Kerry bounced back from their National League final defeat to Armagh in the best way possible. It wasn’t just that they won the Munster title for the first time since 2017.
Beating Cork in the final, a year on from losing to their neighbours by six points in the decider, was the dash of orange in the drought-ending win.
“It was a massive one for us this year because I don't think we did ourselves justice in last year's one,” says Kerry’s Niamh Carmody.
For Carmody, the win was another milestone in her inter-county career. Seven years on from her debut season, when she came off the bench in that provincial final win against Waterford, the Finuge-St Senan’s forward captained the team to victory.
“There's some fantastic footballers to watch on our team. To play with them, it's a dream,” says Carmody.
“Everyone's unselfish and everyone does the hard work for each other. They're a great craic then outside of that as well.
“I'd say that's the reason we've stuck around together for so long. There hasn't been massive turnover in the panel as such, a lot of people have stayed around.
“That's just that's standing to us as the years go by and sticking together with one goal in mind: winning the All-Ireland.”
After two consecutive All-Ireland final defeats, to Meath in 2022 and Dublin last year, it would not have been a major surprise to see the dual management team of Darragh Long and Declan Quill step down after four seasons in charge but they have stayed on for another year.
“They really took Kerry ladies football out of the place that it was in and brought us to new heights, this panel of players,” says Carmody.
“It was just fantastic to see them stay on. I think that probably convinced a lot of other people as well to stay on and give this year a right good crack. Hopefully that's what we do for them. It'd be great to just get an All-Ireland title for the two lads and everyone else that's kind of stuck by Kerry ladies football over the last few years.
“The amount of time that they spend at the pitch with us. They've got young families and families at home that it just can't be easy the whole time. The amount of time they put into us, we can hopefully repay them with that.” This is also evolving Kerry panel. In the Munster final against Cork, an eight-point win, reigning Player of the Year Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh stepped of the bench to score three points. Ní Mhuircheartaigh hasn’t had to bear the full scoring burden in recent years but she did shoulder much of it. Danielle O’Leary, who scored 10 points - all but one from play - in the Munster final looks ready to take more of that weight.
“Danielle is still such a young girl,” says Carmody.
“She's been banging around the panel for the last couple of years, but she has massive potential and she's starting to realise that this year. We all knew the potential that Danielle O'Leary has. She was phenomenal against Cork and hopefully that's the way it goes for her for the rest of the year. The way she's taken the pressure off other forwards, Louise and things like that for the scoring.” If Kerry are to win their first All-Ireland since 1993, they will have to negotiate a group featuring Donegal and Waterford. They face a tricky trip to Ballybofey this Sunday for their opening game against Donegal and then play Waterford in Killarney the following Saturday.
“Last year, our quarter-final against Meath at home was probably the most enjoyable game,” says Carmody.
“We all still reference it because the crowd that was in Austin Stack Park that night was incredible. It was probably the biggest crowd we've ever played in front of for a home game. It was a miserable night in Tralee. It was torrential rain, but they still came out in their numbers, even around the terrace. It was super to be part of that.
“A couple of years previous to that, it would be just our family I suppose at the games but to see how much it's grown is just fantastic and hopefully continues to grow.”
