Tara Little is the longest serving member of the Fermanagh ladies team but it could’ve been a very different weekend ahead for the 34 year-old, had it not been for the encouragement of her husband and Fermanagh Assistant Manager, Aidy Little who told her to give it one last go, this year.

After the disappointment of the All Ireland semi-final defeat last year, the Lisnaskea Emmetts player called it a day on her intercounty career but with some gentle persuasion she rejoined the team later in the league and what a good decision that has turned out to be: “If I was sitting at home now, knowing the girls were in an All Ireland without me, I would have been devastated. When Aidy was asked to come out and help with the team, he was pushing me saying ‘just give it one more year, give it one more year’ and all our ones were like ‘Lord, you’ve all these injuries and you’ve got to think of yourself later on in life’. But I said to myself, it’s one more year, hopefully we’ll get there in the end. People used to say, you’re dreaming to think you’ll get to an All Ireland final but we’re here now and I’m delighted I stuck at it. To win now would just be fantastic and it would be great to go out on a high note as well.” Tara is one of the most experienced players on the team but this Sunday it is likely to be the last time she pulls on the Fermanagh jersey. To achieve the ultimate goal would cap off a lifetime ambition: “I know it’s my last year. It’s great to get the chance to play with all the younger players because I’m going to be watching them in another couple of years and cheering them on. So, it’s fantastic to be part of the team this year. Last year, I said I wasn’t going to come back after what happened in the semi but I knew there was an All Ireland in this team and if we got the right blend of players together we would get there.” Now they have to go one step further and overcome Down in what is, a winner takes it all match. Tara believes they can do it though: “We’ve always known the talent within the team but there has always been a mental block that has stopped us getting over the line. Down through the years, managers like Paula Cunningham would’ve drilled belief into us and that’s still there. Then with Lisa, Aidy, Sarah (Rankin) and Karen (Greene), they’ve again drilled that into us. We all know we’re capable of doing it but it’s all on the day and how much you want it.” Tara brings the added experience of having won an All Ireland Intermediate club title in 2011 and she was part of the team that played in the 2009 All Ireland decider. One message she has for younger players going into a match like this is: “Leave nothing behind. Don’t let any of the hype in the weeks before get to you. The main thing is going out on that green grass and being the best you can be because you may never get the chance again.” Tara will line out alongside her two sister-in-laws, Caroline and Sharon and her husband will patrol the sideline, offering words of encouragement and advice, as Fermanagh go in search of glory.

“It’s brilliant to be playing knowing my husband is alongside me every step of the way. It’s great to be playing with my sister-in-laws as well. When Aidy got to the All Ireland club final, we were all together supporting him and when we got to the ladies final we were all together as well. We’ve been through so much together and to get another All Ireland medal with the four of us involved would just be amazing.” Aidy knows what it’s like to win at Croke Park. In 2011, he was part of the Emmetts team who beat St James’, Galway. Reflecting on the sense of occasion and the winning feeling, he says: “When you start playing football you dream of playing in Croke Park. It’s a buzz to see what it’s like inside the changing rooms, in the warm up area and then you walk out into the big stadium. But after five or ten minutes you have to forget about that.” He goes on to say “When you come into a winning changing room after an All Ireland, the craic and the buzz; you’ll never get a better feeling when you play football.” Aidy wants these girls to experience that feeling and he truly believes they can: “I said it from day one. If this team play well on the day, they can beat any team in the country and I still stand by that. They know what it’s like to lose and they’ll never want to experience heartbreak like last year again so that should be driving them on.” So, will the talk in the Little household be centred on football in the coming days?

“There’s a bit of talk now and again but I don’t tell anything to anyone. Whatever is discussed between me and Lisa stays that way until the day of the game. I’m just a trainer or manager to them and I treat Tara, Sharon and Caroline the same as everyone else.”