logo
Cathal Murray hails incredible and resilient champions

Cathal Murray hails incredible and resilient champions

RTÉ News​2 days ago
Galway camogie manager Cathal Murray has hailed the work of his "incredible" squad as they spoiled Cork's three-in-a-row bid in Croke Park after a dramatic All-Ireland final yesterday.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the game, the Sarsfields club man felt that the Tribeswomen got what they deserved in an incredible final performance.
"The performance out there was absolutely outstanding and everyone died on their feet. There's huge resilience in this group."
"When Orla Cahalane got the goal, brought it back to level, it was a massive point in the game, it looked like we were gone," he said post-game.
Cork's history-chasing run was not lost on Galway, with both Murray and Ailish O'Reilly referencing it after the thrilling decider.
"We were kind of wrote off all week. I don't think anyone had given us a chance, but we knew after last year, losing by three points, we knew if we performed, we always say it about Galway, if we perform, we're as good as any team", Murray said.
Galway overcame the odds in one of the great finals in recent memory, and Murray was also quick to point out that coming up just short in recent years was also a massive driving factor.
"We won two All-Irelands in 2019 and 2021 and then we had a barren period. We lost two semi-finals to the eventual All-Ireland champions in 2022 and 2023", he said.
"Obviously last year was cutting. We got so much right, we performed so well but Cork were the better team. We can have no excuses.
"We knew if we got back here that we would give it another go and to win three All-Irelands, and we've won three All-Irelands in seven years and that's really, really special."
Following the first half dismissal of Hannah Looney, Cork responded strong in the second half, which Murray expected.
"They're an absolutely savage team and they're unbelievable champions. As Carrie (Dolan) said, down to 14 players and still to come at us with whatever need to come at us in the second half."
Galway produced a 70-minute performance, the type needed to dethrone a great champion like Cork. However, as Murray referenced, Galway came through a tricky path to the final and managed to get over the line, speaking to the mentality of the squad.
"With this team, I know we lost the league final, but we weren't ready. We did not have our homework done and we knew that.
"We turned it around and we wanted to be ready for the first championship game against Dublin.
"When you beat Dublin, Derry, Waterford, Tipperary and Kilkenny to get to an All-Ireland final, you deserve to be there.
"To beat Cork today, the champions that they are, it's just unbelievable.
"This team is incredible and it's going to be we're going to celebrate it long and hard."
FT: Galway 1-14 Cork 1-13
Carrie Dolan wins it for the Tribeswomen with a huge free in injury time
Watch on @rte2 and @rteplayer https://t.co/ZfZ9mA9XTY #SundayGame pic.twitter.com/cxUWlQyxCr
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 10, 2025
The deciding score would come from Galway's inspirational captain Dolan. The Clarinbridge forward struck seven frees, the last of which to win the game coming deep in injury time to snatch victory for Cathal Murray's squad.
The manager had full faith in the reliable ball striker to come up with the goods in the closing stages.
"Carrie does that every day of the week", he said.
"I think she missed one in the league final against Tipperary last year. That hit her hard, but she scored one against Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final last year.
"That free, a pressure free and in the last minute of an All-Ireland, that's just unbelievable stuff.
"She's captain for a reason. She's captain because she's a leader. Herself and everyone else out there were just absolutely exceptional."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

From medical theatre to the rugby arena, Linda Djougang's focus is on successful outcomes
From medical theatre to the rugby arena, Linda Djougang's focus is on successful outcomes

Irish Times

timean hour ago

  • Irish Times

From medical theatre to the rugby arena, Linda Djougang's focus is on successful outcomes

