By Daire Walsh

More than 10 years on from winning a national title in the colours of a different side, Na Dúnaibh’s Shannon McGroddy finds herself back in an AIB All-Ireland club football championship decider this weekend.

Back on November 30, 2014, McGroddy played in midfield as Termon defeated Cork’s Mourneabbey to claim the All-Ireland senior club crown at Tuam Stadium in Galway. Regarded as one of the best footballers in the country at the time, Geraldine McLaughlin struck an astonishing 3-8 to get the Ulster champions over the line against Mourneabbey.

It has been a decade long wait for another Donegal outfit to reach an All-Ireland club final, but Na Dúnaibh have managed to do so at the junior grade this year. With McGroddy on board as one of their most experienced operators, Na Dúnaibh will take on Mungret St Pauls of Limerick in an AIB All-Ireland junior club showpiece at Parnell Park tomorrow afternoon (throw-in 2pm).

“I was only 18 at the time, so I was quite a young cub then. Downings [Na Dúnaibh] didn’t have a team at that stage of my playing career. I had to go elsewhere to play football, so Termon was my next nearest club. I probably would have known some of the girls through county football. I went into the county scene about 16, 17,” McGroddy recalled.

“I had been playing with the likes of Geraldine [McLaughlin] and Nicole [McLaughlin] and Therese McCafferty, girls like that. They were really taking me under their wing at the time. It was a great experience and a great run, but if anything it has taught me that those days don’t really come around and big occasions don’t always come around.

“That was 10 years ago now, so 10 years later, it’s almost like a full circle moment. It’s something I’m really proud of now, to be back playing in the green and gold. Lining out for my home club in an All-Ireland final now on Sunday. It’s just great.”

While she continued to represent Termon for another couple of years, McGroddy later returned to Na Dúnaibh when the female adult section of the club was relaunched in 2017. The Downings-based side gradually established themselves on the local scene in the O’Donnell County, though Junior ‘A’ championship final defeats in 2020 and 2023 did halt their progress to a certain degree.

Yet Na Dúnaibh eventually went a step further in September of this year by comprehensively overcoming Naomh Padraig Uisce Chaoin in a county showpiece.

“We only really established there in 2017 and I suppose success followed very quickly for us. We went out that year in 2018, our club were hosting the Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta. We won Donegal and we won the All-Ireland at home, which was just a phenomenal occasion. Our men actually won on the same day.

“We went out then in 2019 and we won Junior ‘B’. After that, there was a little bit of a drought. We had been good enough to get to finals. We got to the junior final in 2020 and were beaten by a better Killybegs team. Then the junior final again in 2023 and beaten narrowly again by Dungloe.

“It has been a very frustrating period for us and in the midst of that, we did get promoted to Division One football in 2022. Which was a great achievement again, being in our infancy in ladies football at senior. That was great and just to win junior this year in 2024, it’s just an awful monkey off the back. It is a real relief.”

Na Dúnaibh didn’t settle for a county success, however, and following consecutive triumphs over Butlersbridge, Eoghan Rua and Warrenpoint, an Ulster junior title was added to their list of honours for 2024.

There was little to separate Na Dúnaibh from Kilcock in their All-Ireland semi-final duel at the beginning of this month, but a Sinead McBride goal ultimately propelled the Donegal women towards a 1-7 to 0-7 victory on home soil.

This leaves them just 60 minutes away from completing a clean sweep of club honours in Parnell Park tomorrow, but McGroddy (whose uncle Dominic is part of the Na Dúnaibh management) is expecting a stubborn resistance from a Mungret St Paul’s side that edged past Sligo’s Coolera/Strandhill on frees in the other AIB All-Ireland junior club championship semi-final.

“Obviously now in an All-Ireland final, you’re taking nobody for granted. Every team is at the standard needed to be there. We’ve done a wee bit of homework on them. We know they’re a very physical team and they’re well set up and very strong in the tackle.

“That’s something we’ll be mindful of going into the game. They’ve quite a good defensive structure as well, so we’re just looking at breaking that down. We have our eye on a few players that we need to earmark and watch on the day.”

Although she won’t have an active part in it like she did 10 years ago, McGroddy will be keeping a close watch on this evening’s AIB All-Ireland senior club championship final – a meeting between defending champions Kilkerrin-Clonberne and Kilmacud Crokes at Croke Park (throw-in 5pm).

A current member of the Donegal panel, Niamh Carr has been playing her club football with Kilmacud for the past couple of seasons.

In addition to being her school and college mate in the past, McGroddy (who was part of the Donegal set-up at the beginning of this year before subsequently stepping away for personal reasons) has lined out alongside Carr at both underage and adult levels of the inter-county game.

While acknowledging the mammoth task that faces her side against a Kilkerrin-Clonberne outfit that are seeking to secure the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup for a fourth successive year, McGroddy is hopeful her fellow school teacher can join her in becoming an All-Ireland senior club winner.

“Niamh is doing really well with Kilmacud. It’s brilliant to see another girl from home. Niamh would be from the same community as myself. Cranford is just the neighbouring place to Downings and Carrickart. I’d be really good friends with Niamh Carr and I’d really like to see her do well on Saturday evening. They’re up against a tough opposition there too,” McGroddy added. 

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