Ruth Sargent hoping for a long summer of Championship football

She may have only just turned 22 years of age and made her Kildare LGFA senior debut in the all-conquering year of 2023, but Ruth Sargent is now one of the leaders on the Kildare LGFA squad assembled by manager Pat Sullivan since he took charge of the Lilywhites before the start of the 2025 season. Now, Ruth and her Lilywhite colleagues embark on their TG4 LGFA All-Ireland campaign in a group which includes former All-Ireland champions and three-in-a-row Munster champions Kerry, as well as third-placed Munster team Tipperary, with a double-header against Kerry first up in Cedral St Conleth’s Park.

Speaking to local media at the launch of this year’s All-Ireland series in Croke Park, on the back of a late defeat to 13-in-a-row Leinster champions Dublin, the Eadestown stalwart said:

“We were delighted to get to the Leinster Final; that was one of our goals at the beginning of the year. We worked so hard over the winter months and during the League and the Leinster Championship, so it's putting all our learnings into practice now going into the All-Ireland.” Continuing, she said:

“I suppose during the League we performed at times, but we want to get that 60-minute-plus performance now. Going back to the Leinster Final, we were kind of there around 50 minutes, so it's just pushing on for that last 10 minutes and getting consistency going into the All-Ireland Championship.” Kildare now have a great rivalry with Dublin and Meath in Leinster, and Sargent feels the Leinster Final defeat might be one that got away, but she is looking to build on that Croke Park experience.

“It’s tough to take, really. We were obviously disappointed, but it’s nice knowing how close we were. We’re going to stick to our process going into the All-Ireland Championship, probably just tweaking a few things now and taking our learnings from that game,” she said.

“For so many girls it was their first time in Croke Park. It was a brilliant occasion for everyone and we were delighted to be there. We just need to turn that disappointment into fuel going into the next two rounds of the All-Ireland,” she added.

Sargent, her Eadestown clubmate Hazel McLoughlin, and team captain Laoise Lenehan from Kill now form a formidable half-back line on Pat Sullivan’s side in a squad that has seen quite a transformation in personnel over the past two years.

“The new girls who have come in have really pushed us on,” Ruth said. 

“The likes of me, Laoise and Aoife Rattigan — we’re really being pushed, and it’s always a team effort. The girls who don’t get game time week on week are the ones pushing us in training and making us better as a team. We just need to keep that intensity up in training and, in fairness, it’s been brilliant,” she added.

Kildare ran Kerry to just a point in the League in Hawkfield earlier this year and pushed them hard in the All-Ireland quarter-final in Tralee last year, so Ruth Sargent is really looking forward to Saturday’s encounter with the Kingdom.

“We’re only a point or two away from them, and they were All-Ireland winners a few years ago. We’re really looking forward to the championship and we’ll definitely be wanting to put in a performance against them soon,” she said.

Although Tipperary were familiar foes in the past, the sides haven’t met for a while.

“We haven’t played Tipperary regularly, so it’s nice to play a relatively new team. Obviously, every game in the All-Ireland Senior Championship is going to be tough, so we’ll need to prepare for both of those games, but it’s really exciting to get to play them as well,” Sargent continued.

The Eadestown player played down the suggestion that she is now one of the leaders on the Kildare team.

“There are so many leaders in there anyway. We have a leadership team, and everyone is not afraid to speak their mind or speak with the leaders and management. There’s not a big load on myself, really. It’s nice knowing there are other people around you to help lead the team,” she explained.

A busy player with club, college and county, Ruth Sargent is enjoying 2026.

“This year has been a good year for me in terms of injury, but at the end of the day, it’s just a sport I love, so that’s why I keep going,” she said.

“The management teams are good at speaking to each other and giving me breaks when I need them. I suppose days like these and summer football are what keep you going through the tough times during the winter,” she added.

The Sargent family is steeped in the tradition of football in Kildare, with her mother, father, two brothers and a sister all involved.

“Our family doesn’t really know anything different,” Ruth laughed. “Even when the TV is on, it’s watching football. My parents and older siblings have already been through it, and it’s nice to know they’ve all done it, so I’m just kind of following in their footsteps.” 

“The belief is there in the team this year as well that we can go further. So, yeah, hopefully now we’ll have a long summer of football ahead of us,” Ruth Sargent concluded.