The New York Ladies GAA team is once again headed for Ireland for the replay of the All-Ireland final on Sunday October 9.

After being just minutes away from victory, the team drew with Wicklow last Sunday in Croke Park, resulting in an automatic replay.

Despite the costly logistics of having to fly the 32-strong entourage back to Ireland once again, the team remain committed to winning All-Ireland junior football crown.

“Whatever it takes we have got to go back,” team captain Molly O’Rourke told the Irish Voice on Tuesday.

“Every girl is willing to front the money if they had to. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“We knew this Sunday was going to be a tough match and that’s exactly what we got,” the Waterford woman added.

“Not too many people back in Ireland knew much about us but we knew we had the capability.”
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In the initial aftermath of the draw, despite still being in with a chance of winning the title, morale was low when players considered they would once again have to endure the trip across the Atlantic, according to the captain.

“That was the toughest part,” said O’Rourke.

“Dealing with the jet lag, trying to get into a normal routine, it was running through all our minds. How are we are going to do this all over again?”

GAA rules meant there was no opportunity for the game to go into extra time and a replay was automatically scheduled.

“Our biggest concern is the girls getting the time off work,” Nollaig Cleary, the vice chair of the New York County Board, told the Irish Voice.

The trip back to Ireland will the third excursion for the team in recent months.

“We are meeting tonight to discuss the funding,” Cleary added, pointing out that flight fares alone for the last two trips cost in excess of $30,000.

“We are counting on the generosity of the local community here in New York,” she said. “Logistically it is going to very difficult.

“The girls train three to four times a week and most of them are working or in school. Overall the the focus will be on the football first,” she added.

Team manager Phil Sheridan from Cavan told the Irish Voice there was “big disappointment” among the players.

“We never addressed the issues of a possible replay in Ireland,” said Sheridan.

Talking about the game, Sheridan said there had been “a lot of pressure for both teams.”
The team’s manager is hopeful the girls will win the title on October 9.

“I think we have every shot to do it,” he said.