Elise Bruen was worried but had belief in her Leitrim teammates

As Tyrone launched a ferocious fightback late on in Sunday’s TG4 LGFA All-Ireland IFC Final, Elise Bruen admitted that a moment of worry crossed her mind before her unflinching belief in her teammates banished any doubts that the Mary Quinn Cup was not coming back to Leitrim.

“Ah God, anybody would be worried,” Elise told the Observer when asked if Tyrone’s late surge had her worried but she quickly added “But I knew we had the players on the pitch to do it. I wasn’t too worried, I knew we had the players on the pitch and I knew we could get the job done in the end.”

Part of that was down to the work Leitrim have done on their mental processes and the confidence Elise has in her teammates: “It was nerve wracking being on the pitch but we know not to panic - we’ve been down in games, we’ve been up in games and we know that we can hold the ball.

“We know we have the talent and that we can finish out a game - I know we might have given people heart attacks but we have our own processes - maybe we would have liked it to be a bit more comfortable but we got the job done in the end.”

Even her initial reaction to being asked how it felt to be an All-Ireland champion conveyed Elise’s joy: “I don’t really have any words - just saying Leitrim All-Ireland champions and seeing Gucks lift the Cup, I haven’t stopped smiling!”

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The St Mary’s clubwoman used that phrase “I don’t really have any words” to describe what it was like to play before such a vociferous Green & Gold support, revealing just how much of an impact the Leitrim fans had on the game: “We said at halftime that we needed so much communication because the noise was so massive on the pitch. 

“But to be honest, the lads had us so grounded and when I went out for the warm-up, I was just ‘this is just another game, this is just another pitch’. We acknowledged it, acknowledged the crowd and got stuck in. It was really special but at the end of the day, it was just another pitch, another game and we got the job done.”

Dealing with the noise on the day was one thing, dealing with the excitement of the build up was another but Elise, working in Dublin, revelled in it whenever she could: “I was just excited because I was removed from it up in Dublin. A few people were like how are you feeling but I was just fully excited. I came down at the weekend and it was so nice to see all the colour and all the support but we kept the noise out, like the lads said.”

One final special added moment was the fact that she lined out beside her sister Kasey as well as clubmate Sarah Reynolds in Leitrim’s halfback line: “It was so special, we might have given out to each other a wee bit but it is only because we are so passionate about it and we love the game. 

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“Even playing with Sara, the three of us in the half-back line is so special as well and just when the final whistle goes, going over to Mam and Dad and my sister Lara and all five of us there, it was just really special.”

And just like she had prepared for the game, Elise prepared wisely for after the game! “Celebrate for a while, have a few days booked off work so we’ll use them wisely!”