There is more to college Football than Football
Talk of matches, trophies and general football talk wasn’t part of the discussion as Emma Duggan reflected on her time with the O’Connor Cup side in DCU Dóchas Éireann. This is surprising considering Emma won three O’Connor Cups in a row, along with four O’Rourke Cups (Division One League title) in that time too, including captaining the 2024 and 2025 successes in MTU Cork and Queens respectively.
Emma reversed back to her time starting as a Fresher in DCU, a mere two weeks after landing the Brendan Martin Cup, as Meath secured a maiden All Ireland Senior success beating a fancied Dublin side. Not too many Freshers land into college with an All-Ireland Senior medal in their back pocket and even fewer after lighting up Croke Park and scoring 1-2 in the final. She admits ‘I didn’t want to come into college, I wanted to keep enjoying the high and living in that bubble. Then I’d to snap back to reality’. Emma had attended the 2018 O’Connor Cup final in Abbotstown, a classic between DCU and UL, where the star forwards like Aishling Maloney (Tipperary), Aishling Sheridan (Cavan), Sarah Rowe (Mayo) and club mate Vikki Wall shone, so she’d built college football up as a result of this, but was unsure of the dynamic of a dressing room with so many great players from different counties. This somewhat put the standard required on a pedestal and there was apprehension going into the O’Connor Cup dressing room where she’d now be team mates with Jennifer Dunne and Niamh ‘Hedgo’ Hetherton, who she’d help beat in the Croke Park encounter weeks previously. She viewed the likes of Jenn Dunne, Maria Reilly (Mayo) and Anna-Rose Kennedy (Tipperary) as ‘the Queens of DCU, as I admired them so much’. Her experience of nervousness going into the team as a Fresher was something that she was acutely aware of when she became captain of the team herself and looked to help players settle into college and living away from home in a new environment.
Emma was quick to point out, the unique dynamic of third level football where rivals at county level become friends in college and perceptions are dispelled. ‘Relationship dynamics and how people get on person to person, or outside of football is crucial. Getting to know the person outside of Football is what connects you. Maybe you do have perceptions of people from playing against them but getting to know their personality, is what really matters. Someone might be really stern or serious when you play against them, but then they’re nothing like that.’ The rivalry Meath have cultivated with Dublin over a period of years, led to maybe external perceptions of players but the friendships with Niamh Crowley and Niamh Donlan and others is so strong. Thus, knowing exactly what the girls are like as people is what counts, but it doesn’t stop them friends across all counties being ‘annoying’, when Emma comes up against them in her Meath jersey.
Emma admitted ‘I took in a lot in my first year in that group, building that connection and culture in the group.’ When she was Captain the likes of Aisling Hanley (Roscommon) and Fionnuala ‘Noodles’ McLaughlin (Mayo) arrived in as Freshers and Emma outlined, ‘I wanted them to feel so comfortable to come to me or be comfortable being themselves in the group and everyone was on par, no better players, no favourites.’
When the infamous ‘Tea & Chats’, which was started by Anna-Rose Kennedy, came up Emma beamed with a smile but it was evident that the sanctity of them chats wasn’t going to be broken. ‘Sometimes when you’re training in them intense environments under Stephen [Duff] or Peter [Clarke], you can’t get to see peoples full personalities. So the casual environment of ‘Tea & Chats’ allowed the chance to slag people and them slag you back. Get to really know people.’ The ‘Tea & Chats’ were inclusive and ‘helped remove cliques, there’s no airs or graces with anyone.’ These social gatherings were only surpassed by the nights out, which gave endless opportunities to slag each other at the next training session. A couple of girls are ‘just stone mad’ and the banter that comes from being normal students is central to it all. ‘Not having any of that would make football too intense and you’d only be talking about football. There needs to be something outside of football.’ The manner in which she accentuated the football really highlights the sport only being a mechanism for them relationships and friendships.
Across the seven teams in DCU Dóchas Éireann and other colleges across the country, these experiences are replicated in many different forms. They are crucial identity and personality forming experiences for young people. As we strive endlessly for success on the field it is important not to lose touch with the vehicle Ladies Football is for life long friendships, personal development and fun in general. This won’t stop Emma competing wholeheartedly for Dunboyne and Meath, but an awareness were it all fits is evident.
