Caoimhe O'Connor explains how Dublin plan on using last year's ‘huge hurt' to get back to the top in 2025
DUBLIN forward Caoimhe O'Connor admits the Sky Blues' hurt locker is bursting at the seams.
The Dubs suffered a shock All-Ireland quarter–final loss to Galway after extra-time last July, and they have been stewing over that result ever since.
Advertisement
In November,
The reins were then handed to Paul Casey and Derek Murray, and they surged to Leinster SFC glory against Meath last month at Croke Park.
Now all eyes are on getting the Brendan Martin Cup back. That journey started on Sunday when they
The Blues sisters' group is rounded out by Leitrim.
Advertisement
Read More On GAA
Prior to Sunday's 1-13 apiece draw, O'Connor spoke about how the pain from last year lingers on within their panel.
She told SunSport: 'I think there's huge, huge hurt coming off the back of last year. No one wants to get knocked out in the quarter-final.
'But I think it's just trying to shake that off, dealing with it at the time over the winter.
'You're thinking back to what might have gone wrong or what we didn't do so well and chatting it through. And I think over the winter, we were just going through it then.
Advertisement
Most read in GAA Football
'But then when we come back in for the new year and this group, it's just trying to park it, but also using it as a positive in that we don't want to have this feeling again.
'Getting knocked out by Galway last year in the quarter-final was obviously such a huge blow. We know the feeling of not being successful, and we also know the feeling of being successful.
RTE GAA pundits argue over who started halftime row as Cork eventually topple Limerick in Munster epic final
'So it's to try to get back to that place and really pushing on for the rest of the summer.
'We've got a great squad and a great group of girls, and we all drive each other on.'
Advertisement
With new faces in the dugout, plenty of familiar ones are still delivering on the pitch.
Stalwart Hannah Tyrrell, 34, fired 1-4 in their 2-13 to 1-12 win over Meath as O'Connor lined out in their back six alongside Leah Caffrey, Martha Byrne and Lauren Magee.
1
Caoimhe O'Connor and the Dubs are desperate to get back to the summit in 2025
Seven-time All-Star winner Sinéad Goldrick, 35, missed the bulk of their 2024 campaign as she lined out with AFLW giants Melbourne, but has ended her six-year stint Down Under to fully focus on the Dubs.
Advertisement
Clontarf ace O'Connor made her SFC debut in 2019 — and believes that experience will be vital if they are to go all the way in 2025.
She said: 'Oh yeah, it's huge. Obviously, girls staying around and sticking with it and having the experience . . . the likes of Hannah Tyrrell, Carla Rowe and Goldie coming back in.
'I just think Goldie brings a different sort of energy and drive and strength to the squad.
'So having her in with us has been huge since she's come back, so we're delighted that she came back to us this year.
Advertisement
'I suppose just her hunger and her drive and her determination and obviously her experience of playing with us for the last few years.
'Then Leah and Martha, they've all been around for a long time. I think having the experience is huge and having them still around is such a plus for us.
'And then I think that comes also with the young girls coming in and having their drive. So it's a good mix of youth and experience.'
STAYCITY APARTHOTELS are proud partners of Dublin GAA across all four codes.
Advertisement
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
18 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Weekend fixtures confirmed as Kildare get Newbridge double header
The revamped Cedral St Conleth's Park will host a Kildare double header on Saturday. Fresh from their superb Joe McDonagh Cup final win over Laois, the Kildare hurlers are back in action six days later as they face Dublin in the All-Ireland preliminary hurling quarter-final in Newbridge, which, at the very least, will act as a useful barometer for manager Brian Dowling ahead of their return to the Leinster SHC in 2026. The game will have a 4pm throw-in and will be followed by the Kildare footballers' Tailteann Cup quarter-final against Offaly, which gets underway at 6.30pm. It will be the third meeting of the counties this year after they were paired together in this morning's draw, with Offaly beating Kildare in round six of the League and again in the Division Three final at Croke Park. There's another repeat of a League final with Wexford travelling to Limerick, who beat them in the Division Four decider. That quarter-final will take place on Sunday at the TUS Gaelic Grounds. The other two quarter-finals see Wicklow entertain Westmeath in Aughrim, also on Sunday afternoon, with Fermanagh at home to Sligo on Saturday. The Laois-Tipperary hurling preliminary quarter-final will be played on Saturday afternoon at Laois Hire O'Moore Park at 1.45pm as O'Moore boss Tommy Fitzgerald faces the difficult task of getting his players up for a game against top tier opposition just days after losing a season-defining game. Tailteann Cup quarter-finals Saturday, June 14 Fermanagh v Sligo, Brewster Park, 5pm. Kildare v Offaly, Cedral St Conleth's Park, 6.30pm. Sunday, June 15 Wicklow v Westmeath, Echelon Park, 1.15pm. Limerick v Wexford, TUS Gaelic Grounds, 3.45pm. All-Ireland hurling preliminary quarter-finals Laois v Tipperary, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, 1.45pm. Kildare v Dublin, Cedral St Conleth's Park, 4pm.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Dara O'Shea issues update on club future amid Premier League interest as he details Kieran McKenna talks
IRELAND defender Dara O'Shea is preparing for the Championship — even though he knows he is Premier League class. SunSport revealed last week there is interest from Ipswich do not want to lose him a year after And the Tractor Boys are believed to be ready to offer him an improved contract with no relegation release clause. O'Shea has already spoken to Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna about going back to the Prem. Read more on Irish football He said: 'I'm not going to think about it until the season ends and I've got one more game to focus on and then I can sit down and relax. 'But I'm fully committed to Ipswich at the moment. "I've got another four years there and I want to get the club back into the Premier League. 'I'm ambitious as a player. I want to be playing in the Premier League but I know it's not as easy as that. Most read in Football 'Whatever happens in football happens for a reason. You have a journey and you've got to stick to that sometimes. 'I feel like I'm well capable of playing in the Premier League and competing. England's biggest divers of the season crowned... as shocking record revealed "Obviously it's hard when you get relegated and I've got to get myself back there now. 'It's going to be a tough season next season but I think we've got more than enough to get back there. 'I think it doesn't matter where I am next season. "I've got to still play like I'm a Premier League player. That's the main aim for me. 1 The Dublin native has Ireland duty to focus on before he makes crucial decisions on his future "I've spoken to the gaffer and that's the task he set for me. He wants me to carry on the standards of a Premier League player.'
