‘Fear of defeat’ drove Cork on

CORK captain Mary O’Connor revealed that “a fear of losing” propelled the county to its fifth straight All-Ireland Ladies football titles and that it will be their driving force once again when they seek a sixth.

It seems almost indecent to be craning necks forward to what 2010 might bring, but there are few signs that Eamon Ryan’s side are ready to vacate the throne in the women’s game.

“Definitely the talent and underage success is there,” said O’Connor. “As we saw (on Sunday) it’s been very difficult to win five. It takes nine months. These players have given a lot to Gaelic football.