GAELIC LIVES PODCAST

Aishling Sheridan is the guest on the Gaelic Lives podcast which will be posted to our site on Friday

By Niall Gartland

AISHLING Sheridan was having the time of her life down under playing Aussies Rules football with Collingwood, but in these perilous times she’s just happy to be back home in her native Cavan with her friends and family.

Sheridan signed an AFLW contract with Collingwood last summer, and her efforts on the training pitch were rewarded when she made her debut in February.

Unfortunately, she’s had to come home a little earlier than planned due to the Coronavirus outbreak, but at the same time she’s thankful she wasn’t left stranded in Australia or left facing an extortionate bill to get back home.

“I basically got an emergency flight. It was a massive panic and almost happened overnight.

“Emirates had pulled all their flights so I had to go to Sydney to go to Darwin to go to London, and then finally I got back home.

“I’d a few days to wait beforehand so I was just hoping it wouldn’t get cancelled as you never knew what could happen.

“Needless to say it was very stressful and my poor family didn’t know what to do, but it went ahead. I had to stay in an airplane for 24 hours but at that stage I was just happy to go home.”

It’s difficult to know when society will get back to anything approaching normality, so Sheridan isn’t making any bold predictions about whether there’ll be more Aussie Rules this season.

The AFL is considering a summer season, and the women’s game could potentially follow suit, and in that event she’d likely consider making a return as she’s enjoyed her time down under so much.

“It was an unbelievable experience and there was more to it than people think, you’re getting the chance to work with girls who were involved with different professional sports because netball is so massive over there, you’re learning different leadership qualities, you’re getting the chance to experience the chance of playing the life of being a professional athlete.

“I took home stuff in terms of leadership and how to manage myself and my time and little things like that.

“I took to it quite well but I did a lot of extra work to give myself the best chance. It’s only after a while you understand where you have to be because it is quite technical.”

Don’t be surprised either if Sheridan ends up back in Cavan colours sooner or later as well. She still stays in touch with her former teammates, made easier by the fact she’s now in the same time zone.

“We have Zoom sessions and stuff which is great. I’ve probably been a bit more active in the Whatsapp groups because I’m in the same time zone and don’t wake up to 150 messages every morning and have to try to skim through them. I miss the girls loads and hopefully I’ll be able to see them again soon when everything’s better, and I’m excited to play football with them again.”

She isn’t cooped up twiddling her thumbs at the moment, explaining that she is able to train with her sisters.

“We’re actually having a really good time at home, I’ve three older sisters and we all play football so it’s actually handy to have our own little training sessions, we’re lucky in that sense.

“We’re making the most out of the situation, we’re all healthy and that’s the main thing.”