Olivia Divilly (Kilkerrin-Clonberne, Galway) pictured at the announcement of AIB’s landmark sponsorship agreement with the LGFA, which sees AIB become the title sponsor of the coveted All-Ireland Ladies’ Football Club Championship. This historic four-year sponsorship marks the first time a single sponsor has united all four codes of Gaelic Games – Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie, and Ladies Football – under one banner. Photo by Dan Sheridan/INPHO
By Cian O’Connell
Olivia Divilly is well versed in switching from one inter-county campaign to another club adventure. When Galway and Kilkerrin-Clonberne are relevant on the national stage Divilly is content.
Important matches have arrived thick and fast for Divilly throughout the past couple of years. That is a challenge Divilly is always ready, willing, and able to embrace. Communication between management teams is key. “It was a quick turnaround,” Divilly says about returning to Kilkerrin-Clonberne action following Galway’s All-Ireland Ladies Football final loss to Kerry.
“Sometimes it is nice to get going pretty fast again after having a defeat, to have something to look forward to. I think we've been lucky our club and county managements, they are usually pretty accommodating.
“We probably had about two and a half weeks to ourselves after Galway, we played one championship game in that, but we had a little bit of flexibility and time to get away from football, to go away on holidays and to do a few things outside of that, too.”
Is it tricky to reset? “I think if you do it very often, it does get difficult,” Divilly replies. “Probably I find it more so mentally tiring than physically. Last year Daniel Moynihan was the Galway manager, he gave us six weeks off after the club championship.
“That was great, when you come back you're hungry and you're fresh, looking forward to getting stuck in. I think that is important too, to have a bit of a break from football, to come back hungry with an appetite.
“If not, the risk is halfway through the season you're getting fed up or picking up niggles, it just seems like a long year then. We've been fortunate, even though we've been busy there has been a few weeks off here and there when we've been able to get away from football too.”
On the inter-county scene Galway enjoyed plenty of encouraging moments in the championship. Relegation in the league and the championship decider reversal to Kerry, though, hurt. “Yeah, absolutely, I think immediately after the All-Ireland final we were devastated,” Divilly reflects.
Galway's Olivia Divilly in action during the 2024 All-Ireland Ladies Football Final against Kerry at Croke Park. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
“We felt like we under performed and didn't give a true representation of ourselves. Sometimes, that is the most difficult way to walk away from a game when you know that you didn't play as well as you could have.”
The cleansing process has already started. “About a week and a half ago we reflected on the game, we had an analysis of it, a review of the year,” she adds.
“I think there is a lot of learnings to be taken from the year, it is great that we reached an All-Ireland final, we've lots of fond memories from all of that in the year.
“It was our first All-Ireland since 2019, we've lots of learnings to take. It was probably lots of girls first time playing in Croke Park or being in an All-Ireland too. So, you've lots of learnings to take, the All-Ireland final itself was disappointing, but it was still an achievement to get there. Hopefully we will be able to use it as a learning experience, to push on for 2025.”
Before Kilkerrin-Clonberne triumphed on the provincial and national stages they had encountered setbacks. So, similarities exist according to Divilly. “We lost the 2019 All-Ireland final pretty much with the last kick of the game,” Divilly recalls.
“We were level and then probably poor game management on our behalf, we let Mourneabbey go down the pitch to kick the winning score. That was sheer heartbreak. It was so difficult to get over that game.
“Then with Covid in 2020 it didn't go to All-Ireland stages. The 2021 All-Ireland was played in January 2022, it was about 27 months to get back to the All-Ireland final to play, to finally get over the line. That was so difficult, but it makes winning all the sweeter.
“You know how hard you've had to work, what it is like to be the other side of it, too. It is something we hopefully will be able to take, to bring into Galway, to use the hurt and disappointment to push on and drive next year.”