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
If we want free-flowing hurling we must accept the refereeing that facilitates it
On the raised television gantry at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday night, Alan Connolly leant on the barrier, while on the pitch behind him Cork fans belted out a chorus of 'After All'. When he turned around to take in the scene below, the decibel levels rose. Liam Sheedy, Donal Óg Cusack and Henry Shefflin were all standing beside him. Hurling royalty. But for those draped in red and white below it was clear that Connolly was the star attraction. Such was the level of the noise, Shefflin had to lean over at one stage to repeat his question to the Cork forward. During the entire interview Connolly – still in full gear and boots – carried the chilled-out disposition of a man who had just perched himself at a poolside bar in their flip-flops. There were the usual questions about the game and then host Joanne Cantwell interjected: 'Can I ask, when there was a change in referee – because Thomas Walsh referees a very particular way, and James Owens referees a very different way – what was it like?' READ MORE Connolly smiled apologetically, seemingly recalling the sight of Walsh requiring treatment on the pitch for cramp. 'It was funny, I hope he's all right,' he said before wondering if it had ever happened before where a referee had to leave the field. Informed that it had indeed, he continued: 'It was interesting, they reffed the game the same enough I thought, to be honest. There wasn't too much of a change, I don't know.' Plenty of others seemed to know. A quick scroll through social media on Saturday night would have demonstrated one of the main talking points from a gripping Munster final was the performance of the referee. Walsh was lauded by many for letting the game flow, his approach credited with contributing to the match, but for others the officiating facilitated a level of lawlessness that went too far. It quickly became a Marmite debate. A couple of days on and still many conversations about the game eventually arrive at the referee. Cork's Alan Connolly has his helmet tugged by Limerick's Diarmaid Byrnes. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Strip it all back and it leaves one very straightforward yet complex question about hurling: What game do we actually want? For those of us currently in a space where we spend many Saturday mornings ferrying kids to Go Games, hurling can seem a very different sport at either end of the chain. But children learn the game not only because of their coaches, they also learn from the referees they encounter. The referees at Go Games are predominately teenagers who have been persuaded to take up the whistle. Many of them spend a lot of their time during matches patiently instructing seven- and eight-year-olds on what to do next. They'll give the goalkeeper a second chance at puck-outs, or on spotting repeated fresh air shots the referee might encourage the young player to hit the ball along the ground instead. When it comes to juvenile sport, both the coaches and referees are heroes. But retaining referees is an ongoing problem for the GAA. Earlier this year Dublin GAA arranged a training course to try attract new referees to deal with a 'chronic shortage' of officials. Gaelic football and hurling are different sports but they share a common indistinctness in terms of some playing rules. Hurling, in particular, can exist in different forms depending on whether the referee wants to swallow their whistle or blow it. So, what game do we want? At the start of each half last Saturday, Walsh held the sliotar in his hand while a pair of opposing midfielders locked horns in that perpetual dance of bouncing off each other and snarling like a pair of bucking bulls released from their pen for the first time in months. Limerick's Shane O'Brien celebrates winning a free. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho As their shoulder-fest found its rhythm, the intensity spread across the pitch and several little replica dances sparked off. The roars from the stands increased, the Gaelic Grounds becoming a sporting tinderbox. The atmosphere, electric. In those few seconds at the start of each half, the terms of engagement were being set. If the referee was allowing those battles to fester, the players had a fair idea that a decent level of aggression would go unpunished. And so it played out. There were fouls not blown, flaking ignored, players got away with stuff. Both management teams then surrounded the referee at half-time – presumably to check if perhaps he could arrange it that only their lads would be allowed do the flaking. One of the positive outcomes of the FRC's new rules in football has been a greater level of respect towards match officials. Gaelic football referees at club and county level have seen a significant decrease in verbal abuse. And yet another of the FRC's rules has been to have a one v one throw-in at the start of each half. Instead, you now have two players standing on opposite sidelines and then dashing in when the ball is tossed in the air. For all the progressive FRC changes, the start of Gaelic football matches has lost something. It's lost that edge of physicality and aggression. But perhaps that is the game we are trying to manufacture now in football? Are we saying we don't want those displays of hostility at the outset of matches? Are we saying we want a game where players hand the ball back to their opponent? That, of course, is football's journey of discovery right now. But those are the kind of questions hurling might eventually have to answer too. As a sporting contest, what the Cork and Limerick players served up on Saturday was captivating. It was a game full of endeavour and desire, two tribes going full-blooded to represent their people. You couldn't take your eyes off it. They deserve great credit for producing such entertainment and drama, but at the same time those matches are also almost impossible to referee. If we can at least agree on that, perhaps we're not far away from having the game we want.
