In a competitive Division Two, Lissummon would have been delighted to have finished third, winning 6 of their 12 games this season. They struggled in the Senior Championship however and fell at the first hurdle, coming up against a superior Grange side in the Quarter Final, the final score reading Grange 8-11 Lissummon 1-12.
Throughout the year however one player stood above the rest and was deservingly crowned Division Two Player of the Year. Sarah Marley has made a name for herself in the orange and white of Armagh but it’s her performances for Lissummon that gained her the biggest award along with an All-Star.
The fact that the award was voted upon by the other players in the division makes receiving Player of the Year that wee bit more special for Marley, “I’m very shocked, it’s always nice to win something that was voted on by your peers, so that makes it that bit extra special and to win it representing your club is really special as well.”
The 33 year old eyes improvement for the Lissummon club in the future, knowing it can be difficult as times, “Being a small country club, I suppose trying to get players out is a huge thing for us. We have four county players so our club has to rely on us sometimes not making training and that. I suppose ensuring that the rest of our girls take responsibility as well is a big thing for us.”
Marley lined out for Armagh in a season that will be remembered. They reached the Ulster final after a great win over Monaghan but suffered a heavy 5-12 to 1-9 defeat at the hands of Donegal. That sent them to Tullamore to take on Munster Champions Cork with the prize of an All-Ireland Quarter Final on offer for the winner.
Sarah Marley is of course one of four players that represent the Lissummon club at county level, with the other three being her sisters, Caoimhe, Niamh and Catherine and that win over Cork was the first time the Marley sisters all started for Orchard County and it was a special moment for the girls.
“It’s great when you get to play with your sisters, people find it really funny but that’s when we get to catch up and find out how our lives are all actually going, so it’s all that more special. We’re doing what we love doing and to get to do it with your family is so much more special.”
As far as personal highlights go, that day couldn’t have been better for Marley, “I’ve been playing for a long time so the Cork game, aside from the fact that we got a good win over Cork, it was the first time that all four sister have been starting and actually playing for Armagh so that was extra special.”
