Croker ladies day faces axe
More than 23,000 people watched the junior and senior deciders but that still falls significantly short of the 32,000 needed to ensure games are financially viable at the state-of-the-art venue.
Ladies finals have been played in Croke Park since the 1980s and the carrot of playing in the ground is a huge bargaining tool in the face of stiff opposition from other sports.
Ladies Football Association President Geraldine Giles said yesterday they would do everything in their power to ensure their blue riband event would stay at Croke Park before adding that "nothing is sacred".
"Croke Park is the place everyone wants to play but the reality is that the cost of it does have to be examined.
"We need the support there to make it viable in the long-term.
"If the numbers don't grow then I don't think it would be viable in years to come.
"Certainly we'll be there for the next few years but if the numbers remain as they are, or even drop, then we would have to take a look at it."
Sunday's attendance actually bettered the last two Women's FA Cup final crowds combined, with the 2004 decider between Arsenal and Charlton and this season's encounter between Everton and Charlton being watched by a combined total of just 20,811 people.
Giles is confident the Association's recent rapid growth will spread beyond the boundaries and into the stands and terraces.
"We're still a relatively young organisation. We've a lot of young players and it's still very much a case of trying to open the game up to a wider audience."
Meanwhile, victory in the camogie final a fortnight ago inspired the Cork ladies footballers to win their first All-Ireland, according to county official Fr Liam Kelleher.
"The girls who were involved with the camogie helped to bring that extra bit to the team and make history in completing the Rebel treble. After the (Cork) hurlers and the camogie team winning, this was the icing on the cake."
Three of the dual players started on Sunday Angela Walsh (Inch Rovers), Rena Buckley from Donoughmore and Briege Corkery (St Valentine's).
Mary O'Connor from Donoughmore was the first of four substitutes introduced.
As part of their preparations for the final, the side attended the camogie final and it served as further motivation to win their first TG4 senior championship.
Fr Kelleher was manager and Donegal-born Charlie McLoughlin was the coach when Cork won two All-Ireland minor titles, two at U-16 level and four in the U-14 grade.
"We never lost a final in the last five years. Obviously, that brought players to a certain level,'' he said.
"Mary (Collins), Eamonn (Ryan) and the others brought them to this level and it's great for Cork football. You can only go a certain distance and we enjoyed our time at underage level and every credit to the girls.
"They were flying for the whole game. I never once doubted their ability to win. The further the game went on, it was better that Cork were getting.
"Galway thought that they would reverse the League final. Niamh Fahy was missing that day and she had a big influence in the All-Ireland semi-final when she scored two goals. But Cork were hungrier. And the defence was tremendous.''
Cork's dramatic rise to the top can be traced back to the decision to establish a school of excellence eight years ago.
Fr Kelleher remembers Amanda Murphy coming to the sessions as an eight-year-old, leaving her home on the Beara peninsula at 6am.
"That's what basically started it, the work that was put in those years. The underage success continued it and a lot of those players were on the team on Sunday. And for Juliette Murphy, Valerie Mulcahy and Elaine Harte, who weren't part of the underage success, it was great for them as well.''
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