‘I’m the same as everyone else’ - Orlagh on captain’s role
By Kevin Egan
Offaly captain at minor level while making her senior debut the same year, it was always on the cards that Orlagh Phelan would take the armband for the Offaly senior camógs at some stage in her career.
The Naomh Bríd player was still something of a surprise choice for the captaincy this year, given that she will still be eligible for the U-23 grade in 2027, but that was only outside the dressing room. Inside the sanctity of the group she is universally respected and popular, on the pitch she has naturally matured into a taliswoman, and off it she is the ideal ambassador for Offaly camogie – clearly revelling in the joy of representing her county.
“Sure, how wouldn't you feel fantastic?” she says, beaming.
“Look, there's a great buzz around and it's really exciting, it's brilliant for Offaly camogie,” as she speaks to the Offaly Independent at the media briefing in advance of Sunday’s All-Ireland final. For Phelan, her role is strictly administrative, it doesn’t affect her style of play in the slightest.
“The captaincy, I adapted this thing that I'm the same as everyone else. Obviously, with captaincy comes other roles. You have to lead in training, lead in how you approach things and lead on the field. But at the end of the day, I'm the same as everyone else, everyone is here to win, we’re all here to get on the starting 15 and to win games.”
Did she consider that preparing for a possible All-Ireland final speech might be part of her role this year?
“I suppose it's always in the back of your mind. You start the year out with setting goals for yourself and I think the end goal was to win an All-Ireland final. And I think we got that off to a good start with the league win being the foundation for the year,” she replies.
“The whole year, and I think any camogie player can reflect on this, it brings ups and downs. Obviously we won the league, we were on such a high and then we played Wexford and we lost that match, we didn’t perform like we’d hoped. Then Antrim beat us in the first round of the championship and I suppose they were the lows then, but I always knew in the back of my head that yes, we can do this, we're well capable of doing it.”
Her memories of the semi-final in Newbridge are simple. Whatever else happens, hold the line, was the motto.
“I just wanted to get the ball and puck it as far away as I could. You’re aware of the time that's ticking, of the scoreboard, that they were coming closer to us, but you have to block that out because that could take over and that could bring nerves.
“In my head it was get the ball and get it out, don't foul, do the basic things. But I watched back the match two nights ago and even knowing the result, watching it was so stressful. I just said to Mam and Dad, like it must have been the worst game to watch ever.”
Worth it for the result though? “Oh God, I don't know if I can deal with the nerves of a one-point game again. Look, we're going to put the head down. We don't know what Sunday will bring, but we know our own strengths. And I think if we could do it comfortably, that's obviously going to be our goal. But Kerry are a good side. We're going to just go out and do our best and I think it's going to come down to the team that wants it more and we just have to make sure we’re that team.”