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8th March 2023
02:41pm GMT

Whether they get there or not, much of it, it's fair to say will depend on Beirne. He's the talisman of the team and he explains how setting his own individual goals and targets has helped improve him as a player.
"It's something I've done in the last few years. I get more of a return that way.
"I remember when I first came onto the scene, I was starting games, but now I've honed in on my goals and I have to adhere to them. I think you have to have them.
"So a big one would be I really wanted top scorer this year.
"Thankfully that's going well. Last year, when the Tailteann Cup was on, I said if we did get far enough I'd hopefully get an All-Star and that goal came through. So they are a big one.
"Hopefully I don't jinx myself but if I do get top scorer this year in the National League that will be one of my main goals achieved."
Beirne has hailed Leitrim manager Andy Moran for helping him grow as a player along the way.
"Andy is very hands-on in training. He's down in the middle of a drill, pulling you aside, telling you what runs you need to make. It's good to learn from someone who has done it at the top level for a few years."
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What some may not know is that it could have been so different.
Soccer's loss was definitely Leitrim's game as having focused on soccer as a youngster, it was touch and go whether he'd ever come back to the Gaelic.
Beirne was on the books with Longford town as a teenager, as a centre half, believe it or not, and was on a soccer scholarship in Maynooth with Irish international Jamie McGrath.
"Soccer was the one for me for years. It was the one I trained for, and I was just getting pulled back for GAA games because of where I'm from.
"I'd rarely get to train GAA back then, but I didn't really click with management with Tony Cousins. I never really got my break.
"When I came up from the 19s I was promised a lot and this minutes and that minutes - I played Leinster senior League but wasn't getting in, was on the bench for the League of Ireland. Then I played a club semi-final in 2015 and that didn't go down too well. So I never made the break."
"It's a confusing one," he says of playing centre half, "I was always good at defending, good at winning headers and slide tackles, but it doesn't really make sense, because now I probably have the worst tackle rate in the team!"
Listen to the full chat with Beirne here.Explore more on these topics: