A scorching 'Down Under'
Aishling Sheridan (24) made “friends for life” during her time in DCU and never needed one of them more than during a surreal confinement in a Melbourne hotel in December 2020.
Her second season with Collingwood FC in the Australian Rules Football League (AFLW) began with the strictest of quarantines.
“The room had massive windows but they didn’t open! We, literally, couldn’t step outside the door so we didn’t have a breath of fresh air for two weeks. That was the hardest part for me,” she recalls. Fortunately, her former DCU teammate Sarah Rowe of Mayo was billeted next door, also trying to stay fit and practise with the oval ball.
“We texted so much it was like we were talking. We used to order our food at the exact same time so, when it was delivered, we’d open our doors together and give each other a wee wave,” she laughs. “Other than that the only other people I saw for the fortnight were security staff or the people who came to test us for Covid.” The experience was made even more bizarre by getting released into 37C heat on Christmas Day. “But I was mentally prepared for quarantine,” Sheridan stressed.
“The opportunity to play AFLW is such a dream that you’ll take two weeks in a hotel room to do it.” Both women went on to have stellar seasons in the fifth season of Australia’s semi-pro ‘Footy’ league.
They helped Collingwood reach AFLW’s Preliminary Finals (semifinals) where they were just pipped by eventual champions Brisbane, and she was back home in time to start the 2021 Lidl Football League with Cavan.
Sheridan received a sports scholarship, graduated from DCU with a BSc in Athletic Therapy and Training in 2018.
“The opportunity to play in Australia is such a dream that you’ll take two weeks in a hotel room to do it.”
Playing third-level football hugely improved her game, she says.
“DCU was the one college I wanted to go to. I really liked how it was a small community. You knew everyone and there was a big emphasis on sport. “I was put into a football house on campus initially which was like a professional environment. It’d be so different if you were living with girls who hadn’t the same mindset as you.”
In her final years she shared accommodation with Rowe, Aisling Moloney (Tipperary), Muireann Atkinson (Monaghan) and Caoimhe O’Sullivan (Kerry). “We played with and against the top players in college football. We always made it to the O’Connor Cup (final) weekend and won it in my last year so that was a great way to finish. “I loved DCU so much and still miss it. I really made friends for life there who meet up whenever we can and have fun remembering our great college days.
Cliona Foley (Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism, NIHE, DCU) Sports Writer and Presenter on OTB Sports @ponyyelof