Women in Sport: All-Ireland Winning Captain Geraldine McLaughlin

When Termon ladies football team scooped the All-Ireland Senior Football club championship on Sunday (November 30^th) there was only one name on everyone’s lips. Team captain Geraldine McLaughlin was the shining star on a day when the club made history, as the talented 21-year-old notched an impressive 3-8 out of her side’s winning 3-12 total. The Sligo IT student, who is studying Recreation and Leisure and also plays for Donegal county ladies team, spoke to Her.ie about that glorious moment of lifting the All-Ireland trophy – an event she has dreamed of since she began playing football at the age of seven. “I’ve been playing football since I was in second class so I was just seven years old,” she explained. “Since then, I have three under 14 Ulster medals, four under 16 Ulster medals, three minor Ulster medals, an All-Ireland medal for minor A championship, an Ulster intermediate medal, and an All-Ireland intermediate medal,” she continued, adding that for her club Termon she also have five county and All-Ireland Gaeltacht medals, four league medals, four county championships, two Ulster and now one All-Ireland senior ladies medal. Phew, that’s some haul! So how does she manage to keep it all going? “I have to admit it is hard at times, this year we had training four times a week and through the summer I worked in the Clanree Hotel, but I was lucky that they understood that I trained so much and I was able to make most trainings. “It really has been an amazing year. I was delighted that we won our county final, it made it three-in-a-row for us. That game ended Termon 4-18 to Glenfin 1-11 but the scoreline doesn't reflect the game as we got a good start that day and had three goals in the first 10 minutes. “Over the year, we’ve played seven championships games this year against Moville, Glenfin, the Ulster quarter was Newtownbutler, the Ulster semi was against Castlewellan and then we had the Ulster final where we played Donaghmoyne. It didn’t stop there though, as we then went on to the All-Ireland semi-final where we met Kilkerrin-Clonberrin and of course then, we met Mourneabbey in the final." “One of the biggest games of the year before the All-Ireland final was probably the Ulster final when we beat Donaghmoyne as they had beaten us for the last two years. “But we had prepared for this game, much like we did for every other game this year, and we had believe in the team. Training going into that game was excellent, as it was for the whole year, it really was top class. “The three boys Francie, Trevor and Paul really put in a huge effort for this team. They made it easy, everybody in our team loved training and loved going to it. On top of that, we are all best friends so it was great to spend time together as well, we are a very close team. “Going on from that game, and looking at the All-Ireland semi-final I will not forget when the final whistle went in the semi-final - we couldn't believe it. The referee had played 12 minutes of extra time so it had felt very long and we were lucky that we were fit enough and that was all thanks to the three boys." “It was amazing to win the final,” the Termon full forward continued. “The performance was a true team effort. Everyone played their part, it wasn’t just about scoring. If they didn't supply the quality ball into to me there was no hope of me scoring. Our defence on Sunday was unbelievable once again too.” Not only did Geraldine score 3-8 in the All-Ireland final, but she has in fact scored a whopping 22 goals and 27 points in the championship this year. “It all comes from the training field,” the modest player revealed. “We would do shooting a lot in training and training is very intense, just like a match. Training used to be very tough especially when I was marking the likes of Nicole or Emer this year. They marked me so well I used to look forward to the games as I knew they wouldn’t be marking me! It was tough going, we trained four nights a week but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. I loved every minute." “Lifting that cup on Sunday - words can't describe it. The cup wasn't just for the team, it was for the whole parish. I don't think there was anyone left in Termon that day, they were all supporting us and to lift it in front of the whole parish and the girls I call my family was amazing,” she continued, adding that she particularly admires Roscommon’s Deirdre Regan and boxing champion Katie Taylor. “Highlights other than winning the All-Ireland (though I don't think anything can top that) was probably going to Russia for the World Student Games. That was a fantastic experience for me. All I would advise anyone to do is to keep at it – whatever you are trying to do. If you put in the hard work you will get the awards you deserve.”