Great footballers, great people

Was Cork’s dramatic fightback to snatch a ninth All-Ireland senior title in ten years the moment Ladies Football moved in from the margins? Coach Eamonn Ryan debates the past, the present and the future.

SUNDAY mornings, Wednesday evenings, no difference. Training for the Cork Ladies footballers. The All-Ireland champions nine out of the last ten years. There are no supporters, before or after, and no-one’s giving out free gear or kit bags. The only bags for free are teabags, for those who’ve travelled a distance. Like Mairead Kelly from Ballydesmond.

“She was a sub for five years — she played rugby too with Munster — but she eventually made the team. When she was in college she’d come down from Limerick at her own expense,” manager, or trainer as he prefers, Eamonn Ryan explains.