Louth Ladies boss Kevin Larkin bursting with pride after his side's All-Ireland victory

Irish Independent

3 days ago

If truth be told, that enthusiasm has grown and on Sunday the Kildare man was bursting with pride in the press room under the Hogan Stand in Croke Park after Louth achieved their main goal for the 2025 season, winning the TG4 Ladies Junior Football Championship.
'That's all down to the players, what a group to work with,' said Larkin.
'I mean, everybody, all of Ireland saw it there. A penalty, five points down and the girls just kept going, kept going and we went in [at half-time] a point up. Like, there was 20 seconds on the clock and we didn't stop.
'We didn't try and slow it down. We could've slowed it down and gone in level but that again, the players called that on the pitch themselves, they're just a brilliant group.'
Louth showed great character after giving away the early penalty, there was no panic and eventually they worked their way back into the game – a reflection of their resilience and mental strength, Larkin said.
'I've been saying it to the girls, their mental strength and their resilience is their biggest weapon,' the Louth boss said.
'They're just fantastic and even the control on the ball. Eimear Murray put in a tackle there when I thought Omolara Dahunsi was through…no, Eimear gets a hand in. Rachel Beirth did not give her player an inch.
'It's all over the pitch. I know obviously the forwards will probably get the headlines but everywhere, all over the pitch we were just fantastic.'
At half-time Louth held a one point lead, Antrim got the opening score of the second half, but after that it was all about Louth as the Saffrons struggled to create chances while Larkin's side made the most of their opportunities to build up a five-point lead.
'Again it's players like Kate Flood, Eimear Byrne, who kicked a fantastic score, Mia Duffy - I just want to give her a mention, she did her ACL last year and I've never seen somebody work as hard to get back,' Larkin said.
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'She's back in eight months and she ran on in Croke Park today and kicked a point. She's an inspiration for anybody who's injured like that to get back. But again, that's just the character we have in this team.'
And what about the performance of Player of the Match, Céire Nolan?
'Listen, Céire is just, and I keep saying to her, she's the heartbeat of the team,' he said.
'I mean, who's stopping Ciara when she gets the ball? Absolutely nobody. I said to her, 'Céire, just go and win me the game please'. That was it. And she did.'
There were some anxious moments for Louth near the end when Antrim reduced the deficit to two points, how did Larkin's nerves hold out?.
'I'm going to be honest with you, I couldn't watch it,' the Louth boss laughed.
'I actually couldn't watch it. I nearly closed my eyes until I heard the Hooter. I had confidence in the girls to get over the line but the final is always going to be like that.
'You know yourself, and Antrim have not lost a game all year so we knew they were always going to finish strong, so it was a delight to get over the line.'
Looking at the Louth panel, a lot of them have previous success with the team and previous disappointments as well, but the players Larkin was able to bring back, Laura Collins, Shannon McLoughlin, and a few players have come back from serious injury, all played their part.
'Laura and Shannon have just been a dream this year,' Larkin acknowledged.
'Laura, the way she talks to the younger players, and Shannon's just a bundle of positivity. I've never met somebody more positive in my whole life and that translates out onto the pitch as well. She's just brilliant.'
Having guided Maynooth Community College, where he is a teacher, to All-Ireland glory, how much did Sunday's victory mean to the Kildare man?
'It's great. My son was there, Fionn, and all my family were there,' he said.
'He came six weeks early so he gave us a bit of a fright, Jill [Mrs Larkin] recovered well and I wouldn't be able to come to train if it wasn't for her. She puts him to bed and stuff. She's my rock.'
And as for the future for Louth?
'We'll enjoy the next few nights and we'll come back in a few weeks and reassess everything and hopefully kick on then in the intermediate.' Larkin said.