While Championship is calling for Meath's Emma Duggan, 2024 has already featured some silverware. The two time All-Ireland winner is currently undertaking her final year of undergrad studies at DCU, and she recently captained DCU to the O'Connor Cup title.
Announced as Insomnia brand ambassador last month, Emma Duggan captained the DCU Dóchas Éireann's journey to their O'Connor Cup win in March after a hard-fought battle over UCC led the team to gain their sixth title. The DCU side saw off UCC by 2-16 to 2-14 after extra-time in the final.
Duggan has won a lot in her short career but winning the O'Connor Cup is right up there for her.
Everyone's kind of asking how it compares to everything else I've achieved, but I think it's such a different experience. You're obviously playing with a completely different group of girls, it's a different competition. It's like nothing you've ever really played. The group that we were with this year, it was just such an incredible group. You really just wanted to win for each other. Getting over the line in the way that we did, having to play extra time in both the semi final and final was just brilliant, it made it all worth it in the end.
You're getting the chance to play with girls that you'd usually be playing against and sometimes you have a perception of these girls because you don't know them off the pitch. I've been so lucky to get to know all the girls. There's a huge number of counties represented on the squad and getting to know them all. I don't have bad words to say about any of them, and all of them really are friends for life. It's been the pinnacle of my career nearly to date. It's been absolutely brilliant and I think a lot of the girls are staying around now next year. A couple of the girls have a good chunk left in college. I think once that group sticks together, there's no limit to what they can achieve.
Meath Ladies star Duggan also commented on her former teammate Vikki Wall's journey to the Olympics after departing from the county team to pursue her new career in her new sport. Duggan emphasised the determination Wall holds in all aspects of sport and described the closeness the teammates hold with her, even after she departed from her inter-county career.
Whether Vikki is playing with us or not, she's not going to get rid of me that quickly! She can change sports all she likes! I'd be chatting to Vikki on the regular, and most days really. She's getting on well and she's really enjoying it and obviously her number one focus now at the minute is trying to get on the squad for the Olympics and you know, there's no better woman to do it than Vikki. She's so determined and she works so hard for everything she gets.
We're all fingers crossed for her and she's doing everything she can as well.
Insomnia ambassador and Meath footballer Emma Duggan was speaking at the launch of Insomnia’s 5-year partnership with the GAA/GPA at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
