'A medal that we were searching for for quite some time' - Nicola Ward

Centre half-back savours long-awaiting All-Ireland title with Galway

By Kevin Egan

THERE'S seven minutes left, and Síofra O’Shea has just fisted over a point to put Kerry two points up. On the next attack, Galway take possession, and it’s Nicola Ward who carries the ball forward from midfield. Even before the centre-back reaches the 45-metre line, there’s an audible noise all across the stadium in Croke Park, as if there is recognition that the ball is in the hands of someone who wants to change the game.

The collective gasp of over 26,000 people proves to be prescient. Ward drives right in to play in Leanne Coen, and what results is the goal that changes the 2026 All-Ireland senior final and puts the Tribeswomen back on course to win the Brendan Martin Cup.

After the game, Nicola puts into words the feeling that rippled across Croke Park at that moment, saying, “If we were playing a team and winning by 20 points, you probably wouldn't see me as much. But when there's something that needs to be done, I definitely like to think I'm someone who will step up.”

But then, stepping up in the heat of battle is one thing. Adrenaline is slowing freely, and the natural competitive instinct that lives within each of the 30 players that’s out on the hallowed surface at the time means that every player is pushing their body and their mind to the limit at that time.

The time when stepping up is more difficult, but when it arguably is even more consequential, is away from the limelight, and removed from the white heat of championship battle. When you’ve been knocked back down to square one, and it’s about beginning all over again – and Ward still remembers that feeling from two years ago, when they came off clearly second best to Kerry in the decider two years ago.

“Yeah, I suppose in 2024, it was our first year with the new management and we probably overachieved,” she reflects.

“People probably didn't think that we would get to the All-Ireland final and beating Dublin that day was a massive achievement for us, backing it up then beating Cork in the semi-final.

“But our performance on the day in 2024 just wasn't good enough, you could see that Kerry were much stronger than us, much fitter and they were just way more physical.

“Again (last year), we were really, really close and really unfortunate. If we had beaten Dublin that day and held on to the ball in the last 30 seconds, we could be standing here with the second All-Ireland medal. So this year you're repeating, learning from the mistakes that you made the previous two years, building on our forward play and defensive play.”

But once again, the topic of personal responsibility is very much to the fore. Ward wanted to be the driver of positive change, and she knew that started with a cold hard look at everything, including herself.

“I remember last year after we lost, taking down all the notes on my phone. I probably still have them on it to be honest, writing down all the stuff that went wrong on the day and probably stuff that we did have to work on from last year, as well as stuff that I wanted to work on myself.

“Myself and Louise (her sister) met Daniel (Moynihan) as well towards the end of last year and we just went through a few bits from both sides. So you do definitely sit down and reflect on it, because you have to learn from your mistakes. If you see something that you think needs changing, you have to say it, you have to take action, or it won't change.”

When she breaks down some of the aspects that were highlighted for improvement, it’s easy to see why she so regularly looked to drive forward, break tackles and create overlaps in Croke Park on Sunday.

“I think, probably, last year our attack play was quite slow,” she observed. “We have a lot of fast players, players that can break lines, and you probably could see that there today, we were doing that. All across the last few matches, from all the forwards and the half-back line, midfielders, everyone's able to break lines.

“Then there was our game management as well, that let us down in the last while. We worked on different scenarios in training, what to do if you're a point up or a point down, or when to change kick-out routines. There are a lot of different aspects that go into reflecting on a campaign.”

Another key part of the reflection process was what she perceived as a need to exploit the pre-existing tightness of a group that has evolved together, but that started with a host of blood ties to ensure they are even more connected than the most cohesive of county teams.

“There's about seven sets of sisters on the team, which is a bit mad. It really feels like we have that club element to it as well. It all brings the team closer in that regard. So it just felt different this year,” was her assessment.

“We were a lot closer and we were working a lot harder for each other. A score against one of us was a score against the team and it didn't matter who was doing the scoring down the other end as well, what mattered was we were putting in really big performances in all our matches. Then today, it was just about really getting over the line and getting the medal, it doesn't matter really how we did win it.”

As she prepared to make her way to the All-Ireland winners banquet, safe in the knowledge this group would be All-Ireland winners forever more, Ward was able to acknowledge that while the achievement was momentous and historic, the match was not a reflection of the type of spectacle that both Galway and Kerry are capable of producing.

“It probably wasn't the prettiest of wins, but we won and we got over the line and that was the main thing,” she beamed.

“It's a medal that we were searching for for quite some time. I didn't think it would take this long, but we eventually got there and it's very sweet.

“There's an awful lot of girls there that have soldiered; myself, Louise, Olivia, Róisin Leonard, Sarah Lynch, we’ve all been on the panel since 2013, 2014, or a few years before. So I'm thrilled for all those girls, and slightly jealous of the girls who are in their first year or two in the panel and they get an All-Ireland medal, because there was a lot of work put into it!

“But we'll definitely enjoy whatever comes with this, because it's been a long time coming.”