By Daire Walsh

Before turning her attention to an important game with her club next weekend, Carlow footballer Elaine Ware will be cheering on two members of her extended family later on today.

A pivotal member of the Bennekerry/Tinryland side that are set to do battle with Cavan’s Mullahoran in an AIB All-Ireland intermediate club championship semi-final at Kingspan Breffni next Saturday, Ware is also the first cousin of Ireland international rugby stars Sam and Cian Prendergast.

Whereas his elder sibling picked up the first of his three Ireland senior caps to date back in November 2022, Sam Prendergast made his Test debut in last Friday week’s nail-biting win over Argentina at the Aviva Stadium.

Although she wasn’t able to see Sam make his international bow due to the Pumas game clashing with a club training session, Ware will get a chance to see him and Cian in action when Ireland take on Fiji in the Autumn Nations Series later this afternoon. The younger Prendergast has been named to start at out-half, while Cian is set to pick up his fourth cap off the bench.

“I was actually training, so I got in for the second half of the Argentina game. Thank God I got in to see him come on. It’s brilliant for them both. They’d be my first cousins. My Dad and their Mam would be brother and sister,” Ware said of the Prendergasts.

“Sam is 21 and Cian is 24. To be doing what they’re doing and being on the Irish squad is unreal. To be playing with your brother must be an unbelievable feeling. To be going around out to training camps and things like that. It must be brilliant.”

While Cian and Sam – who are currently contracted to Connacht and Leinster respectively – had displayed considerable promise in schools rugby with Newbridge College before embarking on careers in the professional game, they also played underage Gaelic football with Suncroft in their native Kildare.

Similarly, Ware dabbled in a variety of different sports prior to placing her full focus on the LGFA with both Carlow and Bennekerry/Tinryland. In addition to playing both rugby and soccer, she was also a gifted squash player in her youth – winning a number of underage national titles.

“Their club [Suncroft] is probably raging to be losing out on two big, athletic lads! I’d say they were brilliant footballers growing up along as well. I played soccer and rugby, but my main sport growing up was squash. I was number one in Ireland for a few years and represented Ireland. When I got to college level then I concentrated more on the ladies football.

“I had a brilliant squash coach up in Dublin, Eoin Ryan. He was always getting the best out of me, so it was very enjoyable. It would probably be something I’d love to go back playing in the future, but at the moment it’s just the football. I’ve too much love for it!”

It should come as little surprise that Ware has such a passion for Gaelic football, given the paternal side of her family is so steeped in the sport.

Although her father Darragh was originally from Waterford – and had two relatives who won All-Ireland senior hurling titles with the Déise County – he moved to Carlow at a young age and ended up playing with the Barrowsiders alongside his brothers Cathal and Garvan.

While the latter eventually transferred to Clane and ended up lining out for Kildare under the guidance of the legendary Mick O’Dwyer, he previously won five Leinster senior club championship titles with Eire Og and featured in All-Ireland finals for the Carlow Town outfit in 1993 and 1996. Ware will be hoping to reach a national decider of her own next weekend, but was thrilled to replicate her uncle Garvan by claiming provincial club honours earlier this month.

A fortnight ago in the Coralstown/Kinnegad GAA grounds, Ware played a starring role as Bennekerry/Tinryland defeated Dee Rangers of Meath to secure the AIB Leinster intermediate club championship title.

“Unfortunately my Dad and my uncle Cathal, they got to one Leinster final and lost it, but my uncle Garvan has five Leinsters with Eire Og. It’s nice to have a Leinster medal now, to be the same up there with them.

“To get to a Leinster final is a brilliant achievement, but then to win it as well was something we probably never thought we’d do. Just to get over the line eventually was great. I know we won by seven or eight points in the end, but it was still a hard fought game.

“What I won two weeks ago was probably up there with even winning the national titles in squash. It was probably a better thing because you’re playing with friends and family. I even have my cousin Liz [Lowry, her midfield partner] on the team. To be winning and playing with your friends and family is very different. It’s just very relaxing and very enjoyable.”

As a result of their victory over Dee Rangers, Ware and her Bennekerry/Tinryland colleagues are now just 60 minutes away from becoming the first Carlow club to reach an All-Ireland ladies club football championship showpiece at any grade. Standing in their way will be the aforementioned Mullahoran, who were convincing winners at the expense of Monaghan’s Carrickmacross in last Sunday’s Ulster intermediate final.

Though the prospect of playing in Croke Park could well be a motivating factor – this year’s intermediate club decider will form a double-header with the senior final at GAA HQ on Saturday, December 14 – simply being in the All-Ireland series is something that Ware is very excited about.

“It’s something that has never happened before. Even to see our supporters and family behind us, the crowd that went up the last day was brilliant. The excitement is going to be huge and hopefully the same crowd can get behind us now the next day and make the journey up,” Ware added.

“In fairness, we’re not thinking about that, but it would be unbelievable to play in Croke Park. Especially to play with your club. That would be very special to play with your friends and family. It’s something we’re not concentrating on at the moment, but it would be very unreal to do something like that.”

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