Kerry’s Niamh Ní Chonchúir hopeful fans will get in early to support them on Kildare double bill 

Before Jack O’Connor’s side take on Kildare this evening in Newbridge, their female counterparts will face off in their own All-Ireland SFC fixture at St Conleth’s Park. 

Niamh Ní Chonchúir (left) celebrates with Aishling O'Connell after their side's victory in the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 final against Armagh. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Just a few short weeks on from another shared billing, Kerry’s Niamh Ní Chonchúir and her colleagues are optimistic supporters will get behind them for a football double header at Cedral St Conleth’s Park later today.

Back on May 10, 2026, Ní Chonchúir and the Kingdom produced an excellent second half performance to earn a 1-16 to 0-8 triumph over Cork in a TG4 Munster senior football championship round robin game at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney. Later that day in the same venue, the rival counties also clashed in a men’s provincial decider with Kerry coming out on top with eight points to spare (1-23 to 1-15).

Before Jack O’Connor’s side take on Kildare in a crunch All-Ireland senior football championship Round 2B game this evening in Newbridge, their female counterparts will lock horns in their own All-Ireland SFC fixture at St Conleth’s (throw-in 3pm). The Kerry ladies enjoyed an accomplished opening to Group 2 against Tipperary in Tralee last weekend and Ní Chonchúir is hopeful the county’s travelling fans can arrive early to catch her team in action.

“This time of year, we’re trying to pick up that bit of a support. I’m hoping after that day in Killarney that we encouraged a few people to maybe come a little bit earlier the next day as well and to support us,” Ní Chonchúir said.

“I suppose the biggest thing for us is just to focus on ourselves and our own game. Obviously it’s nice for any families or supporters travelling up, that they might be able to get both games in.

“I suppose if we can get replicate the atmosphere we had, in some way, shape or form, in Killarney. Just to have that little bit of an extra crowd. I suppose when you’re playing, having that extra bit of support, it does make a difference.” Following their 2-16 to 0-4 victory over Tipperary at Austin Stack Park six days ago, Kerry enter today’s meeting with Kildare knowing another win will not only secure them top spot in Group 2 of the All-Ireland series, but also a home encounter at the quarter-final stage of the Brendan Martin Cup.

Yet when you consider Kerry faced the Lilywhites in the last eight of the 2025 championship on the back of the latter recording a surprise group stage win at the expense of Armagh, Ní Chonchúir readily recognises that a tough challenge awaits them on the road today.

The Kingdom held out for a slender one-point triumph (2-10 to 2-9) when the teams faced each other in a Lidl National Football League Division 1 closing round affair at Manguard Park in March and the Lilies have since gone on to compete in their first TG4 Leinster senior football championship decider since 2009.

“Watching back that Leinster final, they gave Dublin a good run for it until possibly the last five, 10 minutes [Dublin eventually won 2-12 to 2-6]. They were really in there and they put it up to them. We’re expecting a big battle.

“They’re a physical team, they’re very well able to run the ball. They’ve some brilliant forwards that are well able to take their shots when they get any bit of a chance. We’re expecting a tough game.” Having featured in their final losses to Meath and Dublin in the previous two years, Ní Chonchúir (a senior debutant back in 2020) donned the number 11 jersey when Kerry defeated Galway to win a record-breaking 12th TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship crown – and their first in 31 years.

Following the departure of joint managers Declan Quill and Darragh Long in the wake of that victory, Mark Bourke stepped into the hotseat and guided Kerry to a Lidl NFL Division 1 title with Ní Chonchúir once again playing a pivotal role. However, despite also holding onto the TG4 Munster senior football championship trophy, the Kingdom’s defence of the Brendan Martin Cup ended in a semi-final reversal to Meath.

Reflecting on 2025 as a whole, Ní Chonchúir feels Kerry weren’t at their best for much of the year, but they have been doing their utmost to absorb lessons from that last-four defeat to the Royals and turn it into a positive for the current inter-county season.

“I suppose when the season ends you reflect on all the games you’ve had. When we look back on last year, we probably would have said we got over the line in a lot of games, but probably didn’t perform as well as we could have. Then sometimes those bad performances are masked by a win.

“There’s a lot of learnings that we took from that semi-final last year. When you look at the game, Meath had more hunger in it, they had more fight. You kind of always have that in the back of your head now this year moving forward.” While she called time on her glittering inter-county career after finally picking up an All-Ireland senior football championship winners’ medal in 2024, Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh is someone Ní Chonchúir still encounters on a regular basis. In addition to being her club-mate in Corca Dhuibhne, the pair are also teachers at Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School in Tralee.

A PE and Irish teacher (like Ní Mhuircheartaigh, she is fluent in the language), Ní Chonchúir is also joined on the staff by another former Kerry star in the form of Amanda Brosnan. Because she is also involved in coaching at the school, football also plays a huge part in the working life of the University of Limerick graduate.

“It’s great to have those two shoulders to lean on in school and even coaching school teams with them, there’s some learning to take from them. I am very lucky. There’d be some weeks where it’s football, football, football inside in school. Because it’s a school where there’s 1,300 kids,” Ní Chonchúir added.

“We could have first year girls football trials and 60 to 80 girls could show up. When you’re entering one or two teams in every competition, you’re very busy. Sometimes I feel like more of a coach than a teacher, but it’s great that I have two of the things I love the most in terms of sports and the Irish language. I get to work with them every day.”