Kildare's Clifford relishing life under new management

Kildare LGFA are in the midst of their 100km fundraising challenge, the Lidl National Football League is just around the corner, and on Thursday Lilywhites captain Grace Clifford returned to her day job.

2023 has just kicked off and it's already a busy time to be an inter-county star but for this 28-year-old, the first week of January went by in a blur. She got engaged before the clock struck 12 on New Year’s Eve.

"It was a really lovely Christmas, it was nice and quiet at home. Then we were away in Belfast, we always go away for New Year’s," said Clifford.

"But to get engaged then, that just topped it and finished it off nicely. It’s still hard to believe, I’m still in a bit of a shock to be honest."

Clifford and her fiancé, Maurice Sexton, have been together almost a decade now and they finally announced their engagement last weekend.

It might be some time yet before they put together their wedding plans, especially considering their busy schedules but exciting times lie in store.

"We haven’t really thought too much about the wedding date yet," said Clifford, who is Director of Extra Curricular Activites at Mount Sackville Secondary School.

"He plays hurling as well with his club at home. The biggest thing would be to work around the GAA calendar anyway. That’s the one thing I can give away, other than that there is only a small window now with the split season.

"Now, you run from inter-county straight into club. Fortunately, club for myself has been quite successful for the last two or three years but it has been running late.

"It will be a small window we will have but hopefully we will fit it in sometime soon."

Clifford isn’t one for New Year’s resolutions, but she is looking for the people around Kildare and further afield