TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Junior Football Championship final: Antrim v Fermanagh (Sunday, 11.45am, Croke Park, Live on TG4)
“Cars are replaceable, Caitlin and Aoife Taggart are not.”
The words of Antrim Ladies manager Emma Kelly only really hit home to the Taggart twins when paramedics told them they were lucky to get out of an accident with their lives back in January of this year.
The siblings from Aldergrove had been making their way to county training when they were involved in a crash on the Crumlin Road. Their vehicle ended up on its roof and the emergency service used the jaws of life to help remove Aoife from the car.
Read more: Well wishes pour in for Antrim GAA twins after car crash
Caitlin sustained minor cuts and bruises and was back playing football in a matter of weeks, but Aoife’s recovery has been slower than her sister’s.
After dislocating her shoulder in the accident, Aoife has only recently returned to full training, but she is still hoping to make Antrim’s match-day panel ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland Ladies JFC final against Fermanagh in Croke Park.
“I dislocated my shoulder and had to get stitches in my left leg. My recovery was a bit slower, but I'm back to training fully now,” said Aoife.
“It was pretty scary. We were told we were very lucky to get out of it.
“When you are going through recovery and rehab, you just keep thinking of these big days. Thankfully, Antrim have made it to the final.
“I’ll be available for selection and I’ve been training now since the beginning of June. If we were knocked out of the Championship earlier, I wouldn’t have played any football for Antrim this year.”
Both Taggarts featured for Antrim in last year’s All-Ireland final when they suffered a 2-17 to 1-9 loss to Wicklow in Croke Park.
Caitlin is hoping the Saffrons will improve for their experience of playing at HQ as they bid to win the Junior title for the first time since 2012.
“It was great to have all that support to get back on to the pitch as fast as possible after the accident,” said Caitlin.
“I got back a bit quicker than Aoife. I wasn’t too badly hurt - Aoife is only really getting back to playing now. We are just looking forward to the final.
“Last year we didn’t play well until the last 10 minutes of the game really. Hopefully we can make a good start this year.
"The atmosphere in Croke Park is unreal. The buzz about the place is class - it is totally different than any other venue.
“I think maybe the occasion got to us a little last year because not many of the girls would have played in Croke Park before. This year, we have that experience and we’ll be more focused on the game.”
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