Cork's worst ever All-Ireland final capitulation defies rational explanation
Victors by ten points over Tipperary in the National League final, fifteen points to the good when the teams clashed in the group stage of the Munster championship, and six points up (1-16 to 0-13) at the end of a first-half they hadn't dominated in last Sunday's All-Ireland final.
Although flattered by the half-time scoreline, there was good cause to believe Cork had laid the foundations for victory and would justify their rating as warm favourites if they began to perform a tad closer to their full potential in the second-half.
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Irish Examiner
10 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Vikki the supporting Wall as Meath restart the party
When the ball is thrown in at Croke Park tomorrow, it'll be exactly 10 years since Meath faced Cork in an All-Ireland qualifier in Thurles and lost by 40 points. Cork put 7-22 on the board on the afternoon of August 3, 2015, to Meath's solitary three points. Cork went on to win the All-Ireland but if you'd told any of their supporters at the end of that season that Meath would outscore them by two to zero in the Brendan Martin Cup count before 2025 rolled around, you'd have been laughed out of it. It was a 17-year-old, widely reported as Victoria Wall, that scored each of those three points for Meath in the 2015 encounter. These days, she goes by Vikki and the christian name alone sparks instant recognition. Her list of achievements across that decade is remarkable from All-Ireland wins at the senior and intermediate grades with Meath, Player of the Year and All-Star awards, to winning an AFLW Premiership with North Melbourne last December, when she scored two goals. She had a stint with the Irish rugby sevens team across 2023 and 2024 too. Throw in her role in leading Dunboyne to All-Ireland junior and intermediate titles at the expense of Cork teams Bantry (2015) and Kinsale (2017) - she scored goals in each final - as well as her four points in the 2021 Leinster club senior final win, and you have a quite phenomenal career. All by the age of 27. "I think it's been winning and losing over the years that's probably brought us all so close," said Wall. "In 2018, 2019, those two years for Meath were definitely pivotal in terms of creating a core group, a lot of them are still here. The losing and the craic we had, it hurt so much at times. "The stories that we still talk about probably are more centred around 2018, 2019, when we just had great fun. Those times and memories, as much as they hurt at the time, you don't realise how pivotal they are for a group of young players like that which came together." Meath operated in the intermediate ranks in those years of 2018 and 2019, losing All-Ireland finals in both seasons. They finally got over the line in 2020, beating Westmeath to return to the senior ranks. Then the fun really started with landmark senior successes in 2021 and 2022. But when the Eamonn Murray management team broke up after that, and results spiralled, many presumed the party was over. "No, that was never the perception inside the group," contested Wall, who missed virtually all of last year due to rugby commitments. "I could understand that from the outside perspective. We've lost to Kerry in quarter-finals in each of the last two years. "Going out at the quarter-final stage, you're in the top eight, okay, but top eight is a far, far cry from being in an All-Ireland final. "I think this year we were very conscious of the potential within the group but also knowing that you still had to get the scores and you still had to get the results on the day. "Knowing there's potential there and actually executing it are two very different things." Wall's presence for the entire season, allowing her to link up again with her sister, Sarah, and clubmate Emma Duggan, has been significant. "I probably didn't see it happening last November, December, to be back in with Meath this year," she revealed. "So, for me, I've just enjoyed this year so much. "Even when results weren't going our way, or when we wouldn't be happy with things, like driving to training every day and stuff, I was still just really grateful to be here and just really lapping it up and enjoying it with the girls. "I don't know whether I'm a bit more present than in other years or something but I suppose, for me, that probably feels a little bit different. So yeah, I'm really enjoying it." What might have kept her away from football in 2025, rugby? "No, I just wasn't too sure," she shrugged. "I suppose finishing up in Oz and it had been a long enough year and a half and stuff before that. But look, just delighted to be back in with the girls. It's been class." Megan Thynne, Meath's dynamo half-forward, and midfielder Marion Farrelly also lined out against Cork a decade ago and are expected to start tomorrow. Shauna Ennis could start again too, if she slips in as expected for the injured Katie Newe, while current sub goalkeeper Monica McGuirk was the number one in 2015. McGuirk also has iconic status within Meath ladies football, a three-time All-Star and two-time All-Ireland winner. She's being kept out of the team by Robyn Murray, an adventurous young 'keeper who, along with Kerrie Cole and Ciara Smyth represents a new wave of talent. "There's a great mix," said Wall. "Other individuals that have been here for the last few years, have grown as well. And there's a bit of flair in the younger players. Having them all at training and pushing each other, that's instrumental for our team." And yet Dublin are still favourites. The 2023 champions have beaten Meath three times already this year, though it took a late surge to take the Leinster title. "I don't think we did ourselves justice with our performance, as in our scoring accuracy and stuff like that," said Wall of the provincial decider. "I suppose everyone wants to right those wrongs, all the cliches, but I think there's a lot more to it than the Leinster final."
