*Amy Sexton with Fidelma Marrinan. Photograph: Burren Eye Photography
Mullagh’s Amy Sexton will line out at centre forward on the Clare team for Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final and she is well aware of the challenge facing them.
A second year PE and maths student at the University of Limerick, she was part of the college team which claimed victory in the O’Connor Cup earlier this year.
One of her team mates in that success was Laois player Erona Fitzpatrick and Amy readily acknowledges that the Laois forward “is an excellent player” and Clare will have to be on their guard to limit the scoring opportunities which will come her way.
A member of the Kilmurry Ibrickane club which won the county intermediate title in 2020, Amy is in her fourth season in the county panel and while the commitment “is huge, it is very enjoyable. We all get on really well”.
Pointing out that “it is the aim of every gaelic games player to get to Croke Park and there are only a few of our panel who have got there in 2016. A win on Sunday would get us there and that is a huge motivating factor”.
Acknowledging that “it is difficult to get to the final”, she noted that Clare “won our first knockout game in five years when we defeated Longford two weeks ago. We met Laois in the first round of the league and we weren’t as well prepared then as we are now. We made a great start in that game going five or six points up but then they came at us and they went on to claim victory”.
Amy believes that “support will be crucial on Sunday. We have a very loyal following and while I know that Clare supporters have been travelling a lot in recent weeks supporting the hurlers and the men’s football teams, we hope that they can make the journey to Kiltoom on Sunday. Support is a great help, it’s great to hear the fans cheer on the team and hopefully we will have a big crowd cheering us on Sunday”, said the past pupil of Mullagh NS and St. Joseph’s Spanish Point.
“We are facing a huge challenge and it will take a full effort for the entire squad if we are to get over the line. Our whole focus is on Sunday’s game, we are concentrating on Laois and not looking at anything else,” she told The Clare Echo.
