Cait Gillespie aiming for first adult Aodh Ruadh success

Aodh Ruadh Ladies take on Ardara in the Donegal LGFA Intermediate championship final at O'Donnell Park on Sunday hoping to bridge a 12-year gap to their last title.

For this team, it is largely a first final with most of them coming through the underage ranks. That is especially true of Cait Gillespie, who has been playing since she was six, a period of 15 years.

With uncle Paul Gillespie as team manager, she is looking forward to a change in fortunes for the Aodh Ruadh ladies, after their reserves lost out in a close final against Naomh Padraig, Uisce Chaoin on Sunday last.

"It was unfortunate for the reserves that they didn't make it," said Cait Gillespie. "We topped our group and I suppose we did win games well. But to be fair the whole team has put in a great effort this year and the coaching we have got this year has made a massive improvement."

Apart from uncle Paul, who she says "is great at keeping all the girls together", Ciaran Smith from Belleek has taken the training.

"So that's I suppose that’s where the fitness has come from,” Gillespie continues. “We have John Hughes as well, a big club man, and Siobhan McGarrigle is also part of the management team."

The finalists have already met in the championship in the group stage with Aodh Ruadh running out comfortable winners in Munday's Field.

"We did actually win fairly well that day,” Gillespie added. “But we weren't really expecting it either. We got beaten badly by Ardara this time last year. They were missing a few girls and you can never really get too excited about the result. Sunday's game is a final and everyone is more prepared for that.

"We won the league final and getting that experience is important. We were unlucky last year when we lost in the semi-final to Fanad, so that was a big knock for everyone. Hopefully, this weekend it will go to plan."

For Gillespie, this is her first adult final. Gillespie added: "The only final that I won was at minor a few years ago when we defeated Moville, who were going for their sixth in-a-row. That took everyone by surprise."

Asked would Lucy McGlynn, who starred for the reserves in their final last Sunday, be drafted into the senior team, Gillespie said: "That's the burning question. I suppose she will be asked anyway to come up and I'd say she'll be there with a jersey on. She was unlucky with how it fell, with the athletics that she couldn't play the whole season, but she did very well with the juniors on Sunday last. There is no reason why she shouldn't be playing."