Siobhán Birnie, Laura Grendon, Abby Shiels, and Annabelle Timothy celebrate after their side’s victory in the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Senior Championship final
Photos by Sportsfile
Dublin seniors rock it!
DUBLIN joint manager Paul Casey said he knew when the squad assembled on Sunday morning that they were poised to go all the way and reclaim the TG4 All-Ireland senior title.
“It’s obviously absolutely fantastic. When you have so much experience as we have in that group, to get a day when they bring all that experience to the pitch is just superb. We knew when we met them this morning that they were ready for it,” said Casey.
“They had a pep in their step and they probably came in here bouncing, but it’s nothing like the way they’re going to leave here because it’s absolutely fantastic.
“A day when you’re hoping that all your big names and stars will turn up and give a performance. I think that they went over and beyond that. It was fantastic.”
He praised the contribution of Player of the Match Orlagh Nolan who battled back from injury to produce a stunning performance on the biggest day of all.
“Orlagh has worked so, so hard to come back. When we were up in Clonshaugh and Craobh Chiarain in the dark and the muck, Orlagh was in the gym and she was working so hard to come back. She always did it with a smile on her face.
“We would have loved to have her back playing full games, maybe in the quarter-final, but our medical team were very strict in terms of just easing her back into it. It fell perfectly for her to have her first start today,” added Casey.
Hannah Tyrrell, Kate Sullivan and team captain Carla Rowe registered an impressive combined tally of 0-13 as Dublin bossed matters throughout.
Hannah Tyrrell of Dublin kicks a point during the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Senior Championship final
Nicole Owens and Niamh Hetherton also bagged goals in a dominant opening half as Dublin ended their first season under the joint management of Casey and Derek Murray in front of a crowd of 48,089 with the Brendan Martin Cup back in their possession for the seventh time in history.
Meath, bidding for their third TG4 All-Ireland senior title, were always chasing the game and manager Shane McCormack said his side battled to the end, but they knew it was going to be an uphill battle.
“I’m just gutted for the girls, to be honest. We were always doubted, even at the start of the year before a ball was thrown in, to even get to a quarter-final stage.
‘But we did believe within our circle that we would achieve it. We played Dublin three times this year. A 16-point trimming in the league wasn’t good, so we sat down that week and had a chat among ourselves and we kind of worked on different tactics.
“In fairness to the girls with the Leinster campaign, obviously we lost to Dublin in the Leinster final, but we were gutted because Dublin got the last eight points without a reply from us.
‘So coming into today’s game, we knew what was going to happen but the game was nearly over at half-time. In fairness to our girls, they battled to the end. I think we were 11 down at half-time.
“In the second half, pretty pleased that we came out of the blocks quick enough. I think we lost the second half by a point. But I’m just gutted for the girls because they’re a fantastic bunch,” said McCormack.
Tyrrell, needing just three points to secure the ZuCar Golden Boot for 2025, got the ball rolling in a repeat of the 2021 All-Ireland decider with an early two-point salvo on her way to a haul of 0-5.
Things got even better for the Sky Blues when Owens struck a clinical sixth-minute goal and Sullivan also added her name to the scoresheet before Emma Duggan finally opened Meath’s account with a successful free on 10 minutes.
Dublin players, coaches and supporters celebrate with the Brendan Martin cup after their side’s victory over Meath
While Duggan was on hand to cancel out a score from Rowe, Dublin pushed into overdrive either side of the first quarter mark with four points on the bounce from Tyrrell (two), Orlagh Nolan and Sullivan.
The rampant Jackies then moved 12 clear when Hetherton buried a shot to the roof of the Meath net in the 22nd minute and even though Duggan contributed a brace of frees in response to Sullivan’s third from play, Dublin brought an emphatic 2-9 to 0-4 buffer into the break.
This left the Royals with an enormous uphill task on the restart, but Meath were provided with fresh impetus when Duggan kicked two more points in advance of her Dunboyne clubmate Vikki Wall posting a fine effort from play.
However, Dublin reinforced their superiority when Rowe knocked over a place-ball effort of her own and Tyrrell’s fifth point of the day meant they were once again in front by double figures at 2-11 to 0-7.
With Sullivan bringing her own personal haul up to 0-4 off a subsequent attack, the Metropolitan outfit were on the brink of another top-tier crown heading into the closing quarter.
Ciara Smyth, skipper Aoibhin Cleary and Duggan (with her seventh of the tie) all found the target for Meath as the final whistle approached, but although Tyrrell was withdrawn through injury late on, points from Hetherton, Niamh Crowley and the influential Rowe (two) ensured Dublin eased towards their second All-Ireland success in the space of three years.
