Holton and Moolick rejoice- "We’ve been 14 years on the road and we weren’t going to leave this one behind us"

12 years is a long time in football, and most players can only dream of spending that length of time togging out for their county, so the joy on Aisling Holton’s face as she greeted the media after captaining her side to All-Ireland glory more than a decade on from winning her first All-Ireland medal was plain to see. The Balyna club star was superb in the final, kicking two points at vital stages to help Kildare come out on the right side of an enthralling encounter with Clare, and she was taking it all in as she spoke about the added drive the likes of herself and fellow stalwarts Maria Moolick and Noelle Earley had this year. Moolick was a pivotal figure towards the latter stages of the game, dropping back to centre-back at times to cover for Ashling Savage who had been sin-binned, while also winning a vital free that Ellen Dowling converted as the game hung in the balance. Holton wasn’t surprised to see the Leixlip woman putting the shoulder to the wheel once again, and she outlined how neither of them had planned on leaving Croke Park with a runner-up medal on Sunday. “That’s something Maria has done throughout the championship,” she said of Moolick helping out in defence. “In the Leitrim game she went back to play full-back and there was nothing about it. She just went back, put the head down and did a serious job. Maria has given serious service to the cause, and that was one thing we spoke about ourselves. We’ve been 14 years on the road and we weren’t going to leave this one behind us.” Holton covered every blade of Croke Park sod in an all-action display, and her two second half points that kicked Kildare into the lead at vital moments were especially pivotal. Asked if she had any nerves in taking on those shots, the primary school teacher at Brannoxtown NS had a typically modest answer. “Well I kicked a few wides as well, so I knew I had to get those over. We were just focusing on the next ball. We spoke about that at half-time, it was just all about the next ball and what we could do to drive ourselves over the line. Coming up towards the end it was just all about winning the ball, and we weren’t thinking about anything else,” she remarked. Kildare have constantly surged into first half leads throughout the 2016 championship, only to somehow or another let teams back in. The experience of being able to sting the opposition’s momentum and wrestle back control is something they’re used to though. “Even when we went to extra-time against Sligo there was a calmness that came over the team, and knowing you have the work done and you have it in the legs- we have so much work done in Hawkfield and running on the hills of the Curragh-we were so well prepared. Alan and the lads had us so well prepared, they left nothing for chance and that gives you confidence,” she said. There were times where they rode their luck though, and had it not been for some inspirational moments of goalkeeping from Mary Hulgraine, the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup could be sitting in a hotel in Ennis right now. Her saves earned her the Player of the Match award, but the team captain says it was no surprise to see her pull them off. “I think we just have such confidence in Mary. When she pulls off these saves, we see her doing it three times a week up in Hawkfield, it’s not a shock to us. We have confidence in her ability. But the saves she pulled off, it was great for everyone to see what she can do. The same with Trina Duggan. The same with all the backs, there was just serious tackling going in.” The win means that Kildare go up to the Ladies All-Ireland Senior Championship, and that will be another step up in class for this young Kildare side. Holton has been on the road for a long time, and while she won’t decide on whether or not to commit to another year of playing county football after giving so much to the cause, she feels that the younger girls will embrace the step up. “These girls coming up behind us, they know what it is to win, they know what it takes now. They’ve been through defeat last year and a lot of them gained an awful lot of experience from that. I have no doubt that the future of Kildare ladies football is very bright with those girls at the back of it.” Asked if she is tempted to play on through 2017, she said she will just enjoy the celebrations for now and make that decision later. “Look, there’s always a bit of temptation, but I’ll take tonight and enjoy this win and we’ll see what happens after that, but you know, it has been a long time.”