Just walking down the streets of Castlebar over the past few weeks, you can tell something special is going on. The red and yellow of Castlebar Mitchels is hanging out of flag poles and decorating windows all over the town.
The colours are out in force, because a mighty force of women are going to be making their way to Ballinasloe on Sunday afternoon, with one thing on their mind - bringing All Ireland glory back to the county town.
Come match start-time on Sunday, Castlebar Mitchels could be just an hour away from being crowned the Currentacccount.ie LGFA Intermediate All Ireland Club champions and the person who's hoping to be the one to lift the trophy and walk it back home, is team captain, Lisa McManamon.
The Mitchels leader was in a positive and very focused mood when she sat down with the media ahead of the game and there is only one thing she wants to be doing on Sunday afternoon and that's guiding her side to glory.
As for having the speech ready to go - if it is (hopefully ) needed - come full time in east Galway, she told us: "That will always be in the back of your mind, but I try not to focus on anything like that. With the county final and Connacht final everyone was asking, have you thought about what you are going to say, and honestly, I don't, because if I think too much about that, I forget about my own game.
"Any other captain will tell you the same, to be honest. So, no, I haven't thought about the speech part but I have thought about lifting the cup - I've dreamed about that a lot too; it is hopefully going to be a special day for everyone and hopefully we'll come out the right side of it and it will be amazing to lift that cup for all girls and it is definitely at the back of my mind."
As captain both on and off the field, Lisa is vocal when she needs to be, but in the main, it's all about offering advice and being there for her team. "I'd say if you ask the girls, they won't agree with anything I say. I prefer to not shout and roar because a lot of people can pick up on that in the wrong way, but a lot of times you need that in a captain.
"But I try my best to motivate the girls, if they need anything; and it is not just me, there are so many leaders on the pitch too and the younger ones step up too; so I suppose I'm relaxed I, think, but the girls might not agree with that sometimes.
"I try to motivate and push them on and get the best I can out of them. Sometimes it is hard going into a group when you have top players like Kathryn Sullivan, Orla Conlon, Danielle Caldwell and it can be intimidating for younger girls to come into that; so I try my best to gel it all together and get morale up and it has worked, and I will continue to do that."
Taking it all in
The Mitchels came though a tough, nerve-wracking semi-final looking like they had the game wrapped up, only to be hanging on at the end, and it is something that they will have learned from going into Sunday's showdown, Lisa believes. "The only way to describe it, is that the last quarter was the height of the excitement; the tension - I'd say you could feel it from the sideline as well. The last water break we had, that really pushed us on to get the three goals we did; we thought, 'God yah, we're on fire here and if we can keep pushing on, we'll get over the line'.
"But for a second or more, we might have taken our foot off the pedal, and just thought the game was over when it wasn't. When we got the yellow card, it was a bit unfortunate and then I suppose we panicked a little bit and then they went down and got their two goals and everything went a bit messy for a while; we got over the line and the girls worked extremely hard in the end. It was exciting, it was nerve-wracking, everything and any kind of emotion you could feel was there."
There was time to take it in and celebrate that victory for a while but it was back to business very soon after for Lisa and her team-mates. "You could definitely take it in, we did have a session on Sunday morning and, I suppose, waking up that Sunday morning and thinking, God we're in an All Ireland final, that really hits you and it takes a while for something like that to sink in. We wouldn't forget about that moment; winning an All Ireland semi-final is special. But then you get back training and you have to look forward; right now, I suppose we do have to look forward to what is ahead of us.
"Our families got to go to the club house and we got bit of food and got to chat to people, because in the other games it was just the team together; but we've had to get our heads down and look towards the next few weeks, when we were back training. It will be tough, but this is the time for the girls to enjoy because it is not every day you are in an All Ireland final; it is a special experience for the girls. We had a a little regroup on Sunday morning and are only looking to one thing now."
Plenty to work on ahead of the final
Mitchels were in complete control of their semi-final for long periods and should have been out of sight well before the final whistle, but their shooting let them down as they ran up a big wide count - all of which gives them plenty to work on ahead of the final.
This is something Lisa acknowledges: "That was one of the discussions we had as a group, I think 17 wides is extremely bad, we should have been taking our opportunities when we got them. We were lucky enough it worked out for us, but the next day, that won't happen. St Sylvesters are a really strong outfit and will punish us if we do that; hopefully over the next while, we will be able to fix it and get our heads together and power through.
"Playing in an All Ireland semi-final and not playing to the best of your potential, really, it is great that we have so much room for improvement going into the final. It would have done us no good if we had got all those scores that we missed, giving us a super lead in the game; that wouldn't have done us any good. So it was probably for the best that it did happen and made us work harder as a team and it also gives us something to work on."
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On the move: Lisa McManamon looks to set up an attack for Castlebar Mitchels in their All Ireland semi-final win over Castleisland Desmonds. Photo: Sportsfile.
Third quarter surge saw them home
When they went in at the second water break in the semi-final, Mitchels were just a single point up, but when they came out for the final quarter, they hit three goals in a divesting salvo. As to what was said in that water break to inspire the team, the management just laid out some hard truths, Lisa explained.
"When we went out to that water break, we were all a little bit down in ourselves, we were working very hard but just couldn't convert the scores and that was a big issue on the day. As everyone knows, we had a lot of wides and that is something we have to fix for the final. In that break, the management just said, ye either want this or you don't and at the minute ye are really looking like ye don't want it enough.
