Nicole Owens reveals she nearly quit before fairytale All-Ireland triumph send-off with Dublin
FULL-TIME Nicole Owens reveals she nearly quit before fairytale All-Ireland triumph send-off with Dublin
DUBLIN star Nicole Owens was ready to walk away last year before her fairytale ending.
Owens and Hannah Tyrrell waved inter-county football goodbye after Sunday's sizzling 2-16 to 0-10 All-Ireland final win over Meath at Croke Park.
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Dublin reclaimed the All-Ireland title after a comfortable win over Meath on Sunday
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Nicole Owens ended her inter-county career with another title at GAA HQ
The 32-year-old suffered her second torn ACL in 2022 before an achilles problem further hampered her progress last season.
Mick Bohan walked as manager before Paul Casey and Derek Murray took the reins.
And Owens was coaxed to stay on and win her fifth All-Ireland to bow out at the top.
Owens hailed Orlagh Nolan for helping her through the dark days before Sunday's dream send-off.
Nolan battled back from her own cruciate hell to make a stunning comeback in their All-Ireland semi-final win over Galway last month, before starting in Sunday's showpiece against all the odds and bagging the player of the match award.
Owens said: 'I was on the fence about coming back or not this year and I think I was in a bad way starting.
"I think it speaks to this team, a few of the girls I would have chatted to, Paul and Derek would have been on to me.
'I was in a really bad way at the start of this year. They just kind of put an arm around me and got me back in.
'We already spoke about Orlagh Nolan on the pitch, but off the pitch, having someone there on the s**t days, to be in the gym doing the same stuff over and over again, that was massive.
'I'm so proud of this team and how that ended, and how we had a performance when it mattered. I'm glad that I managed to score a goal to cap it off.'
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Owens admits her injury woes took their toll, but helped her find a new resolve to keep going.
Winning another All-Ireland was beyond her wildest dreams when she was about to quit less than 12 months ago, but the support of Dublin's new bosses was vital as they delivered the goods in their first year in charge.
She said: 'If you look at the likes of Martha (Byrne) down here and Leah Caffrey, who've probably missed about one game in the past 12 years. I'd love to have been that consistent and that solid.
'But, unfortunately… some of us maybe weren't made to play football to this extent! It's allowed me to develop a bit of resilience, and, look, I've always been given a lot of trust.
'The lads backed me when I came back this year, and I was given chances because of what I'd done in previous years.
"And I think you can't understate the importance of that, the team trusting me and the role that played. I'm just delighted.'
FINISHED BUSINESS
And Owens knew on Sunday morning that Dublin would get the job done. She felt they had unfinished business from their semi-final win over Galway.
They needed extra-time to win 3-14 to 2-14 in Tullamore as Carla Rowe's cheeky back-heel in overtime proved crucial.
Meath bore the brunt of a serious backlash in Sunday's final, as Dublin raced into a 2-9 to 0-4 half time lead and never looked back.
Owens said: 'Yeah, I felt really good on Sunday morning, to be honest because I think after the last game, as a team and as an individual, a lot of us weren't very happy.
'I think we knew that we hadn't really done ourselves justice and done the work we've put in justice, and the work the background team have put in and the stats team have put in justice.
'I think the first half was probably the best performance we've put in for quite a while.'
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