Ecstatic Cummins lost for words

As Florence + The Machine blared away in the nearby victorious Roscommon dressing room, the “Dog Days were finally over” for Roscommon captain Helena Cummins.

The popular Michael Glaveys goalkeeper, after a lifetime of service to the county’s cause, probably felt, at times, that this day would never come.

But after a memorable captain’s speech after climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand, where she remembered the late Marie McAleer and Rochelle “Rocky” Mullaney, she found it hard to find the words to describe what bringing the Mary Quinn Cup back to County Roscommon meant for her personally.

“I don’t know how to put it into words. I’m absolutely ecstatic. I’m just delighted for that bunch of girls in there. They gave everything for the jersey out on that field today. That’s what helped us get over the line.

“We didn’t expect to go out there and end up with such a comfortable lead at half time. We knew that the second half was going to be different. But the girls stuck to the gameplan and their beliefs. We went out and worked hard, and that’s why we’re champions.” 

When it was put to her that she gave her neighbour from Ballyhaunis, Mayo captain Jack Coyne, a run for his money from seven days earlier, Cummins simply laughed.

“I didn’t think my speech was that long. His looked about ten pages!” she smiled.

“I just wanted to make sure that everyone was accounted for. A lot of people in the background have made this possible.

“We have that bit of belief now. We’ll work hard and just push on. We feel as if we’ll be able to hold our own (at senior level),” she enthused.

Top scorer, Aisling Feely — who kicked 2-2 over the hour — described the feeling as “amazing”, paying tribute to a brilliant team performance.

“We knew that we’d have to step it up again from the semi-final. But even if we brought five per cent more energy than we did that day — because we were outstanding against Westmeath — we knew that we’d get a performance.

“We came in at half time knowing we had threats from everywhere. It’s probably the best team performance we’ve ever put in. We knew that we needed to hammer the hammer in the first ten minutes of the second half. It mightn’t have worked out like that, but we did what we needed to do.

“It was just a matter of seeing out the game. Our defence was phenomenal. Even at ten points up, we were putting in serious turnovers. It was like we were ten points down.

“Áine Connaughton was superb on Eimear Smyth. That’s what she does, she’s just such a humble person. It’s the biggest job to do, and she just does it. To know that you have someone in your team who can do that is great. We don’t get many days like this. It was our first time to play in Croke Park, and we looked at home.”

Those minutes when players and management get to spend time in the winners’ dressing room are memorable, and they had lived up to the Boyle forward’s expectations.

“You have a notion in your head what the dressing room might be like. It’s a dream and you hope it lives up to it. Seeing the likes of Laura (Mannion) and Helena (Cummins), who have given so much to Roscommon ladies’ football, it’s just great for them. Everyone’s going mad in there, but we’re all wrecked.

“From the hotel to Croke Park in the bus, just seeing Roscommon jerseys on the streets of Dublin, it was just so nice to see.

“I felt that training was going well and that we were in such a good place coming into the game. In the hotel and when we did the warm-up in Whitehall, we knew that we had this in us. I’m just so happy. I’m going to soak it all in,” she vowed.

Wing-back Ella Thompson described her emotions at the final whistle as “unbelievable” as Roscommon had finally reached their destination.

“Just looking around Croke Park at the celebrations, it means so much to us. We’ve worked so hard over the last few years. To finally get over the line is just such a huge honour.

"We’ve been going from strength to strength. We had a rocky start to the championship but we’ve pushed on. We improved against Cavan, took a lot of learnings from that game, and kept going.

"We’re such a close group of girls. We’ve such a small panel, and that’s what stuck to us. We work so well together and play so well together. It really means a lot to get here, and win an All-Ireland, with that group of girls,” she remarked.