It's pre-season of the 2024 Women’s Premier Division and manager Ciarán Kilduff strolls into the dressing room of his eager Athlone Town squad and asks them one question.
“Hands up if you want to win the league title,” he said.
Naturally, everyone put their hands up.
A second question followed.
“Hands up if you’ve ever won a league title,” he said.
“Nobody put their hand up,” he recalls.
At that point to achieve such a feat was uncharted territory for the Midlands squad - despite the consistent rise they had enjoyed in recent years.
We didn’t have anyone in that dressing room, myself included, who had ever won that league before, so there was an element that we had to build that belief from within that we were capable of breaking that Dublin dominance that had been going on for a couple of years," says Kilduff, a former League of Ireland footballer himself.
If all they needed was self-belief, then the ex-Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers man ensured they had it instilled in them in spades.
Last year’s FAI Cup triumph and the momentum that came with that helped, of course, but what really excelled The Town into that upper echelon of women’s football was a number of factors: Their recruitment; their bond and their ability to overcome adversity.
No matter what obstacle was placed in their path along this season’s windy journey, Athlone continued to back each other to the end; living and dying by the sword with their boots out there on and off the pitch.
Perhaps an example that best demonstrates this is Kellie Brennan’s positional change this season.
A string of injuries throughout the squad to key figures like Chloe Singleton, as well as the departure of notable players such as Casey Howe - who moved to Nottingham Forest - saw Brennan adapt from right-back into a number 10 for the team.
'People were adapting to new positions and stuff… I don’t mind where I play really, whatever position Ciarán sees me as," Brennan said.
Coupled with hard work, that attribute of being willing to do anything for each other certainly served the team well; although it didn’t happen by accident, it was something that had been actively cultivated.
And it’s no wonder when you hear about the effort their captain Laurie Ryan goes to to ensure team morale is kept at an all time high.
A humble and unassuming leader, it’s no surprise to see why her presence catapulted those around her into believing in the project at Athlone.
Captain of Clare LGFA for five years before Tommy Hewitt handed her the armband at the football club during his tenure, the PhD candidate at the University Of Limerick embodies what it means to lead by example, and won’t boast about it either.
'I just really enjoy talking to people and getting on with everyone and that might stand out to people," Ryan said.
"You don’t have to be the best to be a leader, you just have to try and make sure that you see everyone’s point of view and make everyone feel part of it."
How might one do that? Well, sometimes it’s the simple things that really rise to the top in that capacity, and that kindness can come at the bottom of a mug.
'I know our younger girls in Athlone often call over to my house for tea before training. That’s something I felt we had to do to embed them in our group because it’s hard coming up from the U19s to be a part of it but now they’re just one of us."
As Ryan outlines, they’ve broken new ground on many “firsts” at the club in recent years: a first FAI Cup (2023); a first league win (2024); the first team outside of Dublin/Wexford to win the Women’s Premier Division and many more.
While others lie ahead in a first Champions League match and a first shot at retention of their league title, they’ve another attempt at history to come this weekend.
Facing off against Shelbourne for the third successive year in the FAI Cup, Kilduff’s outfit will be out all guns blazing to complete the league and cup double.
With the confidence, trust and determination they have running through their squad, you wouldn't bet against them to achieve that historic feat.
