Ladies set to take centre stage

LADIES football takes centre stage in Croke Park this weekend. While they continue to celebrate in the North, the footballers of Dublin and Mayo will meet to decide the last All-Ireland senior title of 2003.

It is the sort of fixture that, if it was the men’s game, would have special supplements and page after page of the great hunger devoted to it. But, Mayo ladies have made a habit of winning the All-Ireland titles that have eluded their male counterparts.

Sunday’s final will be their fifth final in-a-row, and they are going for their fourth title in that period.

Both captains were in Croke Park yesterday to publicise the final, which will be live on TG4. And while Mayo will be, by far, the more experienced outfit, their captain Helena Lohan was taking nothing for granted.

“Dublin will be very hard to beat. They are strong, fit and well drilled. I saw them in the semi-finals and we will have our work cut out to beat them. Their midfield, particularly, is very strong,” she said.

Lohan believes that she and her team were fortunate enough to get past a very focused Galway team in the semi-finals. “They played much better than we expected and we were lucky to get by after extra-time.”

Despite all such negative vibes, the Connacht champions will be favourites, their pedigree is strong and they have some of the most exciting talents in the game, especially Cora Staunton. But Dublin captain Martina Farrell says inexperience shouldn’t be a factor.

“Laois have been there or thereabouts for the past few years, and we were meeting them in the final. When we came together this year, our aim was to get to the All-Ireland final.

“We had got to the semi-final last year and we wanted to go at least one better. And now we have got to that stage. We have brought on a lot of minors, since Mick [Bohan] took over, he has taken on a lot of new players and we have benefited from it,” Farrell said. Now she hopes that Dublin GAA supporters will come out and cheer on their ladies on Sunday. After all, it will be the final opportunity Dubs will get to stand on their beloved Hill before renovation works begins. “I hope they come out in force and I fully expect they will. The game is growing in Dublin, more and more young girls are getting involved and if we do manage to win on Sunday, that will only increase interest. Success breeds success, after all.”

l O’Neills and TG4 announced yesterday that they will sponsor the inaugural Ladies Football All-Star awards in the CityWest Hotel on Saturday, November 15.

The awards will be presented by President Mary McAleese.