Dublin's Sinead Goldrick speaks to Declan Drake..
- Dec 13,2011
Sinead Goldrick; 2011 may not have matched the highs of the All -Ireland win of the previous year for Dublin ladies, in Sinead Goldrick of Foxrock Cabinteely the County has a star determined to regain top spot in 2012. DECLAN DRAKE met her at the recent Dublin Ladies awards night....
SECOND SEASON syndrome is a difficult reality to deal with the Dublin ladies senior team are the latest outfit that are proof of that fact having failed to defend the All-Ireland crown won so impressively 12 months previously. While for the County squad as a while that was a huge disappointment for certain individuals with in it the year ended rather well.
Sinead Goldrick who plies her club trade with Foxrock Cabinteely is fine example of that point. The bubbly 21 year old Social Science graduate of UCD and currently a Marketing student at DIT had just been announced as the Senior Players choice for Player of the Year at the O'Neill's Dublin Ladies Awards night at the end of November when we met. For observers of the ladies football scene there would have been few arguments with the choice made but as Mc Goldrick is happy to point out it is not entirely about her.
"Naturally enough it is nice to win such an award, it really was a surprise to get it, this is a team game and we are all in this together individual awards are good but a team success is always more important".
As secondary school student at Coláiste Iosagáin basketball was a very popular sport with Sinead playing her part in a hugely successful period for the school in terms of capturing All Ireland titles up to and including her final year there. Football was important as well with her potential earning her a place in the Dublin U14 squad. That team won the All-Ireland that particular year of 2003 with Amy Ring, Sinead O'Mahony and Noelle Healy amongst her team mates, it is a triumph Sinead feels is fully appreciated in the years after it.
"It is all a real whirl wind at the time I mean you are 13 years old so quite young and excitable. It's only really now when you look back it that the significance of the achievement dawns on you".
The next step was the U16 All Ireland which was the second in the set of Sinead's set of medals at that level to date, while 2 years later she was part of the historic squad who won the first minor title. She is full of praise for the management team which included former Dublin skipper and All Star Martina Farrell as well as Dave Cullen.
"They were brilliant to work with under in terms of training having the right attitude and approach to the game. I learned so much from them as a group which has helped my game develop2.
Foxrock Cabinteely where Sinead from the age of 7 has been active enjoyed a great success in 2008 when the All-Ireland junior club title was brought back to the Southside club 3 years later that are honoured at the Dublin ladies awards night as the Club of the Year 2011.
Sinead Goldrick first made the Dublin senior side back in 2006 when Gerry McGill was manager. Her love of travelling has meant a stop start to career so far in the County jersey. Although a brace of NFL division 2 honours have been added to the Goldrick household the big one of the Celtic cross in 2010 didn't due to being away in Thailand during the business end of the championship although she did return to be present for the destruction of Tyrone in the final. She is quire pragmatic about the whole thing.
"Of course it would have been nice to part of it I was in the stand on the day and really thrilled for the girls who had put so much into the whole thing. This group trained 3 nights a week and did a whole lot more work them -selves in the gym, they really worked so hard and deserved the success when it came. Hopefully more chances will come my way and I will take them".
2011 saw Dublin operate in division 2 of the national league, the year in that competition ended with a final success over Meath in Parnell Park which with it brought the important reward of bring back at the top table for the forthcoming year. Sinead as well winning as mentioned earlier that second league medal in the defeat of the Royals. She knows the importance to be competing in 2012 at the higher grade.
"No doubt about the importance of that, you need to be playing at a higher intensity week in week out against top sides to achieve certain sharpness in order to bring it into championship football". Having beaten Meath in the league final on home turf in Parnell Park attention was then to turn to the defence initially of the Provincial title against the same opposition out at Naomh Mearnógs splendid ground in Portmarnock. Well as we know that afternoon ended in defeat which made the task of defending the All-Ireland even harder as now the shark infested waters of the qualifiers awaited.
"The Meath defeat was so poor it really was, it just made things so much harder for ourselves that it needed to be as we had to go into the qualifiers. We had a meeting a couple of days after the game, as a group we let everybody down losing to them (Meath), we were so determined to put things right" recalls Sinead.
The qualifiers were safely negotiated as Tommy Brown managed blues negotiated their way to the All-Ireland quarter final and a third consecutive championship meeting with Cork. That were the run was to end and the Brendan Martin cup was surrendered to the side that a month later were to win it for the sixth time in seven years. It was an eventful game for Sinead Goldrick who unfortunately didn't see it out as she was sin binned with six minutes to go. Naturally enough for the above combination of reasons this is a game not best remembered by the All Star nominee.
"We were six points up that day and really should have won the game getting sin binned didn't help the situation either. All in all it was a bad day for us as we had lost again to Cork and the All-Ireland was gone from us". That reversal saw the end of Tommy Brown's one year tenure in charge, 2012 will see Peter Clarke at the helm with amongst others Angie McNally continuing as part of the back room team. So what will the new man bring to the position?
"He has a great record in college's football and was involved with Monaghan in 2011 when they got to the All-Ireland final so he knows what it takes to win, we have so much to prove next year and we are determined to do it. Peter and the management will have things well planned and worked out when we go back training".
Sinead Goldrick is a most affable young lady who shows a steely determination to succeed in both football and whatever professional working career she chooses once her studies are complete.
To listen to her speak is most refreshing as she has a clear focus burning desire and belief in not only her own ability but that of her colleagues to reverse the wrongs of 2011.
Such a positive mental approach will go some way to giving everybody a real chance of doing just that. Maintaining her level of performance which earned her the Player Player of the Year Award and an All Star nomination is of course another part of the equation.
There is no doubt that the future prospects of Dublin are bright and with players like Goldie involved bringing to the table what she does then further success can't be too far away.
2012 could be something special for our Capital ladies and for Ms Goldrick.
This interview is published in the Dublin GAA Yearbook 2011 which is now available to purchase from all good book stores, RRP €15.00