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Christy O'Connor: Player drain to the AFLW an issue not going away anytime soon for the LGFA
When it emerged last December that Kerry's Kayleigh Cronin – player of the match in last year's All-Ireland ladies final – had signed for Adelaide Crows in the AFLW, there were fears that Cronin's loss could leave Kerry vulnerable in the 2025 championship. Nobody in Kerry was prepared to look that far ahead at the time because nobody knew what might happen next. Plenty of players who had signed for AFLW clubs played with their county in the championship before departing for Australia, but the matter was going to be complicated this year with the AFLW beginning a fortnight earlier, kicking off next weekend. Cronin played for Kerry in the National league and proved her worth in the process, being named on the Team of the League after Kerry hammered Armagh in the final. And then Cronin was gone to Adelaide. The loss of another key player from the game increased the debate as to how much the drain of the AFLW may be effecting the overall standard of the ladies game. 'You would be foolish to say that you are not worried because at this point they (AFLW) have so many players and so much backing,' said Dublin's Carla Rowe earlier this year. 'And it is the top players on every single team that are going over.' This year will see the highest number of Irish girls playing in the AFLW, 39, five up from last year's figure of 34. The numbers have been steadily increasing each year but the figures are also slightly inflated through players who emigrated to Australia and graduated to the pro game through the pathway of local football. Is too much being made of those numbers anyway? Every county sheds players from their squads every year. Kerry did lose Cronin but they also lost a significant chunk of its panel from last year's All-Ireland winning group. There are only a tiny proportion of players playing AFLW in comparison to the huge playing numbers right across the board in the ladies game. Still, the game at the elite level is bound to be affected when so many of the top players are being drained out of the system. How would Gaelic football look if up to 30 of the best players in the country were no longer involved? There is always a fear of a decreasing standard when any game is being stripped of some of its best players. Vikki Wall, Meath's outstanding player, has been able to play for the county this year (which has been crucial to Meath's progress to Sunday's final) before she returns to North Melbourne – where she won an AFLW title last year. Yet Wall's exceptional talent and experience granted her that dispensation because the majority of players are no longer able – or willing – to combine an AFLW career with a ladies football career. The issue will become far bigger again if the recruitment drive starts at a younger age, like it does in the men's game. As it is, the AFLW are always looking to recruit the game's best players. It's hard to blame players for not going. The attractions of a professional lifestyle and playing sport in beautiful weather are huge. More than 5% of players on AFLW lists are now Irish, and the trend suggests growth could continue. This weekend is all about the All-Ireland finals and the six counties competing on Sunday. Still, the issue around the ladies game and the increasing player drain to the AFLW is not going away anytime soon.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Sportsguide: All-Ireland Ladies football finals, Galway Races and Lions v Australia
Sportsguide: All-Ireland Ladies football finals, Galway Races and Lions v Australia It is another action packed weekend of sport with the All-Ireland ladies football finals, the Galway Races and the final game in the 2025 British and Irish Lions Tour - all you need to know here.
