Dubs' never-say-die attitude a priceless asset, insists Hetherton

Dublin's Niamh Hetherton and Grace Murphy of Cork. Pic: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho

Niamh Hetherton says Dublin's never-say-die spirit has been a priceless asset as they bid to return to the TG4 All-Ireland SFC final.

The Brendan Martin Cup holders have had to roll with the punches and bounce back from some big hits since last year's triumph.

They lost Player of the Year Hannah Tyrrell and forward colleague Nicole Owens to retirement, for starters.

Gone from their All-Ireland winning team also is AFLW duo Sinéad Goldrick and Eilish O'Dowd, along with decorated stars Martha Byrne and Jess Tobin.

Throw in relegation from Division 1 of the Lidl National League, and the crushing ACL injury suffered by All-Star defender Leah Caffrey, and you get a sense of the challenges they've faced.

But Dublin simply refused to relent and somehow found a way to beat Cork in their recent TG4 All-Ireland quarter-final tie, despite trailing by five points with under four minutes left.

"We take great confidence from the character we showed in the last five minutes to get ourselves over the line," said in-form Dublin midfielder Hetherton. "We were probably dead and buried, to anybody on the outside. It's a credit to all the girls that we never gave up.

"We weren't happy with our performance from the previous 50 minutes or so but to be able to work together in those last few minutes and get a result is a huge testament to the character and resilience of that team."

Hetherton supplied the ball in for Orlagh Nolan's goal which ignited the comeback against Cork.

The Clontarf colossus also assisted Kate Donaghy for what proved to be the match-winning point.

Yet while Hetherton is best known as an inside forward for the Sky Blues, she's excelled at midfield this season.

It hasn't stopped her from scoring either because the Player of the Match against Mayo has netted in each of their Championship games so far.

"I would have played around the middle in underage teams, at minor and U-16 level," she said. "So I'm not alien to it, I played there with my club as well. Probably coming onto the ball is where my strength is these days. And it's probably more evident that you're getting on the ball more too. I'm enjoying it, it's different but it's good."

Hetherton displayed her full skillset with a two-pointer against Kildare earlier in the season.

That was back in February when Dublin were building a new group, handing out 16 debuts in all during the League.

"We were always confident in the process and the work we were doing, what we were working towards," said Hetherton. "Ultimately you're always targeting being in the Championship for the knock-out stages, that was kind of what we were aiming for."

Now it's about overcoming Kerry in a repeat of the 2023 final, to secure their place in the August 2 showpiece back at Croke Park.

"Dublin v Kerry is always exciting," said Hetherton, ahead of the trip to Tipp and FBD Semple Stadium. "We saw that rivalry with the lads last weekend, when they played. The majority of our team would have headed in to look at the lads and support them. It definitely got you excited for our own semi-final."

Dublin have recalled captain Carla Rowe and Donaghy while Kerry are unchanged. That means Kerry go with 14 of the 15 who lined out in last year's TG4 All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Meath.

"Kerry are a younger team than we have been in the last couple of years," said Hetherton. "Their leaders on the pitch are probably that bit younger, wouldn't be near retirement age. Whereas we probably lost a few of our leaders to retirement. But new girls have come in, and girls have stepped up and filled those boots so we feel we're in good shape."