First memory of Roche

It's hard to think back of what my first memory of Roche is but I suppose my earliest memories would have been everything to do with playing with Naomh Bríd.

The blue and white pinstripe jersey with the white cuffs, waiting for mass to finish so you could head down to the school pitch for Sunday's training and then the league fixtures against the likes of Setanta and blitz competitions at the weekends. We were all tiny but sure it was serious competition and we were all football mad.

I remember playing a blitz and one lad stopped me going in on goal by pulling my hair and swinging me to the ground -- I learned at the age of 7 that laughing those kind of things off worked to rise them even more so I'm grateful!

The likes of Brendan Carthy and Davey Sheils were a big part of my early days playing for the club and I know many of us from around that time would say the same!

Best day supporting Roche

Honestly I'd like to say I know what final it was but I haven't a clue -- the men's team won a final, I think it was intermediate. All I remember is the team on the back of Kevin Callan's lorry, blue and white flags everywhere! We were so young but I remember just getting endless bottles of Cidona and crisps from the club's bar... I probably snatched them through the little hatch on the side!

Most days supporting Roche were sitting on the bank listening to the clatter of the studs as the team jogged out of the dressing room, across the bank and onto the field and then getting behind the goals in the warm up to try and firstly catch a size 5 football and then kick that ball over the wall. It felt like a lump of lead!

Most memorable win

My most memorable win is similar to Livy's and I think I'll be saying the same for my hardest defeat. Although most of our senior final defeats were both memorable and hard to take!

I can't remember the year but I'll trust Livy when she said the 2007 intermediate final. It was such a great feeling, we had basically formed the ladies' team around our U16 team and things took off from there.

Before the ladies' club was set up I spent my days playing for Naomh Malachi once we were passed the age to play mixed football, but it was an easy decision to come home and play for Roche so I was delighted that the club was going to compete against the bigger senior clubs. Considering we were a fresh ladies' club, we were on the rise quickly because we had such talent. Winning that final was the start of a few years of maturing as a club to become one of the contenders in senior football in Louth.

Also, I have to mention Eugene Murray here because he was just full of beans on the sideline when he coached us. He was up, he was down, he was going bananas at times and then you wouldn't hear a peep -- he was just stunned to silence. He covered every blade of grass on the line and spurred us on massively back then.

Hardest defeat to take

I could basically list every senior final we had in 2011 and 2012, my brother Cathal was coaching us these years and I'm pretty sure he'd say the same!

As captain of a side which I believed in so much I was just disappointed we weren't getting the silverware to prove how good we were and not just a side that had potential. We were facing Stabannon each time who were reaching their peak so it was a tough ask of us. We had players like Tracey Rogers, Megan Fitzpatrick and Niamh Callan who were all so strong and comfortable on the ball who liked to pick passes and we were up against a Stabannon running team who rarely gave ball away and had such nippy forwards who could do damage.

The Championship final loss in St Mary's (2011) was our first senior championship final and it was a bitter loss but it gave us a feel for what was ahead the next year... more finals against Stabannon!! The road to get to these finals was difficult and sometimes we take for granted that we got there. We were beating big clubs like Cooley and Naomh Malachi who were the out and out finalists for years and years so for Roche to be getting to finals like this brought great pride to the club and parish, but with that brings the horrendous disappointment when you lose!

I moved to Edinburgh for Uni later in 2011 but still flew over and back to play for Louth and Roche in 2012. We drew the league final against them in Dowdalshill and it really felt like a loss because we were the dominant team but let it slip at the end. I felt like that was our biggest chance at winning senior silverware gone! It went to a replay later that year but we were outplayed in the end. I didn't realise that was going to be my last match for Roche at the time. So looking back, I feel that's a hard one.

Biggest rivalry

Easy... Stabannon! I loved the intensity of the games and the scorelines never reflected how good we were sometimes, but the losing team always says that!

Best Roche player you played with

Mine is Niamh Callan; such a courageous footballer and so reliable. My favourite kind! So versatile too, you could play her anywhere... well, except up front!

Dressing room joker

Every player had their moment! Megan Fitz always had a look of causing some mischief!

Toughest opponent

I'm naming two -- my two pals!

Grace Lynch: The main driving force for Stabannon over those years, without her workrate and passion, they wouldn't have achieved what they did in my opinion! I loved the tussle in the midfield with her and while her success was well-deserved, I wouldn't have minded just one of the championship medals!

I have to mention Sandra Lynch too. People swore we didn't like each other when they saw us play -- both of us would go in harder on that tackle and then out for drinks later that night... not a mention of it!

Roche dream team

Sarah Murray; Michelle McCourt, Arlene Marmion, Katie Halligan; Lauren Meehan, Niamh Callan, Olivia Grant; Megan Fitzpatrick, Bronagh Malone; Jennie McCourt, Tracey Rogers, Aoife Halligan; Aisling Begley, Nicola Mills, Shauna Finn.

Your Roche in three words

Fun, pride, family.

... in four words!

Red soil of Roche!