Up until now a Longford club has never made it to All-Ireland final day, in men's or women's football. That is set to change on December 10th when the Longford Slashers come up against Mullinahome of Tipperary on the hallowed turf of Croke Park in the All-Ireland Intermediate Final.
The Slashers have been on a remarkable rise. Since 2017 they have gone from the junior ranks in Longford to winning four consecutive senior county titles. The ladies team was only reactivated in 2013 after a significant dormant period. Prior to 2019, the club had only won the Longford senior title once back in 1983.
The highlight of the club's success to date came last weekend when on home turf at Michael Fay Park they saw off the challenge of Charlestown from Mayo, winning by four points to reach next month's decider.
"It's actually incredible, I can't even describe it," an elated Conor Clarke, the side's manager, tells Balls.ie.
"People are saying it to me all day and I just can't believe it.
"I can't believe that it's actually the truth and it's happening."
There was joyous scenes at the full-time whistle as the players and management team realised what they had made history.
"We heard that we'd be the first Longford club but we didn't really want to play into it too much.
"It's a nice feeling," Clarke adds.
"There's a picture of me hugging one of the lads (Gerry Shannon) who was on the sideline with me.
"Gerry is also the father of three of the girls.
"In the picture itself you can just see me and I'm roaring.
"It's an emotion that if you could just bottle it and sell it you'd be a millionaire, it was incredible."
Clarke, who is a Geography and Politics teacher in St. Mel's College in the town, has played an integral role in getting his team to where they are today.
"We've won four in a row in Longford and every year you ask the girls to go back, you look for a bit more off them hunger wise and there's just been improvement all the time," he says.
"Last year we got to a Leinster final and we learned a lot from losing.
"The will and love that the girls have for both the club and each other is just amazing."
As Clarke alludes to, the Slashers learned a lot from last year's provincial final defeat to St. Sylvesters.
"After the loss, in one sense you're disappointed but in another sense you see how close you are.
"That St. Sylvester's team were excellent with some unbelievable Dublin stalwarts.
"This year has been such a roller coaster in ways simply because we went through a league campaign where teams were turning us over.
"There was a lot of worrying times but timing is everything in football and in life and I think we just timed it to perfection.
"We clicked into gear in the championship semi-final in Longford and we've gone from strength to strength since.
Longford Slashers defeated Skryne of Meath by four points to advance to the All-Ireland series.
Manager Clarke praises commitment of Longford Slashers team
Clarke is full of praise for his players citing their commitment as one of the driving factors behind their success.
"Three nights a week in Longford we're getting numbers of 25 to 30 at training.
"Clare Farrell our wing back is the head nutritionist with Munster Rugby and she's coming up and down from Limerick, making that effort," he reveals.
"She's trying to juggle not only a job but she's with a professional team and then coming back up to us.
"Our captain Aisling Cosgrove is doing a Masters down in Limerick and she's coming up three times a week.
"We've girls up and down from Dublin and in fairness to them there's no excuses, they are never looking for outs.
"They're always there, always present and always accountable.
Having made it to the final attention has now quickly turned to that game.
"We'll look at the opposition and get nuggets of information to the girls to get them prepared.
"You're not going to reinvent the wheel this week or next week.
"We're just going to keep doing what we're doing and make sure that they're recovered so that come December 10th they're ready to hit the ground running."
Winning the All-Ireland title would be the perfect Christmas present for the Longford girls.
"I think it would mean absolutely everything," Clarke admits.
"I can't give you a phrase that would sum it all up, it would just mean so much to so many people in the club.
"Traditionally our club, Slashers, were a men's football team.
"The ladies team was just brought back from the dormant years.
"Everyone in the town of Longford has got behind it and it's became so much more than just a ladies team.
"We're a whole club now and a whole town united under the one banner.
"To win it would be like Santy coming early."
For Clarke and his Longford Slashers team the dream of winning an All-Ireland is now within touching distance. The opportunity to walk up the steps of the Hogan Stand is now just sixty minutes away.
Main image: 27 Shannon, left, and Lara O'Connor of Longford Slashers celebrate after the CurrentAccount.ie LGFA All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship Semi-Final match between Longford Slashers and Charlestown, Mayo, at Michael Fay Park in Farneyhoogan, Longford. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Photo of Conor Clarke by Frank McGrath. You can view Frank's photos on Facebook and Instagram
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