Knockmore focused on Connacht after county success
Sinead Stagg, chairperson of Mayo LGFA, presents the Jimmy Corbett Perpetual Cup to Lara Sweeney after Knockmore's AbbVie Mayo LGFA Senior Championship final. Picture: David Farrell Photography
Knockmore were not going to be denied for a third year running when they reached the Mayo ladies senior football final earlier this month.
After losing the previous two finals, both times against Westport, Knockmore this time got the better of another West Mayo opponent, Burrishoole, by 3-12 to 0-10 at MacHale Park, to claim their first county senior title since 2023, and their third of the decade.
In total, it was Knockmore’s sixth straight appearance in the final and one of the players to have seen them all is Lara Sweeney. She has praised the team for overcoming the setbacks of the last two finals and sticking together to regain the title.
“It was a sigh of relief, after dropping short two years in a row. It was a different feeling than 2021 and 2023, but certainly it was sweet,” she told the .
“We have such a strong group, and we stuck together, and we didn’t lose anyone. That is huge, especially in ladies football; people tend to drop in and out.
“We stuck together, we believed in ourselves, we worked really hard this year. We had a few ups and downs; it was just sweet to get over the line and get the win. I thought we played our best performance in a long, long time. We didn’t just win by one or two, we won it well and controlled the game well for the 60 minutes.”
This Knockmore team has seen all the highs and lows of club football – and bouncing back from two final losses is never an easy task – but this group has got used to the biggest day in the club county calendar and Lara Sweeney says that was key to their victory.
“County finals are no surprise to us, but winning them certainly isn’t easy.
“There are a lot of girls there that have been in all six. It is just to keep the head, it is another game. You can’t dwell too deep into the occasion.
“It is easy to get caught up in the occasion, but I don’t think we did. We really showed our experience.
“The one thing about this group is we are never satisfied, we always want better. We have the county finals done and dusted, let’s see how far we get in Connacht.
“We always want more, I think that is what is so special about our group.” The next challenge for this Knockmore team comes next Saturday when they take on Roscommon champions Boyle. They got the better of Sligo champions Eoghan Rua by six points in the Connacht quarter-final yesterday (Monday) in a game delayed by 48 hours on account of Storm Boelo.
Boyle are not a team Knockmore are particularly familiar with so Frank Mulvihill’s side won’t be thinking beyond next weekend’s game – a policy that has served them well throughout this season’s championship. However, it’s lost on nobody the team that looms large on the other side of the draw.
Next Saturday’s other Connacht semi-final sees serial All-Ireland winners Kilkerrin-Clonberne take on Glencar-Manahamilton.
“Let’s not get lost in what could be or what can be, Kilkerrin-Clonberne are what they are. They are a savage outfit. We will break that hurdle when we come to it,” says Lara Sweeney of the five in-a-row All-Ireland champions.
“It is just about focusing on the next game. [Boyle] are a good outfit, we need to watch them carefully too.
“You have to beat the best teams to be the best. There is never going to be an easy ride, no matter what way you go.”
