Our 2025 Remembered series is brought to you in association with Bloom HQ, Mountrath
This was a very quirky story about the strong connection with the Laois ladies football team and the small Ballinakill community.
There’s nothing that makes a local community prouder than to have one of their own representing the county in Croke Park.
Next Sunday, as the Laois ladies football team go in search of All Ireland intermediate glory, there will be three of the starting Laois team from Ballinakill.
Captain Andrea Moran, goalkeeper Eimear Barry and defender Aoife Gorman are all from Ballinakill. If that wasn’t enough, coach/selector Killian Fitzpatrick – though a native of Ballyfin – is now a Ballinakill resident and very much part of the community too.
A drive through the village the past week tells a story in itself.
Spear-headed by Ballinakill GAA chairman James Walsh (himself a former county hurler), the place is brilliantly decorated with flags and bunting and there are good luck signs on the approach roads wishing their representatives the best of luck.
In a quirk of the ladies football scene, however, the three girls all play for different clubs as there is no team in Ballinakill.
Captain Andrea Moran plays with Ballyroan, Eimear Barry is with Shanahoe and Aoife Gorman lines out with Timahoe, following in the footsteps of her mother, Mary Casey, a former Laois player herself.
All three went to secondary school nearby in Heywood which has produced plenty of fine ladies footballers of the years.
As well as the three starting players, another Ballinakill girl will be on water girl duties in Croke Park.
Kayla O’Mara, who was minor captain this year, is training with the senior panel at the moment and though isn’t on the matchday squad as she is too young, she will no doubt break through in the coming years.
Ballinakill itself has an unusual football culture. Though they won the first ever Laois men’s senior football title way back in 1888 (beating their neighbours Knock in the final), the local club is now hurling-only, having folded the football side of things in 2009.
They had won the Laois Junior ‘A’ football title in 2007 and even got to a Leinster club semi-final that same year, but they threw their lot in with Spink from 2009 onwards and any of the Ballinakill hurlers that play football, largely do so with Spink.
For now, though, it’s all about the ladies football and a big crowd from the area will make their way to the match on Sunday.
And why wouldn’t they?
To have so many of their own to cheer for on All Ireland final day in Croke Park really is something special.
Our 2025 Remembered series is brought to you in association with Bloom HQ, Mountrath
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