Maria Quirke’s case for defence

In Kerry’s Maria Quirke, there’s a new breed of footballer.

As a teenager growing up on the outskirts of Tralee, she spent hours on the pitch at Ballymacelligott GAA Club practising and perfecting her free taking.

Technically, her strike of the ball was very good having played underage soccer with St Brendan’s Park, but gradually she increased the distance of her kicks and before she knew it was kicking a 45 in the 2015 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Mayo on live television.