SOME OF THE details are hazy, but Sarah Houlihan remembers herself and Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh playing one of their first-ever Kerry games together.
She thinks it was against Armagh, but can’t be sure, and feels it must have been around 2007-08.
“I’ll never forget that day in a wet and windy Tralee, the Strand Road pitch,” Houlihan tells The 42.
“I think it was one of our first games coming in and we were both kind of looking at each other, two little ones in the corner and all these really top players there with us, (like) Patrice Dennehy.
“We often talked about it. When you’d see the younger ones coming in, we were kind of laughing saying, ‘That was us at one stage.’”
On Sunday, Ní Mhuircheartaigh led Kerry to their first All-Ireland title since 1993 as they made it third time lucky in the final.
Houlihan retired from inter-county football in late 2019, but watched the win over Galway from the Croke Park stands.
“Special times,” she says, “Emotional scenes.”
“When you have been part of the team for so long and you were chasing, you didn’t get there and you see players that were playing with you, the likes of Louise and Lorraine Scanlon, it was great to see them finally get their hands on the Brendan Martin.”
Cáit Lynch, the only other 2012 All-Ireland final survivor also gets a nod.
“They’ve been there for the highs and the lows,” their former team-mate adds.
“We’ve won Munsters and leagues together, but we never got that All-Ireland title together. I suppose it’s that bit more sweeter when you have been there all through the years and all through the ups and the downs, and to finally get their All-Ireland medals.”
There are several other honourable mentions, including Houlihan’s Beaufort clubmates Hannah O’Donoghue, Faye O’Donoghue and Fiadhna Tangney, and for All-Ireland final player of the match, defender Kayleigh Cronin.
The 42 has dug out a picture of Cronin, Ní Mhuircheartaigh and Houlihan after the 2019 Division 2 league final defeat to Waterford; the former having featured as sub goalkeeper that day.
“Oh my God,” Houlihan laughs, thinking back.
“I think Kayleigh has really exploded in the last two years. Even the last day, the first two minutes of the game, you were like, ‘Okay, she’s on a mission here today.’ She had one thing in sight.”
No more than Ní Mhuircheartaigh. “The cheer when Louise was leaving was just unbelievable. She deserves it all. She has given everything to Kerry ladies football. It is a big commitment, and she’s given it there for so many years. She was just dreaming of this All-Ireland medal and thankfully, the dream has finally come true for her.”
While it unfortunately didn’t happen during Houlihan’s time, she is at peace with her decision from five years ago. As joint-managers Declan Quill and Darragh Long were starting out, the star forward “just felt it was time” to step away.
She looks back on her 13 years in the Kerry jersey with fond memories — despite being “in the shadows of Cork for a long time” — and is able to enjoy it all as a fan now.
That hasn’t always been the case, with the first year particularly tough. She found it hard to watch games, opting instead to follow scorelines on Twitter.
Houlihan is still playing club football, with a league final and intermediate championship opener fast approaching, while she recently did a “solo marathon” and raised over €24,000 for the ASD unit in the school she teaches in.
She’s happy with her lot, and similarly, Kerry’s after a weekend to remember as they reached the promised land.
“It’s great times for Kerry football,” Houlihan concludes. “It’s come a long way in the last couple of years.
“This is great for the young players and all the clubs — they’re looking up to all these players and to have these moments and be able to share these times with them is great.
“Darragh and Declan have built every year. They had a plan. I think they just came in with a different mindset to Kerry ladies football. You need consistency, and that’s what they’ve given Kerry football and they’ve got them over the line.
“What they’ve done for ladies football in Kerry is absolutely massive.”
