*Shauna Melican. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
SHAUNA MELICAN leads Fergus Rovers into battle for their first senior county final in over quarter of a century but they do so brimming with confidence buoyed from their underage success.
Three Minor A titles on the bounce has fuelled the Fergus Rovers conveyor belt as their underage talent comes to the fore with a first senior decider since 2000. The next generation are undaunted when it comes to wearing the underdogs tag versus Kilmurry Ibrickane in Sunday’s decider.
Ambition was high within their camp from the minute they set out their stall for 2026, Shauna admitted. “Our aim at the start of the year was to be preparing for a county final, we knew it would be tough but we wanted to play the toughest teams which we have and we’ve come out the right side of them, hopefully now for the final we can push on again”.
It has been a season of hard knocks for Shauna which have included a concussion in round one when they lost to Banner Ladies and tasting county final defeat when lining out with Kilmaley’s senior camogie side.
She recalled that their quarter-final victory over Kilmihil was the turning point in their year. “We had a tough start against the Banner, I actually got concussed so I wasn’t able to play for a few weeks and that was really tough but all the girls stood up and we got a win against Burren Gaels, then the draw against Liscannor. Going into the Kilmihil game it was a lot of drive and going into it saying we’ll die on the pitch if we have to and we came out the other side and did the same thing against Banner, I do think the Kilmihil game was the start of it for us”.
Of the injury, she said, “It was during the game, I didn’t realise it at the time, afterwards it was a tough evening, it was hard not training for the two weeks but everybody was good to say stay back and thank God we’ve come out and are in a final now”. The symptoms included “a bit of dizziness”. Shauna added, “I was very bad the night it happened but I recovered well and since then there has been no problems, they checked me and everything so I’ve got the all-clear, I’ll be keeping it that way, it’s all good”.
Saturday’s loss to Truagh/Clonlara has already provided learnings that the twenty year old hopes to apply to the ladies football decider. “We were very set up going into the final so all credit to the coaches and management but for myself it can take you the ten minutes to settle into the game, on Sunday we won’t have the ten minutes to settle into the game and we don’t want to take it either. We went straight in for the Kilmihil game and had a cushion of two goals at half time, go straight from the get go and be ready once the warm up is down, we’re in it, that is what I take from that”.
Kilmaley took too long to score and settle themselves, she acknowledged. “Every game is different. We came out in the second half and performed a lot better than we had, it was a pity that we couldn’t get the scores on the board but we could be saying that for the rest of the week”.
Soaking up the occasion was a nice treat, she felt. “It was brilliant, the buzz around and it is such a privilege to be involved with Kilmaley, it is such an unbelievable club, I couldn’t say enough about them, they are so welcoming, I was delighted to be a part of it, it was a pity the way it went but Truagh/Clonlara are a brilliant side. I was with Kilmaley for three or four years underage, then I stopped and came back this year, I timed it well”.
Showing her commitment as always, Shauna was back training with Fergus Rovers at 08:30 on Sunday morning, fresh from Saturday afternoon’s camogie final. “I’m definitely tired this morning but it is where I want to be, it was a silver lining after the game that I knew I had another week to play for and another match to try win, that is the main thing. It was a tough loss, the priority shifts to the football”.
With the football focus, the confidence for Fergus Rovers stems from their underage success. “We weren’t the crop of players that there is now, we won the Féile and the Minor A, we were the first team to win the Minor in the three year run, that was one of my proudest moments winning the minor, then I won an intermediate, I’ve been lucky to have had some silverware, a lot more than some of the older girls could say. Louise and Ciara would be our most experienced players, then Áine Slattery is four or five years younger than them, then there’s down to twenty three year olds, the average age would be nineteen between the whole team, there’s some gap anyway”.
She told The Clare Echo that Fergus Rovers have no fear of the big occasion, “That has impacted us a bit by saying winning is a habit, we can see it with our minor teams this year, they are used to winning so they win and they know how to. Even myself I find you can have a fear of being careful or whatever but you’re able to go out now and drive on, there is no fear there”.
Sticking to the plan can see them overcome Kilmurry Ibrickane, she believed. “Just doing what we’ve always done, we have a system in place, we have our own rules and guides on what we play by, we’re not going to change anything, they are a fantastic team and we have played them many teams, they have great players but we do too, we have such a strong knit group that we are willing to die for each other on the pitch and we will give it our all for the full game, the better team will win and whoever wants it more will win, that is what we’re banking on”.
Part of the Clare intermediate squad for the past two seasons, lining out with the county is an honour not lost on the Lissycasey woman. “It is something I’ve wanted my whole life growing up and obviously it is such an honour to represent your county and getting to wear the jersey is a special thing that not a lot of people can say, it is a step up. We’ve got to the quarter-finals the last two years, we want to be pushing for more, I feel like anyone in the county would say we should be striving for more, it’s frustrating not to be there with the senior camogie team when they’ve got to Croke Park the last two years, it is an honour to play for Clare”.
Fergus Rovers’ increasing representation on county squads is an indicator of the rising tide. The minors that won the All-Ireland last year had eight Fergus Rovers girls on the team, they are all playing with us now, looking to the U16s now it is comforting to know that they are coming and they are a fabulous bunch, there’s enough going in which is great”.
An architecture student at the University of Limerick, Shauna explained the desirable traits for the profession, “You have to be able to work with people, football and camogie has been great to teach me when you’re given a proposal or a design and you have to hold the room, when you’re talking in a dressing room or discussing things with teammates you have to be able to talk to people, it carries over well from football especially striving to be a leader on the team, you have to be a leader in that line of work so that is the hope there”.
Her late father Michael captained Lissycasey when they lost out to Éire Óg in the 2006 Clare SFC final, he collected a medal a year later when they overturned the Townies. Shauna would like to claim a senior medal at the first time of trying, “He was there in 07, I hope to follow in his footsteps but I will try get one up on him by doing it in the first year”.
Captaining her club just as her father had done is something she is very proud of, “Mam is originally from town, she has no association with Éire Óg, my father captained Lissycasey in 2006 when they went to the final and came out not where they wanted, it is a privilege to do the same for my own club”.
