A family steeped in Gaelic games. That description is particularly apt when referring to the Wards from Kilkerrin-Clonberne.
Dad Willie played with the club and wore the colours of Galway at junior level in 1990. He has coached numerous club teams and has been to the fore as manager with the Kilkerrin-Clonberne Ladies teams who have won the last five AIB All-Ireland senior club titles.
Starring on those teams were twin sisters Nicola, a TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year award winner in 2024, and a current and three-time TG4 All-Star, and Louise, a 2019 All-Star and captain of the team that won the AIB All-Ireland senior club title last December.
Nicola and Louise’s brother Adrian is also an accomplished player who continues to line out for the club’s intermediate team. A winner of county titles at various grades, he is a fervent supporter of the exploits of his sisters.
Mum Chrissie has also been hugely involved with the club, while also helping on county underage management teams, and she has been club registrar for 10 years.
Not a week goes by when this family are not in some way contributing to their local club and in turn, helping their local community.
This is a family who are defined by their involvement in their local club and in playing Gaelic games – achieving excellence as players but also working tirelessly to ensure that the club remains the focal point of their home place.
They are representative of many other families who do just that, build their lives and raise their children around the ebb and flow of the GAA season and the club that is at the heart of their community life.
