Kildare captain Grace Clifford heaps praise on her manager after All-Ireland win

Kildare captain Grace Clifford hailed the role of Diane O’Hora and her management team in their incredible 2023 exploits after The Lilies defeate Clare in the TG4 Intermediate final in Croke Park on Sunday. A year that saw Clifford lift three trophies as Kildare won every competition they entered.

She said, “We had Diane in with us last year as a selector, so we had a flavour of what she is about. A lot of the coaching side is male dominated and it isn’t about gender but to have a female who has done it all, she has walked the steps of the Hogan Stand, won All-Ireland’s with her county (is great).

“She has a wealth of experience playing and then also a lot of experience in management, you can’t buy that, you can’t buy someone who has done it before. When you have someone telling you what to do, when they have done it, you can really buy into it in that sense.

“It’s been pretty inspirational to have her and she’s been driving us all year to our limits. There is a lot of give and take with her, it’s been fantastic to have her involved in the team. The likes of Con (Brennan) and Brian (Noonan) too, it's a real team effort in the coaching team, she is heading it but the people in the background are making it all happen as well.”

The idea of the coaching team being very much a collective effort is a sentiment that has been reiterated by the manager herself throughout their time together this year. O’Hora has given huge credit to her management team, and little taken for herself at times, when discussing the success of her side in post-match interviews across her time in charge.

Clifford, who missed Kildare’s 2016 All-Ireland Intermediate final win due to injury, got to basque in the full glory as captain seven years on with this win in Croke Park.