More lows than highs in 2023

Looking back over a year gone by for an end of year review sometimes catches you by surprise; events or people that slipped your mind are there in black and white and suddenly your memory is jolted and you’re transported back in time, remembering both the highs and lows of the Leitrim sporting year.

The highs in 2023 were as high as anything we’ve ever experienced - Ballinamore’s epic All-Ireland Semi-Final & Connacht Final victories rank up there with the very best while the jolt of electricity Ronan Kennedy caused to crackle around  Pairc Sean  in October will be remembered for many years to come.

Eilish O’Dowd’s exploits brought a warm glow to the heart of this exiled Dub as Dublin Ladies won the All-Ireland while the individual exploits of Liam Cox, albeit in a  non-competitive sense, and Ricki Wynne among the burgeoning exploits of our rugby stars in Gerard Murtagh & Diarmuid O’Connell, the continued excellence on the soccer fields of Eanna Clancy, Dearbhaile Beirne, Niall Morahan and Muireann Devaney and the swimmers of the county again reinforced the notion that Leitrim is not just a monopolistic gaelic games county.

Willie Donnellan's highs and lows from Leitrim's 2023 sporting year

THE LAST POINT

Those were all incredible highs but the GAA remains at the heart of this county and it is why when I look back at 2023, I see the lows more readily than the highs and that probably is why I say we saw more lows than highs in 2023. So after Willie Donnellan’s musings last week (which I know went down a bomb particularly with his Rossie friends!), here are my thoughts on Leitrim’s 2023 Sporting year!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

Several and in no particular order ....

• Everton somehow managing to stay in the Premier League by the skin our teeth and how they've reacted to the ten point FFP deduction this season - typical blue nose bloodymindedness!
• Ronan Kennedy's man of the match display is the county final is the stuff you expect of Hollywood screenwriters!
• Dublin v Monaghan - my Dad hails from the stony grey soil of the Farney County and some of my early games in Croke Park were supporting Monaghan as much as the Dubs. The game was a special occasion for all of us Connollys - even with Dad's divided loyalties!
• Gaelic Park online! I didn't get to the Big Apple last April but watching the game on the computer screen and texting with Willie Donnellan while he was  in The Bronx along with colleagues back here at home, I felt I was there as a match thousands of miles away united so many Leitrim people all over the world at the ungodly hour of 1am on an Easter Saturday night.
• The noise that erupted when Aoibheann Flynn goaled for Ballinamore in the All-Ireland Semi Final - ear shattering!

LOWLIGHT OF THE YEAR

Everyone naturally picks out Leitrim's loss in New York but for me,  the sequence of defeats over the space of four weeks in late March, early April was like getting four whacks in the stomach week after week. Andy Moran's side suffered greatly - promotion was snatched from their grasp by two late Sligo points in March but worse was to follow in New York as the pressure seemed to get to the Green & Gold, wasting a host of goal chances before New York won on penalties.

Leitrim's hurlers battled with every fibre of their being only to lose out by a point nearly nine minutes into added time in the Division 3B League Final while the Ladies footballers  saw their promotion hopes torn asunder by a brilliant Antrim in the Division 4 Final. Add into all that the debacle over the U20 footballers when Barry McNulty was pulled from the squad on the day of the game with Galway there for the taking - that definitely left a sour taste.

Hard to beat that four week spell as a lowlight but I've got to add that the attempts to remove Leitrim and a few other counties from League hurling, all in the name of cost cutting, comes a pretty close second!

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

Muireann Devaney's continued excellence in two sports - I didn't see much of her playing with Athlone Town but there is no single player in Leitrim football, men or ladies, who can single-handedly take a game by the scruff of its neck and bend it to their will in the way Muireann routinely does. To be honest, I sometimes wonder if Muireann should head to Oz because I imagine her being an unstoppable force in the AFLW.

TEAM OF THE YEAR

It can only be Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins Ladies. They rode their luck at times but if ever a team epitomised spirit and never say die guts, it was the Ballinamore women. Of course, I have to mention the Dubs winning the football double too!

PERSON THAT MADE ME GO WOW IN 2023

I was going to go with Faith Kipyegon who set three incredible world records last Summer but I don't think anything caused me to go wow more than hearing that Stephen Cluxton was back with the Dubs.  At his age and with his day seemingly done, it is astounding that Cluxton could come back. Yet he did and joined a very select group with  James McCarthy & Mick Fitzsimons in becoming the first players to win nine All-Ireland SFC medals! 

ONE THING I’D DO TO MAKE SPORT BETTER IN 2024

If there is one thing that gets on my goat, it is simulation or diving, a real curse in many sports  - I find it hard to believe nowadays when any player goes down injured if they are truly injured or merely trying to con the ref and get an opponent booked or sent off! Many accept it as part of the game but if I had my way, there'd be cards or fines for the amateur theatrics brigade that blight sport nowadays. 

PJ Leddy's highs and lows of Leitrim's sporting year in 2023

WHAT ARE THE BIG CHALLENGES FACING LEITRIM SPORT IN 2024?

Coaching and facilities - two issues that go hand in hand as you won't progress without either quality facilities or coaches who can impart the skills of any  sport in young players, a foundation sadly often neglected in the headlong rush to win here and now rather than emphasising a long term vision that will bring about  a lifetime's involvement in sport!

ONE TO WATCH IN 2024

It's not original but I'm not sure Irish athletics has ever seen anyone like Rhasidat Adeleke - there is no guarantee the Tallaght runner will medal at the Paris Olympics but we genuinely haven't seen anyone like her since the days of Sonia. There is a lot of pressure on her but from what little I know of her, if anyone can meet those expectations, Adeleke certainly can! Also got to mention honorary Leitrim man Dean Clancy - experts more knowledgeable than me give him a real chance of claiming gold in Paris - what a story that would be!