Former Kilbride ladies' players to come out of retirement to remember 'Rocky'
The late Rochelle Mullaney (right of cup) celebrates with her team-mates after captaining Kilbride to the 2019 county senior ladies' football championship title.
A group of ladies’ footballers are to come out of retirement to honour their former team-mate on the first anniversary of her passing.
Players from the five-in-a-row championship winning teams from Kilbride between 2016 and 2020 will compete in this year’s Roscommon LGFA Junior Championship in memory of former captain, Rochelle ‘Rocky’ Mullaney, who passed away on July 27th, 2024.
Mick Murray, who was Rochelle’s partner, confirmed that between 15 and 20 players have agreed to don the green and white jersey of Kilbride once more.
“They think it’s a brilliant idea. They’re looking forward to getting back together as a group. There are a few girls expecting babies and one girl has a wedding in August, although we’re not ruling her out, but for them all to literally agree to come back without any hesitation shows what they thought of Rocky,” Mick, who was also part of the management team for Kilbride’s historic five-in-a-row, told the
Rochelle, who captained the Kilbride team to glory in 2019, passed away following a brave battle with cervical cancer. As team-mates shared memories of their inspirational captain and leader around the time of her funeral last July, an idea was hatched that will come to fruition when Kilbride field a second team in this year’s junior ladies’ football championship a few weeks after the first anniversary of Rocky’s passing.
“All the girls that were on the team were in Rochelle’s house to pay their respects. They sat in the house for hours talking and reminiscing about the craic they had together.
“I half-jokingly suggested that we weren’t finished yet and that we had one job left to do — that we were going to put the team back on the road and win a junior championship in honour of Rocky.
“Anytime I met any of those girls since, I used to remind them to remember where their football boots were. Again, it was half-joking and half serious.
“About four weeks ago, I sent out a message to all of those girls. The county board agreed to our participation because they knew what we were trying to achieve. Once I got the go-ahead from the county board, I met with every one of the girls,” explained Mick.
At her funeral Mass last July, Fr. Ray Milton spoke of Rochelle’s extraordinary spirit, her compassion and her unwavering tenacity.
He spoke of how the former Kilbride ladies' football captain and Roscommon footballer wore her jersey with pride and embraced life with a boundless energy that inspired all around her.
“I remember the final in 2019 against Clann when Rocky was captain. We drew the first game and Rocky cancelled a trip to Canada for the replay. That’s the kind of person she was,” concluded Mick.
