It won't be just today that we're celebrating promises Leitrim captain Michelle Guckian

The party is still going on if the words of Michelle Guckian are anything to go by as the Leitrim captain proclaimed that the celebrations of last Sunday’s TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Final victory over Tyrone will go on for quite a bit!

Limping heavily after sustaining a calf injury that saw an early end to her participation in the 3-11 to 3-10 victory last Sunday, Michelle was promising that she and her teammates would take some time to celebrate their historic triumph: “It won’t be just today or tomorrow we’ll be celebrating! We might have a little chat with Kathy and the auld CCC to push the Club championship back a little further. We’re absolutely ecstatic and I can’t wait to get back to Carrick!”

Even now in the interview room under the Cusack Stand, the enormity of what Jonny Garrity’s troops achieved was taking time to sink in! “Oh my God, what a day, I don’t think it has sunk in, I think the whole day has just gone by in absolute bliss, it has just flew by. I was told by people who had played in Croke Park before that the day will fly by, just enjoy every bit of it and by God, I did. 

“My heart was in my mouth more times, especially sitting on the sideline for the last ten minutes - that was the toughest part of the game but it was just a brilliant feeling, I can’t put it into words.”

Once more Michelle highlighted the role played by Leitrim’s defence as she admitted that the final moments were nerve-wracking: “We like to keep it interesting! Even in Croke Park, we still like to keep it interesting. We knew Tyrone were going to have their purple patch but it was up to us to make sure that we were resilient enough to push off against it but the defensive system was brilliant. 

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“Tyrone had a good few wides and they will say they had the chances but it came down to the pressure that was put on them by the Leitrim defence. The pressure those girls put on was phenomenal, that makes us better forwards because we’re training with that every day of the week.

“We know the pressure they can put on you and that puts us into perspective of what we’re going to come up against - if you can get by our defenders, you can get by any other team in the Intermediate championship.”

The Leitrim captain also had special words for Glencar Manorhamilton duo Muireann Devaney and Ailbhe Clancy: “Muireann, we knew if we gave the ball in one-on-one, we knew she’d win it, she is just a phenomenal player. We had players coming off her, scoring players, Muireann might have only got a point but what she set up was phenomenal. 

“She won frees, she gave out passes that others popped over the bar, she won the penalty Ailbhe put away, she did her job and she is a phenomenal player and so is Ailbhe Clancy.”

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Most of all, Sunday was the culmination of a lifelong dream for Michelle: “I have been playing a long time, I’ve dreamed of this moment since 2007 when I saw Sinead Brennan lift that Cup and I’ve been playing since I was 16 in 2009. Even previous managers texted me over the last few days wishing us good luck. The build up to it has been phenomenal but today is the cherry on top.”