Motivation clear as UCC look to topple UCD and secure Ashbourne Cup title

UCC manager Michelle Gould remembers the defeat to UCD as a sobering evening for the 2025 finalists and that 'morale was low' immediately after the four-point loss.

Fri, 06 Feb, 2026 - 15:38

Paul Keane

Electric Ireland Ashbourne Cup final: UCC v UCD, DCU Sports Grounds, Sunday, 4pm

When UCC lost their opening Electric Ireland Ashbourne Cup game to UCD last month, nobody within the group was talking about winning the title.

UCC manager Michelle Gould remembers it as a sobering evening for the 2025 finalists and that 'morale was low' immediately after the four-point loss.

"Sometimes home advantage is great but no, UCD took the game to us that evening and fair play to them," said Gould. "They came down to Cork and they beat us."

Overcoming SETU Waterford on a punishing evening of high winds and heavy rain strengthened UCC's resolve and ignited the fire again. Then they beat an excellent University of Galway side containing reigning All-Star Carrie Dolan.

Abby Walsh put a huge shift in for UCC that evening, the Clare defender holding Galway colossus Dolan scoreless from play.

And if confidence wasn't already soaring again, UCC must have felt virtually indestructible when they knocked out holders UL last Tuesday evening in their own backyard.

"UL were absolutely favourites, going for three-in-a-row this year," said Gould. "But things went well for us and we'd done our homework."

That's quite the bounce back from their Round 1 defeat and UCC can prove just how far they've come when they face UCD all over again in Sunday's Electric Ireland Ashbourne Cup final.

"Beating Galway was a huge boost to our players' confidence," said Gould, a former UCC player herself. "And we just drove on. It was kind of like, 'Look, there's nothing to lose now' and we just went on from there.

"But losing the first round of the championship was definitely tough and there was a bit of regrouping to be done after that.

Morale was low and, technically, people might have expected us to win that because we were at home.

"But we didn't and we had to look at things, change a few things around, positions and stuff and thankfully it's working for us at the moment."

Cork dual star Aoife Healy has been central to UCC's resurgence.

"She's having a great season so far," said Gould. "We were unlucky to lose our captain, Méabh Ring, she's sick so she's out of action. But Aoife has been unbelievable, Abby Walsh, Sarah O'Brien, who is a senior with Limerick, she's having a great season as well. I could name plenty more because people have really stepped up."

UCD have been boosted by the availability of former Kilkenny star Grace Walsh this season.

They last won the title in 2008. UCC have endured an even longer wait for success, since 2003 and came up an agonising two points short in last year's final.

"It's a long time since we won it, 23 years," acknowledged Gould. "It would be sweet to do it, I won't lie. But we're probably going in as underdogs, they've beaten us already. I think that will be a big motivating factor for us. As I've said to them, we've gotten this far, anything can happen on the day of a final."