Carrie Dolan: 'Girls are giving up their time, going to the gym twice a week. They want that physical battle'

PRIMED: Galway’s Carrie Dolan pictured ahead of the 2026 Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Camogie Championship Semi-Final double header in FBD Semple Stadium. Pic: James Crombie/Inpho

Galway had a team and a target to chase last year.

Having been edged by Cork in the superb spectacle that was the 2024 camogie decider, Cathal Murray’s group wanted back to Croke Park and a different endgame outcome.

That’s what drove them through the winter. That was their year-long motivation.

Once they secured a ticket back to Croker and knew the opposition would again be red, fresh motivation was found in different places.

They were aware what RTÉ pundits had backed against them the day of their All-Ireland semi-final against Tipp. They felt they were written off by every pundit and pencil-holder entering the All-Ireland final. Their manager took issue with certain player profiles. It was all fired into the blender for fuel.

Let loose on the concluding Sunday, they were physically demonic in turning over favourites Cork and planting the maroon flag on camogie’s summit.

Because it is now they with a target on the back, motivation cannot be mined from the same sources. They have had to go in search of different cues to drive them, sustain them. To lift them to new levels again.

“Last year, you were dealing with the defeat from the year before, do you know that kind of way? I suppose how then do you find that edge this year? You're looking for small tweaks and small edges all the time,” said All-Ireland winning captain Carrie Dolan.

Galway recovered from a rocky League start to ultimately claim spring ribbons. Having lost four members of their back eight from the All-Ireland win - corner-back Shauna Healy, half-back Siobhan Gardiner, and the midfield pairing of Ann-Marie Starr and Olwen Rabbitte - to a combination of retirement and injury, others such as Kaite Manning and Katie Anna Porter stepped in and stepped up. Áine Keane and Niamh McPeake, meanwhile, returned from injury.

The graph was trending in the right direction ahead of championship throwing in.

And then the championship threw-in and fresh motivation immediately presented itself through their own shortcomings.

UP FOR IT: Orlaith Cahalane and Cliona Healy, Cork compete with Ally Hesnan and Ciara Hickey, Galway. Photo: Ray Ryan

Cork came to Athenry on the opening day in early June and surged into a 0-13 to 0-4 interval lead. The gap stretched to double-digits early in the second period. Cork’s final margin of superiority was an utterly comfortable and comprehensive seven points.

“You have your own personal edges and then you have your ones as a team. We got defeated by Cork in the opening round, and that was an eye-opener as to where we were at.

“The challenge put in front of you then is to win the next two games and try and get into the semis, and that’s what we did,” continued 26-year-old Dolan.

“We’re here now against Kilkenny, and I suppose when you’re looking for a bit of an edge, you’re thinking of the last few times you’ve come up against them. They beat us in the opening game of the league this year, at home. They beat us in an All-Ireland final in 2020 and the All-Ireland semi-final in ‘22. So examples like that you might reference.”

Back to Athenry for a moment. What were their eyes opened to during a first championship defeat since the 2024 All-Ireland?

“You know sometimes when you don't have a provincial championship like in Munster or Leinster, you are kind of wondering where you're at in the first round of championship. It could go great, it could go not so great. You need to see it happen in front of you to go and work on a few things in training.

“Against Cork, our work-rate was way down. We were bullied all over the field. We weren't getting our hands on puck-outs, on breaks. We weren't taking the shots. We were handing off the ball to someone else.

“Work rate-wise and confidence-wise, if you're out on the field you have to be confident enough. You have to believe in your ability and believe in the girls beside you. But after that then, in the Waterford game, work-rate came up.” 

Work-rate, confidence, and bullying aggression were the chief components tabled by Galway in August of last year. The same as the previous August, the GAA community was gripped by what Galway and Cork served up in charging into each other.

“The two All-Ireland finals were rollercoasters, really, weren't they? They were physical battles, but that's the level you want camogie to get to.

“Girls are giving up their time week in, week out, going to the gym twice a week or whatever it might be. They want that physical battle.

“It's really positive for camogie when you have people talking about it for weeks and weeks after it. Many people still say that the camogie final from last year was the best of the four All-Irelands across the four codes, and that's something you love to hear.” 

Dolan and Galway want to drive that same conversation again next month. One more motivation for Saturday’s semi-final to be tapped into.