CAROL Bateman never took frees when she played outfield so she surprised herself when she stood up to take one in Mungret St Paul’s dramatic All-Ireland club junior football semi-final 30-metre free shoot-out.
Rosscarbery native Bateman, one of three West Cork players on the Limerick club’s panel, is Mungret St Paul’s goalkeeper, but in the semi-final against Sligo’s Coolera Strandhill that went to frees after extra-time, she stepped out of her comfort zone.
‘I was either a full forward for Ross or the goalie at times. I would have never stood over a free kick. I don’t know what came over me!’ Bateman says.
‘Our captain (Aine Ryan) suggested my name and I said “do you know what, I’ll do this.” I was totally okay doing it, happy to take the chance.
‘I just tried to stay calm. I wasn’t really looking back at the other girls because they were up the walls on the 45. I just focused on my kick and visualised it going over the bar. I took a deep breath before I kicked it and I just hit it sweetly. It was perfect, thank God.’
The reward of their 3-1 win in the free-kicks shoot-out is Mungret St Paul’s of Limerick will play in the All-Ireland junior final against Downings from Donegal this Sunday in Parnell Park, Dublin at 2pm. Bateman hopes her experience will make a difference here, too. Having played in the forward line previously, it has given Bateman a bit of an advantage over other goalkeepers.
‘It is very different. For a goalkeeper you have to be able to see what’s coming at you rather than being out in front and making the runs. Maybe it does help me in a way that I did play forward. I can see where the forwards would potentially be running to or running off the shoulder. I can get the defence to move left or right in that kind of sense,’ says biomedical engineer Bateman, who explains her journey from Rosscarbery to the Limerick club.
‘I moved to Limerick for college in 2017 and I was working in the hospital. I wanted to join a club here to make a few friends and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I happened to say this to one of my colleagues and she said “I know some of the people down in Mungret, I’ll give you their number.” I messaged them, went down and never looked back,’ Bateman says. She has been joined on the panel by two more West Cork women, Niamh Crowley from Bantry and Siadbh Redmond from Ballydehob.
The former Rosscarbery player has also been on the Limerick inter-county panel for the past three years as well, further highlighting her ability.
‘It is that little one or two percent step up. You have to be consistent with the Limerick panel. If you get injured, there is always somebody willing to come in. It is a mentally tough position at times but I have really enjoyed it. I feel like it’s an achievement to play at that level,’ she says.
Before thinking about Limerick and the 2025 season, there is one more step for Mungret to take this Sunday.
‘It would be amazing to come home with the trophy. It would feel like Christmas coming early,’ she adds.