DERVLA HIGGINS HAS had a few swerve balls thrown her way in her bid to establish herself as a Galway player and while nothing is certain in an environment that emphasises equality of opportunity regardless of reputation, the Athenry defender is now one of the premier corner-backs in the land and a front runner for an All-Star when the awards are announced next month.<\/p>\n
So Higgins celebrated her 25th birthday yesterday in a good place. She has identified a pathway for adding to her physiotherapy qualifications, while her club is in the process of creating history to be the first to develop its own camogie facility. She has climbed camogie\u2019s Everest and maintains an appetite to do it again and again.<\/p>\n
All of that ties into the personal equilibrium. When Galway next trot out onto the Gort pitch \u2013 today\u2019s meeting with Offaly has been postponed –\u00a0 they will do so with a new jersey, courtesy of a ground-breaking five-year quarter-of-a-million-euro sponsorship deal with Westwood Global.<\/p>\n
It represents a commitment to the development of camogie in Galway from the academies upwards, ensuring high performance sports services are available to give young hopefuls the best chance of reaching their potential, to raise the bar even further. But there is a human element to it as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s huge and there is a lot of publicity around it at the minute,\u201d notes Higgins.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all the way from U14 up until the senior squads, every single age-group that benefit from the deal. It\u2019s going to be big for all players. It\u2019s definitely a step in the right direction for female sport. It\u2019s a benchmark, a starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n
The aforementioned new kit is an eye-catching one, complete with the LGBTQ+ rainbow colours representing inclusiveness. It follows in the footsteps of UL GAA, who incorporated the colours in their jersey last year and Galway\u2019s camogs have now brought it to the inter-county sphere.<\/p>\n
It has a real personal meaning for Higgins, though she reports that she did not suffer any negativity surrounding her sexuality. She recognises that so many have had different experiences, however. Providing exemplars and removing any hint of \u2018difference\u2019 about not being heterosexual is imperative.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a powerful statement. It shows the Gaelic games family is a place of diversity and inclusion now. I think it\u2019s very important for the youth as well\u2026 I\u2019m sure it\u2019s going to help a lot of kids at home who might be looking up to role models; if they are struggling it might make it easier for them to deal with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMyself, I actually have a girlfriend for the last five years. So it\u2019s something that I am very proud of to have on the sleeve of the jersey. I think it\u2019s a huge step in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very lucky, I had a very good experience. It would have been while in college in Athlone. I came to terms with it, coming out to family and friends and stuff like that. And obviously I was involved with the Galway set-up at the time as well. And everyone, management, players and backroom people were very accepting of it. They never treated me any different.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I do think it is such a powerful statement. I know the Galway management and the county board along with our sponsors, it was their idea. It\u2019s a statement of their behalf as well, to show the type of team and county we are. We are inclusive of everything and everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n A general view of the new Galway jersey.<\/p>\n
Source: Sam Barnes\/SPORTSFILE<\/p>\n
Higgins is looking forward to getting back to competitive fare now, though it has been a little different this year with clubmate Noreen Coen having stepped away after a decade in maroon.<\/p>\n
Coen was a familiar face when she joined the senior set-up first but now it is her turn to fill the mentoring role as the Rabbitte sisters \u2013 daughters of former hurling All-Ireland winner Joe \u2013 Sabina and Olwen come into the fold. Mind you, she has a bit to go yet to accumulate the bank of knowledge of another clubmate, the legendary Therese Maher, who has been a key part of the management in recent years.<\/p>\n
All the other big names have returned, with Murray cleverly having issued the challenge within minutes of winning the All-Ireland. He said it publicly in the post-match press conference but by then, he had already put it to the players. To be a great team, you had to do two-in-a-row.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually remember clear as day in the dressing room afterwards, we had a few celebrations and the cheers and stuff but it was definitely something he mentioned on that day and I have heard him mention it quite a few times since then. And I think it just goes to show the determination that he\u2019s put amongst us as players in the camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd new year this year, it\u2019s put behind us and we have a new target put in place. It\u2019s good to ground yourself again. In order to succeed it\u2019s important to focus on the new task at hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Higgins had been flip-flopping between the intermediate and senior squads since 2015. After impressing as Galway got to the All-Ireland intermediate final four years later, she was ready to push on but the sliotar refused to bounce for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a good bit of gametime but I fell ill with the Covid during the championship so that kind of wiped me out of it completely\u2026 I was out for the two weeks so obviously wasn\u2019t doing any training. I have a set-up here in the house alright with a small gym so I was able to do a bit of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I will never forget the first evening going back training, we were in Dangan, and I was just doing the warm-up, the first 15-20 minutes where we do the dynamic stretches and sprints and stuff. I just had to put my hand up, my lungs were just gone. I was chasing my tail for the rest of the 2020 campaign trying to get my fitness back up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heather Cooney\u2019s cruciate knee ligament injury left a vacancy and Higgins capitalised on the opportunity. This is the importance of the Littlewoods Ireland Leagues. There will be chances but, in this team, if you get the jersey, you can make it yours. Which is why Higgins knows nothing can be taken for granted.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year when I got back in fit at the start of the year there was only one thing on my mind, poor aul Cathal Murray knew that as well. Last year would have been the first year I got myself out there and established and got my spot on the team. This year, I am just hoping to try and hold onto it as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n