Camogie champion Katie Nolan leading Kilkenny club to football All-Ireland

SHE HAS TASTED All-Ireland success as a camogie player in the recent past. Now, Katie Nolan will be hoping to claim national honours with the footballers of Muckalee in Parnell Park tomorrow afternoon.

A star of the small ball game in the colours of St Martin’s, Nolan won an All-Ireland intermediate camogie crown with Kilkenny in 2016 before starting at left-corner forward when the Cats secured senior championship titles in 2020 and 2022.

Last Sunday week, she also donned the number 15 jersey and scored 1-4 as Muckalee defeated Menlough-Skehana at the semi-final stage of the AIB All-Ireland junior club football championship.

As a result, the Noresiders have progressed to this weekend’s decider against Kerry’s Cromane. Having already made history as the first side from Kilkenny to qualify for an All-Ireland club ladies football final, Nolan acknowledged it would be a massive achievement for Muckalee to go another step further in Parnell Park.

“It would be huge. It would go down in history in our club. There’s so many people getting so much enjoyment out of the last few weeks. People that are so passionate about football, but also just hurling, camogie, GAA, whatever. As long as it’s Muckalee or St Martin’s involved, they’re always at the matches,” Nolan said.

“It’s as much for them that we’d like to do it as ourselves. Like that, an All-Ireland final with your club, it would be just magical. Not many clubs win a county final, never mind a Leinster final and get to an All-Ireland final.

“We know we’re lucky, but we also know we have a job to do and we are capable of doing it. There’s a great buzz around the place. Everyone can’t wait. They’re counting down the days now at this stage.”

Since emerging as senior county champions within Kilkenny back in late September, Muckalee have gone on to claim some significant scalps on their way to tomorrow’s All-Ireland final.

After kick-starting their provincial campaign with a commanding win over St Martin’s of Wexford, Pat McDowell’s side also overcame St Mochta’s (Louth) and Raheny (Dublin) in advance of defeating St Colmcille’s (Meath) in a Leinster junior championship decider on November 8.

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An All-Ireland junior championship quarter-final followed against London outfit St Kiernan’s, and their memorable club odyssey continued with that last-four victory over Menlough/Skehana.

Whereas they played at the National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown either side of facing St Colmcille’s in the Westmeath venue of Coralstown/Kinnegad, Muckalee were in the fortunate position of being able to lock horns with Menlough/Skehana on their home patch.

This already made it a day to remember for the club, but things got even better for Nolan and her teammates when they emerged on the right side of a 3-6 to 1-4 final scoreline.

“That probably will never, ever happen again in any match I’ll be playing in. First of all, that you have the choice that it could be home or away, and then to actually get the home venue. It’s definitely unique.

“I think our supporters knew that as well and they definitely all got out on the day and supported us. Which is really nice to see as well.

“I don’t think that will ever happen again, an All-Ireland semi-final in Muckalee. Special, special times.”

While this weekend’s opponents, Cromane, are the latest team looking to halt their march – and are on an impressive journey of their own – Nolan and Muckalee are in a positive mood heading into tomorrow’s showdown.

“All of these clubs from these counties, football is very strong in those counties. In Kilkenny, it is strong, but it’s probably not in some ways as strong or as big. Well, not yet anyway. The fact that we’re playing against these counties and still holding our own, it’s a nice achievement.

“We’re ready to drive on again. We know we’re facing Kerry, but nothing has fazed us so far. We’ll just go out and do our usual thing and see what happens.”

When you consider how strong hurling and camogie is within the county, it undoubtedly comes as a boost for Gaelic football in Kilkenny that Muckalee have managed to break new ground and progress to an All-Ireland showpiece.

Nolan is a strong believer that there are a number of clubs on the Noreside that are more than capable of performing in the provincial and national grades, and she is optimistic Muckalee’s run can show the season doesn’t just end with the county championship.

“Within Kilkenny itself, there’s great club teams in it and we always have tough matches in Kilkenny each year. Whoever wins the county final within Kilkenny has a great chance of going a bit further. We’re good enough to be representing Kilkenny in Leinster and beyond. Not just for Muckalee, but for all clubs in Kilkenny, it’s an eye opener in that anything is possible.”

Currently in her second year as an additional educational needs teacher at Presentation Secondary School in Kilkenny, Nolan’s own second-level education was in Castlecomer Community School. She stood out as a camogie player there, although she had previously combined the small and big ball games to telling effect as a primary school student at Scoil Molaise, Old Leighlin, over the border in Carlow.

She even played on the club scene in the O’Hanrahan County during this period and Nolan believes she is currently reaping the benefits of such an early exposure to Gaelic football.

“Down there [Scoil Molaise], camogie and football was half and half. There wasn’t really one stronger than the other. I would have played a bit of football then with Michael Davitts, which would have been the club team down there. That was a mixture of boys and girls. That definitely stood to me as well,” Nolan added.

“When I got older then, that’s when I was going to secondary school in Castlecomer. That’s when things shifted to more camogie. I was based in County Kilkenny, it’s where my address is. The camogie probably got a little bit more serious then, but back in primary school, I definitely learnt the basics of football. That is standing to me now.”