By Shaun Casey

FOR the second year in a row, and for the second time in their history, Clann Éireann climbed to the top of the mountain and claimed the Ulster Senior Championship title, captained by ace attacker Niamh Henderson.

Henderson created history last year along with her teammates, becoming the first Clann Éireann player to captain a provincial winning team, but to back it up and retain the title shows how much talent is in this team.

They have been the dominant force in the Orchard County for the past number of years, winning three consecutive titles this season, and a number of their players, including Henderson, have starred in the orange and white of Armagh in recent years.

“It’s actually hard to put into words, I don’t even think it’s really sunk in yet,” said Henderson. “It would have been hard to top last year’s final and winning our first ever Ulster. But I think winning it back-to-back is so special because it proves the strength and depth in our squad.

“It wasn’t luck or a fluke last year, we are deserving winners with so many talented players. I’m just really grateful to have been a part of it all and have the opportunity to lift the trophy for a second year. It just was really special, I was absolutely buzzing.”

The Armagh side got off to a flying start, bursting out of the traps in their 2-17 to 2-11 win over Cavan side Lurgan.

“I think it’s had a massive impact, probably over our whole Ulster campaign,” Henderson said of getting out of the blocks sharply.

“In all our matches, we’ve started really well and have been able to put the opposition on the back foot. I think against Lurgan we scored six or seven points in the first 15 or 20 minutes with some unbelievable scores from the likes of Niamh Murray.

“It helped to really settle the nerves for us and they did come back at the end of the second half to put it up to us, but I think it’s harder to be chasing the team from behind, so I think that good start was vital for us.

“We spoke about that before the game, that we wanted to get the first 10 or 15 minutes off to a flying start and we did that, so we’re definitely really happy.”

Gregory McGonigle’s side have shown no signs of slowing down either and the production line in Clann Éireann is well and truly in full flow. The likes of Cassie Henderson, Aoibhinn Donohue and Erin Melanophy have been massive additions.

“They’ve been the making of us probably in the past few years. It was such a special moment to win on Sunday with my niece Cassie, she’s just turned 15 recently and she had a great game, a great game in the semi-final the last day too against Moneyglass.

“Obviously, the likes of Aoibhinn Donohue there, who’s such a talent and just gets up and down the pitch, you can ask anything of her, and she’ll deliver for you. Wee Erin Melanophy came on as a sub and made a great impact with loads of interceptions that were vital. She’s a great talent coming through as well.

“Just having that depth on the bench has been so important, even in terms of training. The intensity and the level of training, everyone is pushing for positions week in, week out, and us older players being kept on our toes.

“It’s been a great year and to have that strength on the bench is something that we probably were missing over the years. To have that now just shows that we’ve got our two Ulster titles and that’s a big reason why.”

It’s on to the All-Ireland series now and Clann Éireann are hoping to go one step further than last year. They fell at the semi-final hurdle 12 months ago, and face a massive test against the All-Ireland champions Kilkeerin-Clonberne of Galway.

“We got that side of the draw, but I think we’ve got the home draw now too,” added Henderson, who picked up the Player of the Match award in the Ulster final. “That’s a great advantage for us having the chance to play an All-Ireland semi-final in Clann Éireann.

“It’s class, so we will just be going into it with the same attitude and mentality and work rate as all the other games. We just want to keep our standards and our performances high and hopefully that will be enough to put it up to them and maybe get the win, you never know.”