Caoimhe aiming to ‘foster the emotions’ on big stage

By Kevin Egan

When you work in an industry like sports media, you tend not to need any reminders of how trivial your career is, relative to some of the truly important and serious work that takes place all around our communities every day.

If there’s an entrance exam into Heaven, or whatever your own happy afterlife might be, then there won’t be a lot of extra credit awarded for having a slightly deeper pool of colourful analogies to dip into when describing someone kicking the ball at a set of posts. But that’s fine too, it’s still a grand way to live, and all the other bridges will be crossed when we get to them.

But if a reminder was ever needed that there are plenty out there who do a lot more of the heavy lifting in society, a quick chat with Caoimhe Lennon would tick the box.

The Clann na nGael and Roscommon forward is a dietician in the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar, working on the paediatric ward, and if you don’t know straight away what that means in terms of the people who are most likely to be in her care, then you’re a happier person for not having that knowledge.

There are jobs that take a toll on the mind, and there are jobs that take a toll on the body. In Caoimhe’s case, there are days when a job like that takes a toll on the soul, and all this reporter can do to put to into context is to ask how she manages to put that behind her to focus on something as simple as a training session, or a Friday night challenge match.

Yet it’s with complete sincerity that she says “the training days and match days do help if you do have a bad day, but overall, it's no more than anyone else having a bad day or a tough time at work”.

This isn’t the first time in the conversation that her boundless positivity comes to the fore.

Completely lacking imagination, another softball question gets knocked right out of the park – will she get excited about Sunday’s All-Ireland final, or will she treat it like just another game?

“Is it any different? This is what I have dreamed of since I could honestly kick a ball in front of my foot!”

Fair. I make a mental note to scratch that particularly foolish question from my usual repertoire.

“Now, at the end of the day, it is a match. You have to enjoy the experience, and take it in,” she explains.

“But I want to foster the emotions and use it to help you come out of your shell, as opposed to going back into your shell. We're playing in Croke Park, it's phenomenal! Getting there is a massive achievement in itself but when you are there and there’s a trophy to be won, getting there is just not enough.”

A talented underage player with club and county, a combination of injuries and studying in Scotland meant that it was only when she was in her mid-twenties that Lennon got the chance to make a meaningful run at county football. Coming from the heart of Clann country in Taylorstown, however, it felt appropriate that pulling on the county jersey was part of her journey, since football was an intrinsic part of family life from a young age, and still is, as much as ever.

“We've grown up in a house where the dinner table chat is football, whether it's a post-match analysis that you don't want to hear, or if it's football, any age, any club, any competition, you know, we've probably talked about it. A shout out to my dad (Tom), who got to five All-Irelands, and my mam (Áine) is the FLO (football liaison officer) for the team, and she’s everyone’s mammy, mine included! I think I’m her favourite though!”

You’d hope, but such is the love that’s felt for Áine all across the group, with her name popping up in several pre-match conversations, there’s lots of this Roscommon panel who’d be happy to put their hand up to be another family member.

But in all these dinner table conversations, particularly since she joined the intermediate county panel, did Caoimhe Lennon ever believe that this day in Croke Park would come?

“You can be told this for so long, but until you actually see things happening, and see things fall into place, it's hard to believe it, so hopeful is the word,” is her typically thoughtful response.

“In the Cavan game, we saw that we could play. Then the Down game, we did play, and it paid off. Then Leitrim, Westmeath, we did it again, so as you do well, and as you play the way you train, those hopes become realism. And here we are!”