Leah Caffrey: 'Tough' two years has driven us on 

Leah Caffrey of Dublin. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

From her cookery studies in Cork to a TG4 All-Ireland final against Kerry, Leah Caffrey's year has had a distinctly Munster flavour to it.

A decade into her Dublin career, defender Caffrey spent three months at the start of the year studying at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry.

She commuted back and forth for National League games before returning full-time to the capital to focus on a Championship that, truth be told, has probably gone better than she expected.

That Kerry, the National League winners and the 2022 Championship runners-up, are in the final is probably no surprise but after a couple of difficult seasons for new look Dublin, their progress has been heartening for the Na Fianna player.

"There's a really good group there, we just need to get the best out of ourselves - the last two years we haven't done that," said Caffrey. "This year, we've been improving with each game. Which is what we wanted to do. It's definitely going better this year than the last two years."

Dublin exited last year's Championship at the quarter-final stage after a surprise loss to Donegal. The previous year, Meath beat them in the final.

Prior to that, it was all about Dublin who claimed four titles in a row between 2017 and 2020. Caffrey started three of those finals - she was away in 2019 - and Sunday's decider will be her eighth to start in total.

With players like Lyndsey Davey, Niamh Collins, Siobhan McGrath, Ciara Trant and Siobhan Killeen all absent for one reason or another this year, Caffrey has been happy to stick around and to take on extra responsibility.

Not that the daughter of former men's All-Ireland medallist John Caffrey sees it as any sort of chore.

"For me, I just like the gang, I love all the girls," she said. "I just get such a buzz from it, to be honest. The last two years have been tough but that has driven us on a bit more. There's loads of determination to get back to where we know we can be. For me, that's why I keep coming back.

"I'm competitive by nature and of course you want to win. But I also just really enjoy it. When you enjoy it, why would you step away?"

Dublin are considerable favourites to wrestle back the Brendan Martin Cup though they lost both times they played Kerry this year, in the National League and in the group stage of the Championship.

"Last year, we played them in a challenge game," recalled Caffrey. "It was very close and we seen them then all through the Championship last year, getting to the final. They were so impressive. I'm not sure...their energy has definitely changed in the last couple of years. They're extremely strong and extremely impressive."

Caffrey first pulled on the sky blue Dublin jersey in 2013 and admits the ladies game has changed plenty over the decade. She played, for example, in the first ladies final to draw over 50,000, in 2018. A new record of over 56,000 was recorded the following year though she missed that final as she was abroad.

It's understood that the record is unlikely to be broken again this weekend but a huge crowd is still anticipated.

"I remember after the 2017 final, the roars of the crowd as we went out," said Caffrey. "The upper tiers were filled. That was so special because you see in the men's game they get that and when you run out and there's that many people there to watch your game, it's great. It really shows how much it has grown."