NINE years on from being a part of the Down squad which won the All-Ireland Intermediate title in 2014, the circumstances are different for Clara Mulvenna this Sunday, but she’ll be hoping that the result is the same.
It will be the Junior Championship title up for grabs this time around when Down face Limerick, but the importance of the game and the occasion remains unquestioned. Furthermore, for many of the Mourne side, it will be their first game in Croke Park – which brings its own challenges.
Mulvenna is one of the players in that category. As a teenager, she was an unused substitute as Down steamrolled Fermanagh in 2014 and hasn’t been back to play at Headquarters since.
A lot can happen in nine years. In that time, Mulvenna has represented Northern Ireland at international level, studied in Liverpool John Moore’s University, and has lived in Dubai for a spell.
Now aged 26, she is one of the key players in the side and is finally primed to make her Croke Park debut.
“You can’t really compare Croke Park to anywhere else,” she said.
“You see it on TV, you go on the tour, or go to watch other games there, but to put yourself in it is entirely different. It’s about not overthinking it.
“At the end of the day, it’s still just one game, it’s still 15 on 15; you really just have to simplify it. You want to take in the occasion and enjoy it, but not be fearful of your surroundings.
“I think nerves are normal. It shows that you care and that it’s something you’re passionate about. It’s always possible for nerves to creep in, in a final, but we hope that after the first five or 10 minutes that it’s out of the system and we can push on.”
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Mulvenna’s role in the team has changed now, and although she doesn’t like to hear words like ‘veteran’ or ‘old’, the younger players will be looking to her for experience and leadership.
“When people say 26, they are referring to me as being one of the older players! But I still think ‘no I’m not’,” she said.
“Am I in my prime? I would probably think so. I have that bit of experience behind me, and I still think that I have another few years ahead of me. But having the younger players in really pushes you on too.”
From the outset of the season, Down’s goal was to get straight back up to Intermediate grade after they suffered relegation last year, and they are now one step away from doing that.
Mulvenna wasn’t a part of the squad in 2022, so didn’t experience the woes of last year. Nor did the management team of Peter Lynch and Caoibhe Sloan, who returned for a second term at the beginning of the season.
The duo also brought in two stalwarts of Down football in Kevin McKernan and Mark Poland as members of the backroom team, and the quartet have ensured a level of harmony in the squad.
“It has been a really enjoyable year,” said Mulvenna.
“The vibe in the camp has been really good and really strong all year. It’s nice to have Peter and Caoibhe back because they’re familiar faces, and having the new aspect of Kevin and Mark has been really exciting, because they bring new ideas and the girls have latched onto them.
“We have been playing some really good stuff this year and we have been getting the wins - that’s always when you enjoy it the most.
“I have said all year that we are like a club team because everyone gets on so well. We have a core group of girls who have been playing together now for five or six years, as well as a mix of older and younger girls, so the group is tight knit.”
They may have promotion in their sights, but Sunday’s opponents Limerick will be anything but pushovers.
The two sides met five weeks ago in the group stage, with Down pulling away in the second half to win 1-13 to 1-8.
That game has allowed the two sides to get to know each other a little bit, and Mulvenna says that Down are in for a ‘huge challenge’ this weekend.
“We know that this is going to be a huge task. Limerick are a great side,” said the Rostrevor player.
“They’re strong, athletic and fit, so we’re not taking anything lightly – this is going to be a huge challenge.
“We know that we were going to be facing a different Limerick this time around. We have all been in football long enough to know that no result is ever set in stone.
“I think we have all parked that first game in our minds, and this is a fresh slate.”
