned Galway champions for the 11th time on the bounce and took the Connacht title for a sixth successive time after defeating Mayo champions Knockmore.
Kilkerrin-Clonberne won their first senior county title in 2013 when the Wards, Divillys and company were still developing talents. But the club’s growth to this sustained level of success can be traced back even further to when they won an intermediate All-Ireland title in 1999.
“We had a very strong team in the late 90s,” Clarke, who was part of that 1999 team, explains. “We were competitive within the Galway championship. And then coming into 1999, we were in a good position because we used to compete in the senior club championship but because Galway had a junior county team at the time, they moved us down to the intermediate grade. Prior to that, we used to come up against Hollymount from Mayo, who were the dominant team at the time. Clann na Gael from Roscommon were strong as well.
“That was kind of an older team. Girls went off and got married and stopped playing. We didn’t really have an underage structure in place, so we had to rebuild. And it was around 2007 that the underage structure got going.”
The generation including the Divillys and the Wards were the benefactors of that emphasis on underage progression in the club. As a result, they became magnets for success. All-Ireland glory at U14, U16 followed and back-to-back minor crowns in 2014 and 2015 under their current senior boss Daniel Moynhian.
Clarke anticipated that she would be retired by the time those players broke through.
“I was retiring every year,” she laughs.
But in they came when they were still minor, and Clarke was still there, still trucking for Galway.
“We were in awe of them coming in. Normally it takes a couple of years to build. But it just shows the talent and how strong they were, that they could make that step-up straight away.”
And since Nicola is a defender, Clarke would often collide with her at training.
“Nicola is the soundest girl, she’s nice as pie and your best buddy,” Clarke begins. “But once the whistle is blown, my God, she’ll go through for a shortcut. She just has so much drive in her. That’s why I’m confident for them on Sunday. Nicola drives them on and she’s just phenomenal. Going back to when they were watching those trainings, you knew from a very young age, all they wanted to do was put on that Galway jersey.
“We used to come up against Carnacon quite a bit. So, to get the best out of Nicola, because she was a young player at the time, the management used to put Nicola marking me to get her used to more physical, stronger players like Cora Staunton.
“I’d slag her the odd time that she put me out to pasture. You learn so much from watching Nicola. She will get to a ball that you’d never think she can get to. She gets her hand where you wouldn’t think she’d be quick enough to get it.”
The terms of engagement were the same when Nicola and Louise were in direct competition at training. On the upside, their twin telepathy is a handy asset when they play together.
“They just take lumps off each other. The whole twin thing, best friends thing goes out the window once you’re playing competitively.
“Some players have it and they just have it. They’re different types of players and they don’t look alike but even just on the pitch, they’re really good at looking out for each other. They know when they’re running off their shoulder and they always have each other’s backs on the pitch. If Nicola powers forward, Louise will come back to cover their player.”
The Divilly family are similarly steeped in Kilkerrin-Clonberne. Their father Michael is a former manager of the team, while sisters Olivia, Niamh and Siobhán were all on the pitch for the club’s three-in-row triumph last year. Niamh, who won an All-Ireland minor medal with Galway last year, is the youngest of the trio.
Clarke saw traces of the Ward sisters in Niamh with enthusiasm she exuded from a young age.
“I remember Niamh coming to training when she was a toddler, carrying the water bottles when her Dad Mike was the manager. A bit like the [Ward] twins, she was always around the training sessions and just had the interest to know what’s going on. She’s very experienced for an 18 or 19-year-old because she spent many years coming down to club sessions, even getting the balls from behind the goals.
“She’d be looking up to Olivia and they might be down at the pitch on nights when we’re not training, practicing frees and Niamh would be collecting the ball. They have huge drive and their Dad is the heart of the club at home. He just lives and breathes Kilkerrin-Clonberne football.
“For him and Catherine, his wife, I would love it if the girls go out and perform well and have an All-Ireland coming home on Sunday evening.”
Galway have taken some mighty scalps on the road to Croke Park, taking down defending champions Dublin in the quarter-final before defeating Cork to return to the final. Kerry, however, are contesting their third consecutive All-Ireland final after coming up short against Dublin and Meath in the previous deciders.
Galway suffered a deep cut when they were beaten by Dublin in 2019. Whoever has learned more from the hurt will prevail. The Kilkerrin-Clonberne lot will have a big say in how the game unfolds.
“Nicola has been phenomenal this year,” says Clarke. “I don’t think anything is going to stand in her way. If Kerry want to win on Sunday, they’ll have to quieten Nicola Ward. She’s their driving force. Even the majority of the scores come through Nicola’s driving from centre-back.
“There’s a big game in Louise. She has been carrying injuries and knocks from earlier in the year. They’re big game players and they never let you down when it comes to the big occasions.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