"A few of them gave us a pep talk and mentioned a few things we might have spoken about as a group during the year and that spurred the girls on and we went out. I suppose, when you're backing each other and giving each other a few words of confidence and telling the forwards, don't be afraid to go for it and attack - because we are an attacking team and when we have attacked other teams in the past, we have converted the scores and we have got goals. I think the forwards then knew they had to do something in that last quarter, it was make or break; we'd either win or lose that game and I don't think we were ever going to lose it, they just drove on and the goals came."
Management doing their bit all year
As for the management, they have been fully behind and supporting the team all year long and have been pushing them to be the best they can be, the captain said. "I suppose with Fintan (Keane ), he is so passionate about Gaelic football and you can feel that passion when he comes into the dressing room to give that speech or talking to us in training doing drills; there is never any low intensity drills in training, he will always bring that passion that drives the girls on and really pushes them. It really rubs off on people - not that the girls aren't passionate, they wouldn't be playing if they weren't, but I think Fintan really brings that passion into the group and it brings that out.
"Marita (McDonald ) I suppose, has got such a football brain and so much experience and brings fun to the training sessions. It is not always serious, she has so much knowledge and expertise in the area it is brilliant, our training sessions are always high intensity, there is no messing around - don't get me wrong there is always room for a bit of fun, but she does bring that expertise and the girls respect her for that and the girls are very approachable and anyone can talk to them if anyone has an issue; none of the girls are are afraid to say anything to them, they make it a really nice environment as do all the rest of the management team. It is a really nice environment there for me."
Being the leader
McManamon has captained the side to both county and provincial glory so far this year and the honour of just having the role, no matter the success, is something she cherishes dearly, as she told us. "Absolutely, it is a huge honour. I am privileged to to be in this position in a team. Our club have never got this far, ever; we are making a bit of history. This is something we will get the heads down for and we will enjoy the experience and, like I said, it is not something that happens every day and I hope we can do what we can to win it."
Lisa has enjoyed an extra thrill too seeing the town decked out in red and yellow over the past few weeks and knowing that it is for her side. "It is amazing. Going down Spencer Street was the first one that I saw, but it is so special to see that and know that it is for our team, it is so nice. The community have been amazing for the last few months, they have been coming to our games, we've had so much support this year, it's the first year we've had such big crowds at our games, it is amazing and so, so special in your home town and to be able to represent your club at such a high level; we can't thank the local community enough, they are brilliant and even the surrounding clubs around Mayo, I saw a lot of them coming in to support us, which is nice."
Success born from disappointment
Most years end in disappointment for the vast majority of teams and it was no different for Castlebar in 2020 when they were beaten at the semi-final stage of the championship, but that was something that has driven them on massively this year.
"After losing the county semi-final last year against Kilmovee we were devastated; that really drove us on. I never saw any of the girls as upset as after that game. That is what started our year for us this year and from the get-go, we met with our management and set out what we wanted to achieve this year and our main goal was the county final.
"When we won that, we got to keep going and everything else then just fell into place and the hard work and commitment in the team really pushed us on. We wouldn't be anywhere without our management and they have pushed us all the way and backed us, the support form the community has been excellent all those external factors push you on and that has helped this year.
"We are a really tight bunch too which helps and a lot of the girls on the team are best friends and we've been playing since we were really young together, so those elements really help as well and push you on; when you want to work hard for yourself, you also want to work hard for your teammates, they are your friends too. We are at this level now too and it is brilliant."
The mix of youth and experience
The blending of young and old in any team is something that can be hard to get right, but it is something that this Castlebar team have gotten right and they are reaping the rewards, according to their captain. "I'm one of the oldest on the team, the younger ones bring all the fun and excitement. We have a lovely mix of girls there, when you have a mix of younger girls and the older girls and the fact that we can gel, no matter what age you are, that can help a team.
"When they look up to you, it's great, but we look up to them as well - their youth and their experience. A lot of the younger girls, they have started to step up and start talking in the dressing room and I think that was probably one of our main concerns last year, that the older ones might say everything; but now the younger girls have really gained confidence and I suppose that is from working with them for the last year or two and building that relationship and they are not afraid to say what they are thinking now and give their opinion and it works really well in the group, with the mix of age, they bring lots of energy to the group as well. They are fun and always happy and that helps too; you can't always be serious all the time and that is what has pushed us over the line."
While they have already achieved their main goal of winning the county title and are now looking to crown it off by being the best in the country at their level, the new season is also coming up fast and they are relishing mixing it up with the senior teams and showing what they can do in the near future. Having seen Knockmore dethrone Carnacon in the senior championship last year, having a go at those sides, is something Lisa is looking forward to.
"It is something we would have talked about ourselves; Knockmore have done an amazing thing. Carnacon have been an outstanding and amazing team for the last, how many years; for Knockmore to come in and work so hard and get over the line in the county final, that was an amazing achievement for them.
"I suppose it just gives any other club in Mayo the confidence to go and try and beat the champions and top teams. It shows the way things are changing and the youth that are coming through as well and what they can bring to their teams. People talk about experience all the time and it is great to have it in your team, but the youth that are coming through have a lot to offer. I suppose it gives a little bit more confidence now when we go into senior that we can do it, we can get that far and we can put it up to the top teams and it gives confidence to all the other clubs in Mayo."
But before all of that there is the little matter of an All Ireland final to win for the Mitchels.
