
'We have a target on our back' - Cork primed for Déise battle in semi-finals
But neither the hurlers' second-half implosion to gift Tipp the title, nor talk or a potential three-in-a-row for the reigning camogie champions is going to let Saoirse McCarthy lose focus ahead of Saturday's vital semi-final against Waterford.
A Nowlan Park double-header sees the champions take on the Déise in the later game, which follows the meeting of Galway and Tipperary in the other semi-final.
Cork come into the game off the back of a flawless group phase, where they finished top of the table in the five-team round-robin, while they also proved victorious in the league earlier in the year.
They have contested the last four All-Ireland finals, winning both the 2023 and 2024 deciders, and are just one game away from making it back to Croke Park.
"You can't be preparing for something that you're not in yet, so definitely won't be looking past Waterford this weekend," said McCarthy, speaking to RTÉ Sport ahead of the weekend fixture.
"Semi-finals are there to be won and obviously we want to do that, but it's one game at a time."
Saturday's opponents finished second in their respective group behind Galway in what was a competitive collective, as Waterford got the better of Dublin and Kilkenny, before overcoming a tough Clare unit in the quarter-finals.
And McCarthy is expecting a tough battle against their neighbours, with the reward of a place in the final adding to the expected intensity.
"It's going to be some challenge," said McCarthy. "They're a great side and I think they're having a great year, so we definitely won't be looking past them.
"We know Waterford very well. We've played them multiple times most years.
"They're a brilliant side, they're very pacey and they like to run the ball. They have the likes of Beth Carton, Lorraine Bray, and Niamh Rockett is flying this year.
"We're under no illusions. They're going to come out of the traps. We know we have a target on our back and they're going to want to hunt us down.
"I think they're going to bring a lot of physicality and pace to the game.
"Hopefully, now we can stand up to that.
"Obviously, they're going to be sharp after playing the quarter-final and we haven't had a game in four weeks, so that will be something we'll have to manage as well.
"They're having a great year and Mike (Boland) has done a really good job with them as well. I think we're just excited to go out and play and see what they're going to produce too."
Cork have been idle for four weeks since winning the group and claiming an automatic place in the last-four, while Waterford have only had three weeks to fill since their quarter-final win over Clare.
But McCarthy said that the intensity and quality of training combined with the ever-increasing competition for places has kept the team sharp ahead of Saturday's trip to the Kilkenny venue.
She said: "I think it is a bit long, but obviously you have to play off the quarter-finals in that time as well and still give the other teams a chance to have a break.
"It's understandable at the same time. I think we managed it well. We were the same last year.
"We know what we need to do now as well to prepare ourselves correctly.
"The competition within our own squad is immense for places. The standard of training has been really good and hopefully we'll be ready now for Saturday."
And while McCarthy can look forward to remaining competitive and eyeing further glory this summer, she admitted the ache of watching her male counterparts losing out at Croker Park last Sunday.
"We were all behind the hurlers and I'm gutted for them," she said.
"They had a great year, and they don't become a bad team overnight, so hopefully they can lift themselves up and be proud of what they achieved this year.
"We're just trying to finish out our year now on a high and do our job."

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Irish Examiner
25 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
'I'm in shock': Kerry supporters roar their footballers on to All-Ireland football final glory
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The Irish Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Jack O'Connor lifts Kerry to All-Ireland No39 but says he's still just ‘trotting after Micko' in Kingdom's golden legacy
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Those queries can no longer be asked. One of his proudest moments was visiting O'Dwyer in Waterville with Sam - a memory he will cherish forever. Most read in GAA Football Micko led the way - and Jack has only followed. He said: 'Sure look, the rest of us are only trotting after Micko. He's created a great history and tradition in Kerry and the rest of us are only trotting after him now. 'Sad to see him go' - GAA fans emotional seeing Michael D Higgins attend last men's All-Ireland final as President "It's a bit sentimental for me because I brought the cup to him, to his house in 2022. We had a nice half an hour of a chat there and there was a nice photograph taken of the thing. 'So I'll treasure that always because he was an idol of mine. As I say, he's created history, and the rest of us are all trotting after him.' When Micko took them to the top, O'Connor ensured they stayed there. 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Irish Daily Mirror
25 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Clifford proves impossible task for Donegal as Kerry coast to All-Ireland No 39
