Moneyglass will relish semi-final shot - McIntosh
Moneyglass celebrate their Ulster final win over Errigal Ciaran
- Published
Moneyglass have already broken new ground this year, but captain Niamh McIntosh says they are "relishing the opportunity" to take on Kilmacud Crokes in Sunday's All-Ireland LGFA Senior Club semi-final in Stillorgan (14:00 GMT).
The St Ergnat's club won their fifth straight Antrim title this year, beating St Paul's in the decider, but while Ulster senior honours eluded them in the past, it wasn't the case this time.
A quarter-final victory over Down champions Bredagh was followed by a three-point win over Armagh's Clann Eireann - their nemesis in previous years - before finishing the job in the final against Errigal Ciaran to become Antrim's first Ulster senior winners.
Their reward is a trip to face last year's All-Ireland finalists on their home patch in south Dublin and although a trip to Croke Park is tantalisingly close, McIntosh insists she and her team-mates can't look any further than Sunday.
"It's obviously uncharted territory," she told ladiesgaelic.ie.
"No Antrim team has ever been this far in a senior club championship. I think we'd be naive to ever think about the final when we've got such a big game ahead of us with the semi-final and Kilmacud. That's all we're really focusing on at the minute.
"Even getting here has been a big achievement for us, but we're relishing the opportunity. We're training hard, we're working hard and we're really looking forward to it, going down to Dublin at the weekend and just giving it our all really."
'I'd huge shoes to fill as captain this year'
McIntosh is no stranger to the big stage, having been part of the Antrim team that won the 2022 All-Ireland junior title.
The Saffrons fell short in this year's final against Louth with Aine Devlin, Sarah O'Neill, Aoife Kelly, Maria O'Neill and Bronagh Devlin further Moneyglass representatives on the team.
Cathy Carey stepped away from the inter-county arena following the 2023 season but remains a key figure for her club despite opting to down as captain this year.
McIntosh noted the "guidance and support" given from Carey, while also hailed' the role of her own mother Pauline who introduced ladies football into the club in the 1990s.
"I remember being younger and going to training with her at Moneyglass and hearing all the girls chat to me, telling me how big a part she was in starting the whole thing," McIntosh said.
"I think she was on the sideline, she was pregnant with my brother when they won their Ulster junior championship in 2003. She has always been a big part of Moneyglass ladies.
"She started my footballing career, she was my first underage coach, so to stand and lift our first Ulster championship for the club with her starting the whole thing 30 years ago was really special for us."
She continued: "It was my first year as captain this year, stepping in with some very big shoes to fill.
"Cathy Carey had been our captain for the last number of years. She just made a decision, she wanted to step away from that role a bit and focus on her football. They put me forward and I was happy to stand in, but it's not without her guidance and her support."