This summer is a rugby summer for Linda Djougang. Contracted to play in the upcoming Rugby World Cup , it seems like a stark contrast that when not lining out for Ireland in the frontrow, she works as a theatre nurse in Tallaght University Hospital . Then again, specific, comprehensive care in a specialised unit could easily describe the work of a prop scrumming down to leverage angles and pressure points. For the 29-year-old, who grew up in Cameroon before moving to Rush in north Dublin as an eight-year-old, there are very real similarities between the theatre and the arena. Timing, process, encouragement, resourcefulness and maybe even triage. Administering anaesthesia is, thankfully, no longer part of the modern game. READ MORE 'Oh massively,' she says. 'I think it is so important. I always feel what I do in nursing is the same as in rugby. For me now, I have experience on the field but what I gain from nursing I can put into rugby. 'Like the team working, being sharp, the quick decisions on and off the field, being precise, quick thinking. I problem-solve and usually that's what happens on the field. 'When it comes to a penalty, what do we do next? When you play, who's going to stand up and make the decisions?' Djougang is a former track-and-field athlete. By the time she was in Trinity College, she had still barely heard of rugby. Then she signed up for tag rugby to meet people. Bang, that was it. Neve Jones and Linda Djougang celebrate Deirbhile Nic a Bháird's try during Ireland's World Cup warm-up victory against Scotland at Virgin Media Park in Cork. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho First she was a flanker, then a loosehead and now a tighthead. She travels to Franklin's Gardens, Northampton, for Ireland's first Pool C match against Japan as the most experienced player on the Irish squad with 48 caps. If Djougang lines out against Japan and then Spain, she will be the only player on the team to potentially face New Zealand in Brighton for the final pool game with 50 caps. 'I think now it is really the mentality and mindset that goes in, it's so important,' she says. 'It's really the mentality and sometimes caps don't represent . . . yeah, you have the experience, but experience is really what you face in front of you. I think last year in Vancouver it really opened our eyes, where we played the likes of New Zealand and were able to beat them. 'We had less caps then. Now we have grown and gained even more experience, and I think it just shows the players sometimes have to forget about the caps. It's more about our mindset and ability to focus on what's in front of us.' Vancouver last year was the WXV1 tournament. Launched in 2023, it consists of three tiers of nations. Djougang and her team-mates were in Tier 1 as one of the three top sides in last year's Six Nations championship. Ireland secured a sensational, last-gasp 29-27 win over world champions New Zealand in their opening match. Replacement Erin King, who is injured and not travelling to the World Cup, scored her second try of the game to level the scores in the final minute, with outhalf Dannah O'Brien kicking the decisive conversion off the upright. The scalp of the Black Ferns was transformative for the Irish team in their thinking and expectations. With the win, the dial turned sharply. 'We were the underdog going into Tier 1 in Vancouver in the WXV1,' says Djougang. Linda Djougang celebrates after Ireland's dramatic victory against New Zealand in Vancouver, Canada, last year. Photograph: Travis Prior/Inpho 'People saw that we were kind of worried going and playing against the likes of New Zealand, Canada and USA – top-tier teams. 'But we came second in Vancouver. No one thought that. I think people saw us then as underdogs, but the fact that we beat the world champions . . . we came from 10th in the world to fifth now, so I think we have lost that underdog title. 'We don't want to be underdogs. I think that we want every team to know that. Respect us because we've shown what we are capable of. We won't be going into this World Cup as underdogs.' The intensity of the group springs from a World Cup four years ago that Ireland didn't attend, a defeat to Scotland in the qualifiers sending the team spiralling into relative obscurity, or, certainly to the fringes of the first order of teams. Ten of the current squad were involved in the game. [ Rugby Ivana Kiripati: 'I am a Samoan girl, born in New Zealand, doing life in Ireland – how cool is that?' Opens in new window ] The feeling then of a World Cup taking place in New Zealand without Ireland was that something hugely important had passed them by. It makes the next few weeks even more freighted and crucially places Ireland back in the centre of the rugby world – a position where the players believe they have a right to be. 'It makes it feel extra-special, especially with the 10 of us that have been through that journey, and we know how we felt in Parma,' says Djougang speaking at the Specsavers Media Day. 'I feel that we appreciate it even more, because we know what the journey was and we know what we've been through. Sometimes, for you to really appreciate something, you have to have that. I think it's something that really connects us even more, the fact that we have now an opportunity to do something that we always wanted.' Four long years of wait and finally a summer of rugby in the World Cup arena.

Shelbourne v Rijeka live updates: Team news, TV info and start time ahead of Europa League clash
Shelbourne v Rijeka live updates: Team news, TV info and start time ahead of Europa League clash

Irish Times

timean hour ago

  • Irish Times

Shelbourne v Rijeka live updates: Team news, TV info and start time ahead of Europa League clash

22 minutes ago Hello and welcome to live coverage of the second leg of the Europa League third qualifying round between Shelbourne and Rijeka, it kicks off at Tolka Park at 7.45pm. Shelbourne pulled off one of the great upsets of Irish football history in Europe by beating the Croatian champions in Croatia in the first leg, a 2-1 victory thanks to a John Martin goal . The Croatians will be looking for revenge and will be highly motivated with a lot of quality, but Shels will hope for a famous night, which would get them through to the next round of qualifying but more importantly guarantee group stage football regardless in the Uefa Conference League. Unfortunately for Shels, Seán Boyd has been ruled out with a calf injury. The starting teams will follow when they're announced. You can watch the game on LOITV tonight, it's €10 to buy a stream -

Aylward: All-Ireland camogie final referee got big calls right
Aylward: All-Ireland camogie final referee got big calls right

RTÉ News​

time3 hours ago

  • RTÉ News​

Aylward: All-Ireland camogie final referee got big calls right

All-Ireland camogie final Justin Heffernan got the big calls right and tried his best to allow for a free-flowing encounter, according to RTÉ analyst Elaine Aylward. Galway prevailed by the bare minimum at Croke Park on Sunday to deny Cork three in a row, Carrie Dolan's late free from distance the difference between the teams at the death. After the game Rebels manager Ger Manley hit out at the official's handling of the game, describing the performance as "shocking". Manley insisted the first-half sending off of Hannah Looney was "harsh", was unhappy that a clear push on the back of goalkeeper Amy Lee, which resulted in a Galway point, was missed and also disputed Dolan's match-winning free. Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, former Kilkenny player Aylward conceded that the push on Lee was a "no-brainer", but the other two big calls were correct. The 2009 All-Star highlighted a couple of instances where the Tribes were denied a couple of frees themselves and that over the course of 64 minutes, it was a fair performance by Heffernan. "In a one-point game, you are always going to look back on the obvious ones, ones that could have gone either way, but over the course of the full hour, I think he got the big calls right," she said. Also speaking on the podcast was four-time All-Ireland winner with Wexford Ursula Jacob. She agreed that the referee had a good game overall, and given the free-dominated finals of 2017 and 2018 involving Cork and Kilkenny, there was an effort on Heffernan's part to avoid a game dominated by placed balls. "I understand the frustration from Cork and Ger Manley," she said. "Galway were probably aggrieved last year with a goal that was very lucky – it probably wasn't a clearcut handpass - I think Justin was trying to allow a free-flowing game. "I'd hate if we were here talking about a game that was all frees."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store