‘It can be difficult to manage everything, you're constantly moving from your job to football - but I love it’

Not until she was 27-years-old did Meath goalkeeper Monica McGuirk make her debut in Croke Park. It's a day she will never forget. It was the 2018 All-Ireland IFC final and Meath were looking to make a major breakthrough; to secure a coveted place in the senior ranks.

It didn't happen for them. At least not that day as they were defeated by Tyrone. It was a bitter disappointment for McGuirk and her colleague but that game retains a special place in the memory bank for the Duleek/Bellewstown player. Stored away in a little corner of its own.

As long as she lives you suspect she will remember the moment when she jogged out onto the big field in the big house. She'll remember because she was running out onto hallowed ground, the sacred sod - and up in the stands were her family and friends, looking on. It was a scrapbook moment - regardless of how the game turned out.

The reality of having to wait so long to make her debut in the famous stadium is, no doubt, one of the reasons why she treasures every chance to play there now - and she's clearly looking forward to Sunday's Leinster final against Dublin.

"Every time we get back to Croke Park we have to treat it as if it could be our last time because it's a privilege to be able to go back there, to such a magnificent stadium like that," she says. "Any day you play in Croke Park is a good day. Then there's also the incentive for this team to win a Leinster, something this group hasn't done yet."

Now 31, McGuirk has enjoyed some great times in Croke Park since that defeat to Tyrone four year ago with last September's victory over Dublin in the All-Ireland SFC final right up there. McGuirk certainly underlined her rich talent as a goalkeeper that day executing a save that could truly be described as world class.

Rewind the tape for a moment. Dublin are attacking during the first-half. The players in those famous Sky Blue jerseys are pouring forward, looking a real threat. The ball ends up in hands of Dublin's marquee player Hannah Tyrrell who has turned ransacking defences into an art. She in front of the Meath posts. A goal looks a certainty.

Tyrrell pulls the trigger. The Dublin fans roar in anticipation. Time freezes as everyone in the heaving stadium waits for the net to bulge. Somehow McGuirk gets her hands to the ball, makes a wonder one-handed save. The fans gasped collectively. Even Dublin supporters are compelled to clap in appreciation. It's a crucial moment.

It was a super stop - but then anybody who knows McGuirk down the years will be aware that shot stopping is her stock and trade. Her forte. That save, added to her general consistency as a netminder throughout the year, led to McGuirk getting an All-star; another treasured moment - and to think McGuirk could have missed out on it all.

She played Gaelic football as a youngster but turned her attention to soccer, starting with Duleek and moving on to turn out at a high level in the colours of Peamount and UCD Wave. She felt, however, she was never given a chance to fulfil her full potential. That clearly irritated and frustrated her. So at 26 she returned to Gaelic football and eventually embarked on the great adventure with Meath.

It perhaps was always destined she would return to the GAA. One of her grandfathers Nicholas McGuirk represented Louth at minor level while her other grandad, Sean Ludlow, played senior football for Meath. Her lineage is impeccable.

That refusal to accept what she clearly felt was second best in the soccer world hints at the hunger and ambition that compels her to be the best she can be. It shines a light on her ultra-competitive nature that is hidden behind an affable, amiable personality.

McGuirk - who works as manager with Aura Leisure Centre in Drogheda - says the Meath players have worked extremely hard for what they have achieved so far but now another challenge is there. Because they are All-Ireland and National League champions they are there to be shot at. "A different mentality is required this year compared to last year when we went into games under no pressure. Now this year we know every time we go out teams seek to break us down. I suppose that drives us on because we can derive momentum from the pressure, push ourselves on," she adds.

The change in status can seen in other respects. Such as the way the Meath players are now besieged after games by young fans looking for selfies and autographs. It can also be seen in the way McGuirk has 'starred' in Lidl's and the Road Safety Authority's TV ads. All that is a blast but McGuirk says it's vitally important not to be knocked off course by such distractions. She knows success can be all-too-transitory, that a fall can follow pride.

"It's great to get all the youngsters coming out to us after games, but it's important we don't let that sink in and affect us too much. We still need to focus and play our football the way we can, to perform each day we play and go out and get the results.

“It can be difficult to manage everything, you're constantly moving from your job to football, to do things, then there's your social life. It can be difficult but I love it. I just want to play my football."

It may have taken McGuirk longer than others to get to the top but she's familiar with the place now - and that tells it's own tale.