*Clare’s Roisin Considine. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
ROISIN CONSIDINE’s return to the Clare ladies football squad was made all the sweeter after she won her first league medal with the county.
Wing-back on the side crowned Division 3 National League champions on Saturday, Roisin formed part of the Clare defence which kept Roscommon scoreless from play up until the last ninety seconds of the game.
In 2016, she lined out at wing-back on the Clare side defeated by Kildare in the All-Ireland intermediate final. Laurie Ryan, Grainne Harvey, Ailish Considine, Ciara Hickey and Caoimhe Harvey were the survivors from 2016 who featured in Saturday’s two point win over Roscommon. For her performances in 2020, she was included on the Ladies Football intermediate team of the year.
Both the Considines returned to the panel this year, Ailish after a spell playing AFLW in Australia, Roisin after opting out last season having moved to London where she is currently based. She represented London at inter-county level last year and won a championship with her new club, Tír Chonaill Gaels.
She is commuting from London to represent her county. “I’m home as often as I can, I’m lucky to have been quite flexible, I’m grateful to Seán Lenihan for organising Shannon Airport who have sponsored me flights and my family for collecting me and what not, it’s been challenging but it has been worth it now”.
Winning makes the travelling much more easier, Roisin said. “When you lose and when you’re constantly losing you question why you’re doing it and especially with the travelling, now you have a reason to keep driving on”.
“Me and Ailish were saying we’ve no silverware won together so it is definitely a lovely feeling,” Roisin told The Clare Echo. She disputed the observation that the Considines may be credited with making the all-important difference, “Definitely not. It is lovely to be back in with the set-up, you can see what the girls had built on last year and if we can add to that it will be great”.
Despite playing against a strong breeze in the opening half, Clare entered the dressing room on level terms and were unlucky not to be ahead only for Laura Fleming converted her fourth free in thirty minutes to have the sides tied 1-1 0-4.
Liscannor’s Roisin pointed to that opening half display as laying the foundation for their two point win. “You could tell at half time that with our workrate we were calm, most of the time, in the first half and I think that is what got us over the line and we had the legs to drive on in the second half”.
To win the league will now leave Clare in a healthy place for their championship bid, Roisin felt. “It will give us a bit of a confidence heading into championship so the silverware is definitely needed”.
