*Kilmurry Ibrickane captain, Chloe Moloney. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
FOR KILMURRY Ibrickane captain Chloe Moloney playing for her club means everything.
Given that her Dad is none other than Aiden ‘Horse’ Moloney, that’s not surprising.
“It’s just a different feeling when playing for your club. I would class Peamount F.C. as my club and it’s an honour to play for Clare but nothing beats playing for where you are from. It’s really special and it would be a dream come through to go up the steps at Cusack Park on Sunday to receive the cup”, she told The Clare Echo this week ahead of Sunday’s Clare senior ladies football championship final.
“It will be an amazing day, it probably will never happen again. The ladies final was supposed to be earlier in the year, It just worked out great, it’s a great day for the club,” she said of their curtain raiser ahead of the Clare SFC where the club’s men team take on Éire Óg.
She added, “Obviously it’s no good if you don’t go and win it and that’s what we are concentrating on. It’s great to have the lads after us as well but we are fully focused on ourselves”.
Continuing she said, “It’s our first time in the senior final and it’s massive. It’s always been our goal to get to the senior final. The lads have done so well over the years and we want to keep up with them as much as we can. Last year we lost in the semi-final by a point to the Banner. This year Niall and Patrick came back in with us again, we are where we want to be and we have one more step now”.
Noting that Sunday’s final is a repeat of the league final which required free kicks to decide a winner Chloe said “there is nothing between the sides”.
Standard of ladies football in the county is rising, the Clare attacker said, “Clare football is getting stronger and it’s probably in the last two years that you have seen teams get that bit closer to the Banner which is positive. When I started out it was no one is ever going to beat them which is a credit to them. Definitely the standard has got way better. The younger players now are brilliant. Trying to keep up with some of them is difficult. We got to the All-Ireland last year and lost out. This year it was disappointing to be knocked out at the quarter final but that’s the way with ladies football, anything can happen on the day”.
Asked if there is pressure on the players to win given the huge interest in football in the Kilmurry parish she replied “on a county final day, no matter where you re from, there is pressure and if you don’t have nerves on the day then football isn’t for you. We have not been put under great pressure. Our girls are very level headed, training has been good We are trying to keep it as calm as we can. At the end of the day it’s just another game. I know it’s going to be a big day out in Cusack Park but we still need to concentrate on playing for sixty minutes”.
The Kilmurry Ibrickane captain is delighted that both the ladies and mens finals are being played at Cusack Park. “I think it’s great for us that everyone will be in Cusack Park a lot earlier. If we hadn’t got to the final and this had happened we would be kicking ourselves. I have been s saying to the girls, it’s just another game. A lot have played schools and minor finals there, we are well used to the pitch”.
Her father Aiden has enjoyed success as a player and a coach and remains one of her biggest influences. “He doesn’t put pressure on but he would always be on about the runs I didn’t make. It has helped over the years. Every time I see him in the kitchen he will be on about the runs I need to make. I don’t mind, I listen and any bit of advice I can get is good. He has been there as a manager and as a player and he has won plenty. Any advice I can get will help. My mother will try and stop him from giving out to me at times,” she remarked.
