By DAIRE WALSH
Having watched on from the stands for their headline-grabbing victory over the same opposition in 2024, Bronagh Quinn is now set to play an active role in Galway’s TG4 All-Ireland senior championship semi-final clash with Dublin at Glenisk O’Connor Park this evening (throw-in 7.30pm).
Previously a member of the panel for the 2023 season, Quinn opted out of inter-county football last year in a bid to overcome an injury that had been troubling her for an extended spell. This ensured she was a spectator in Parnell Park when Galway knocked out Dublin at the quarter-final stage of the senior championship – an Aoife O’Rourke goal propelling them towards a dramatic extra-time win.
After subsequently helping Annaghdown to reach an AIB All-Ireland intermediate club championship decider against Bennekerry/Tinryland at Croke Park last December, Quinn made a return to the Galway panel for the beginning of this year. Largely used off the bench during her county’s successful march to the Lidl National Football League Division 2 title in the spring, she has since established herself as a regular starter in the Connacht outfit’s full-back line.
“I did need that time off to work on my own injury, to get back on the field. That is the reason I didn’t participate last year, unfortunately. I know the lads were querying as well last year if I’d come back with the way I was, but I told them I needed to work on the injury and stuff like that,” Quinn explained.
“They did reach out at the end of the year saying how was I and how would I be fixed for this year and I said I’d give it a go and see how I was getting on. I suppose that did kind of help. I did well with club, so I knew myself that I was in a better position to be able to push forward and give it another go.”
Captain of the Galway side that lost an All-Ireland Minor ‘A’ Football Championship final to Cork in 2017, Quinn immediately graduated to the adult inter-county ranks a year later. However, she later took a break from the highest level of ladies football in order to focus on studying to become a nurse.
Although she is now balancing being a nurse at the Bon Secours Hospital in Galway with her inter-county commitments, it isn't always easy for Quinn to achieve the ideal work-life balance.
Because of the hours she tends to work on a weekly basis, she often finds herself having to miss out on training sessions with Galway. Yet thanks to the support she receives from both her employers and the county management team that is headed up by her former minor boss Daniel Moynihan, Quinn is in a position where she doesn’t have to choose one over the other.
“I generally work long days, 13 hour shifts. So if I’m working, I wouldn’t be able to train or that sort of thing. I’m lucky enough that it’s a Monday to Friday based ward. So generally I have my weekends off.
“I might have to do an odd Saturday, but generally I have my weekends off for matches. So at least I’ll know that I’m available for the big days, but training during the week is the thing that I might have potential issues with.
“Both work and the team and management have been very supportive, so it’s just a case where I won’t be at every single session or that sort of thing. From both sides, it has been very supportive. I wouldn’t have been able to do it really otherwise. I have to commend both sides for that.”
A winner of county and provincial honours at the intermediate club grade with Annaghdown in 2024, Quinn has also played her part in a brace of successes with Galway in the current season. After appearing as a late substitute at Croke Park on April 12 in an NFL Division 2 showpiece triumph at the expense of Cork, she was selected at right corner-back less than two months later as the Tribeswomen overcame Mayo in a TG4 Connacht senior football championship final in Castlebar.
Between both of these competitions and their TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship campaign to date, Galway have won all 14 of the games they have played in 2024.
It has certainly been a productive return to inter-county football for Quinn, but she will be hoping her side can extend their season by qualifying for a second consecutive Brendan Martin Cup showpiece – following on from a 3-14 to 0-11 defeat to Kerry in the 2024 decider.
“We have had a good year and we’ve won all our matches that we’ve played so far. The end goal has always been to get to the All-Ireland final. When the girls got to that last year I wasn’t involved.
“From day one it has always been to get to that first weekend in August, get to the final. Hopefully after this weekend that might be the case, but there’s a fierce battle yet to be played.”
Having relinquished the All-Ireland title they won in 2023 in that aforementioned quarter-final loss to the westerners a little over 12 months ago, Dublin have convincingly returned to the last-four of the Brendan Martin Cup under the new joint management of Paul Casey and Derek Murray.
Quinn is expecting a similar challenge to the one she saw the Jackies pose as a supporter in the 2024 championship and she believes their latest duel in the Offaly venue – which will be preceded by a showdown between defending champions Kerry and Meath at 5.15pm – is one that should keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
“Dublin are never a pushover team. They’re always one of our biggest rivals. A team that we always kind of go neck and neck against, and we never know who is going to come out of it on the day,” Quinn added.
“They drew with Waterford and they’ve been up there beating the better teams in Ireland, so it’s not going to be an easy match for both teams. I think we’re very evenly matched, so it will be a tough encounter and a good match to tune into.”