Kerry 1-26 Donegal 0-19 Not the vintage final to round out a memorable football Championship, but plenty of landmarks all the same. There may not have been any ebb and flow as Kerry took the lead after 11 seconds and, bar a period of a minute or so after Donegal equalised, never relinquished it before going on to win handsomely in the end, but the new rules meant that there was still plenty to savour from it, if not from a Donegal perspective. Kerry's winning tally of 1-26 was the biggest posted in an All-Ireland ever. Donegal's total of 0-19 has only been matched twice (Mayo's 1-16 in 2017 and Galway's 2-13, over 80 minutes, in 1973) by a losing team in a final and never bettered. With that, it's hardly a surprise that this was the highest-scoring ever All-Ireland final with an aggregate of 48 points, three more than that 1973 final in which Cork beat Galway, the only one that comes close. It was 21 points more than what was scored in last year's Armagh-Galway final, a turgid affair that was low on entertainment despite it being a far closer game than this one. Admittedly, the closing stages of this Championship have been disappointing in that the final and both semi-finals were rather one-sided but, at this remove, you could argue that there is more to be said for a runaway victory under the new rules than a closely-fought game under the old. Much of the pre-game debate surrounded David Clifford and whether Donegal could limit his influence to manageable proportions. Ultimately, they couldn't and, indeed, the damage was effectively done by the 17th minute, by which time Clifford had already scored 0-5 (including two two-pointers) and been fouled by Brendan McCole, his marker, for a converted two-point free. Donegal simply couldn't recover from that eight-minute window that saw Kerry's lead swell from one point to nine. They were always toiling to keep pace with Kerry who, it must be said, won their 39th All-Ireland in something of a canter in the end with four successive wins over Ulster opposition in Cavan (nine points), Armagh (eight points) and Tyrone (six points), followed by most comprehensive dismissal of the provincial champions. And it came just six weeks after Meath, whom Donegal had 20 points to spare on in the semi-final, had beaten them by nine. A fifth All-Ireland title for Jack O'Connor puts him one clear of Seán Boylan's tally with Meath and behind only Mick O'Dwyer (eight) and Jim Gavin (six). Remarkably, each of those five were prefaced by a League title earlier in the season. Broadly speaking, there was a school of thought that this would be a close final that Donegal would edge, but there seemed to be something a bit too cosy about that group think given Kerry's pedigree, and so it proved. Michael Langan, Conor O'Donnell and Michael Murphy had their moments for Donegal, but the outstanding performers were all in blue, a colour that Kerry won the All-Ireland in for first time since 1970, against Meath. Brendan McCole stuck to his task with Clifford but it was largely an impossible one. He kicked his first two-pointer from the smallest of openings in the eighth minute and if it was going to require a group effort to keep tabs on him, then that was fatally undermined by Caolán McColgan spilling possession leading to his second a minute later. In the 15th minute, McColgan bundled Clifford over and was fortunate to avoid a booking as Sean O'Shea slotted the resulting two-point free. It was so early in the game and Clifford was already well in credit. There was a white flag after O'Shea's fee and a critical two-pointer on the stroke of half-time that pushed Kerry's lead out to 0-17 to 0-10 after Donegal had worked hard to narrow the deficit. There were another couple of Clifford singles in the second half but he fell just short of perfection for the fact that he was turned over in the first half, leading to a Murphy point, while his goal late effort was taken off the line by O'Donnell. Simple arithmetic points to him being directly involved in 0-11 in a game that Kerry won by 10 - but there were others to rival his display, not least his brother Paudie, who ran the game, with Donegal unable to get a handle on him at all. Arguably highest among his many key contributions was a foul drawn from Peadar Mogan, allowing O'Shea to kick another two-point free to make it 0-25 to 0-18 in 59th minute, effectively killing Donegal off. Captain Gavin White was magnificent too, putting Donegal on the back foot literally from the throw-in and finishing with 0-3, and was roughly on a par with the Clifford brothers, though that triumvirate was backed by a star cast, not least Joe O'Connor who capped another fine display by firing in the game's only goal late on. Kerry's Joe O'Connor celebrates scoring a goal (Image: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) Donegal boss Jim McGuinness said recently how the 2014 final loss to Kerry pained him on a daily basis until he came back to the job almost two years ago. Given how so many of his players failed to perform to a reasonable standard, this one will ache for some time yet. KERRY: Shane RYAN; Paul MURPHY, Jason FOLEY, Dylan CASEY; Brian Ó BEAGLAOICH, Mike BREEN, Gavin WHITE (0-3); Seán O'BRIEN (0-2), Mark O'SHEA; Joe O'CONNOR (1-0), Seán O'SHEA (0-6, 0-1f, 2tpf), Graham O'SULLIVAN; David CLIFFORD (0-9, 3tp), Paudie CLIFFORD (0-3), Dylan GEANEY (0-3). Subs: Diarmuid O'Connor for O'Brien (50), Killian Spillane for Geaney (54), Evan Looney for Ó Beaglaoich (63), Tadhg Morley for Breen (65), Micheál Burns for O'Sullivan (69). DONEGAL: Shaun PATTON; Caolán McCOLGAN, Peadar MOGAN, Brendan McCOLE; Eoghan Ban GALLAGHER, Finnbarr ROARTY, Ryan McHUGH; Caolán McGONAGLE (0-1), Michael LANGAN; Ciarán Moore, Ciarán THOMPSON, Shane O'DONNELL (0-2); Conor O'DONNELL (0-4), Michael MURPHY (0-8, 0-6f), Oisín GALLEN (0-3). Subs: Dara Ó Baoill (0-1) for Thompson (23), Hugh McFadden for McColgan (HT), Jason McGee for McHugh (41), Paddy McBrearty for Conor O'Donnell (50), Jamie Brennan for Gallagher (59). REFEREE: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).