Sarah McKevitt was born and bred in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, a town where the small ball and the GAA reigns supreme.
Despite that, McKevitt is establishing herself as a household name in the Women’s National League, despite the lure of playing GAA for Tipperary.
The former Republic of Ireland U17 international was previously with the all-conquering Peamount United, and also had a stint with Wexford Youths in the meantime.
Since making her senior debut at 16, the 23-year-old has won a league title and an FAI Cup in the senior ranks.
Ladies and gentlemen, Sarah McKevitt. pic.twitter.com/mHurExpBOM
— Will Downing (@WillDowningComm) March 12, 2020
But the former Tipperary minor footballer has had to bide her time to wait for her chance to step up and establish herself as a mainstay in a Women’s National League starting XI, and she looks to have seized that opportunity to do so now with Cork City.
“From a young age I would have played everything,” she said. “I played with Thurles Sarsfields in Gaelic football and Camogie.
During my time in secondary school, I was in a big sporting school [in Thurles]. I would have played a lot through the ranks there as well.
We had a good football side back then in our secondary school which kept the interest going.
I would’ve played with the Munster Interprovincial team, so I got a taste of seeing the standard around the country.
I would’ve started getting trials with the underage international teams [then] and once I was playing with Ireland underage.
Something had to give so I had to give up camogie and football for a while.
Tipperary does not have a League of Ireland club in either the men’s or women’s game, with the GAA ruling the roost in terms of the sporting landscape in the Premier County.
That was, however, no issue to McKevitt who battled though that, earning herself a move to Peamount United as a result.
Sometimes I get questioned on it, why football and not camogie, but everyone in the town would have been quite supportive.
They like to see their own do well, so when I was making all the Ireland and Munster teams, I wasn’t really getting too much of a slagging for not donning a Tipp jersey or hurling.
It has been a good experience anyway.
Sarah McKevitt. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
That, it most certainly has. McKevitt, who’s brother – Matt – also plays senior League of Ireland football for Treaty United, played with several senior Irish internationals during her time while at Peamount. And she feels she is a better player because of it.
It’s different [at Cork]. My main reason for moving club was for gametime. The standard at Peamount is unreal, the subs are as good as the starting players.
You could put any of those players on the starting XI and they’d do very well. I was on the fringes of the team sometimes so if I was giving as much time to the sport as I was I wanted to play.
You don’t realise how lucky you are until you come out of it. I was so privileged to play with the likes of Aine [O’Gorman], Stephanie Roche and Karen Duggan [at Peamount].
When I was younger and if you told me that I’d be training with the likes of Stephanie Roche when I was older, I wouldn’t have believed you.
It’s funny looking back on it now, but from playing with them and seeing how professional they are about things, you are always learning, and it was great to be around them.
Despite a number of issues in recent years, the women’s ranks have witnessed a number of improvements.
Although, the Thurles native knows that there may be a bit of a way to go yet to reach the level it should be at.
It’s come a long way, definitely. Even seeing the SSE Airtricity link up with the National League.
You’re starting to see the equality and the big push coming in, and that’s great.
Even the little things make such a difference in comparison to what it was like a few years ago.
[And] the treatment of the league now compared to my first few years in the league is great.
Sarah McKevitt of Cork City WFC spoke at the launch of SSE Airtricity’s A Common Goal sustainability initiative to help build a more environmentally sustainable football community by uniting clubs, players, and fans. #ACommonGoal.
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