My wife told me not to leave these girls hanging

Roscommon minor football manager, Trevor Clohessy, has revealed that his wife, who was ill at the time, persuaded him to stay managing the Roscommon minor ladies’ footballers who went on create history this season.

Speaking after his side’s 0-11 to 0-7 defeat against Cork in Saturday’s All-Ireland Minor A football final, Clohessy said that he considered stepping away from the role soon after he took it, but that his wife wanted him to continue.

“They have been a fabulous group of girls to work with. When I got the job in October, my wife had a heart anomaly — she nearly passed away. I was actually going to step away to look after her.

“But she said ‘I don’t want you to leave these girls hanging’. Every night I was at training was a distraction for me. She’s better now that she’s had her operation. So these girls have been anything but incredible.

“If you had told me when I took over that we’d be Connacht A champions, we’d be in an All-Ireland A final against that Cork team and lose by four points, having left a few behind, I’d have bitten your hand off,” he said.