Willing to do anything for St. Croan’s 

Sharon Ryan recalls a story that sums up Richael Timothy’s weight in gold to St. Croan’s.

The Ballintubber/Ballymoe outfit were playing Pádraig Pearses in a county semi-final a few years ago. Richael was deployed at full-forward. St. Croan’s were ahead by a point when Pearses were awarded a penalty.

“Richael took off the number 14 jersey and went back into goal. Unfortunately, she didn’t save the penalty but she wasn’t afraid to stand up to the challenge,” recalled Sharon.

And that’s Richael Timothy in a nutshell — doing everything in her power to help her team.

“From playing with her, you could see that she was a leader. She played for Croan’s in the forward line and as a goalkeeper. Nothing ever fazed her,” continued Sharon who, ironically, has also moved from the attack into goal on this year’s intermediate team.

“We were playing Faithleach’s in another game and we were down by 12 points at half time. We were panicking and Richael had this chance of a goal. We were roaring at her to stick the ball in the back of the net but Richael was content to keep tagging on the points. I don’t know how many points she kicked that day but we won the game.

“She was just so cool and calm on the field. She was willing to do anything for St. Croan’s. She was fully committed and could never understand why others around her couldn’t give the same commitment,” highlighted Sharon.

That determination to extract every last ounce of energy from herself for the betterment of St. Croan’s, and indeed Roscommon, has never been in doubt but when the bicycle came calling, Richael was hell bent on combining the two disciplines to make sure she let no one down.

“She has played an awful of sport. Whatever she puts her mind to, she puts her heart and soul into it.

“When she was part of the Croan’s management team, she had taken up the cycling. But she managed to combine both. I don’t think she missed a training session or a match. I suppose she was a lesson to all of us in terms of how to manage your time well. She never wanted to leave the Croan’s girls out in the cold even though she was training hard for the Paralympics.

“It was great for the group to have someone of that calibre — a Paralympian who was willing to come down and coach us, and be a selector on the team. To top it all off, we won the Junior A championship in 2022,” explained Sharon.

But while the bulk of Richael’s time is now dedicated to cycling and raising her family, the camaraderie with the St. Croan’s girls hasn’t diminished.

“Richael has never left any of our groups. She’s on our formal and informal groups. We’re always in contact. When she made the team for Paris, she knew but she couldn’t tell us until it was official. As soon as we spotted it, the news was on our group straight away with girls wishing her luck.”

The flags and bunting have been purchased to decorate the local community. The St. Croan’s girls will be getting into the Paralympic spirit by wearing Ireland jerseys to training over the coming weeks.

“We just want to let her know that she’s still part of our family here in Croan’s. We fully support her and we’re keeping an eye on everything she’s doing,” noted Sharon.

Needless to say with her daughter Lucie just shy of her first birthday, Richael is the ultimate role model, but her legacy extends beyond her family.

“Age is just a number, especially when you’re a woman. People think that just because you have kids, that’s it. But there’s even more of an incentive when you have kids. You want to keep on doing what you were doing before they came along. You need that time to yourself.

“Apart from being a role model to each other as adults, you want to be a role model for your kids to try and bring up the next generation who’ll tog out for St. Croan’s. I’m still playing because I love to have my kids come and watch me. Richael will probably keep cycling and stay involved for as long as she can to be a role model for Lucie,” pointed out Sharon.

And what chances of a medal vising the border of West Roscommon and East Galway?

“I know she had a hard time qualifying for these Paralympic Games. They were hiccups in terms of trying to gain points. A few weeks ago, she wasn’t sure if she was going to make it. But she kept training really hard in the hope that the dream would still come true, that she’d be a double Olympian.

“She has the experience, she has the determination, and she has the mental and physical fitness. I really think that it’s the mental fitness that will get her over the line. Just that attitude in general gives her a chance of maybe sneaking a medal,” concluded Sharon.

Rest assured Richael's team-mates in St. Croan’s have the champagne on ice.