Cora Staunton's Women's All-Ireland SFC final preview

RTÉ News​

4 days ago

Croke Park plays hosts to this year's TG4 All-Ireland SFC final in what will be a repeat of the 2021 decider, where Meath surprised Dublin to win the Brendan Martin Cup for the first time.
The victory for the Royals saw them end the Dubs' quest for five All-Irelands on the spin.
Four years on and the Leinster rivals face off again in on the biggest day of the year in women's football. It's nearly three months since Dublin and Meath met in the Leinster final, with the former coming out on top.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Staunton believes what happened on the 11 May last will have little bearing on what transpires on Sunday afternoon at Croke Park.
"The provincials, and I see it down here with Mayo and Galway, is more of a one-off game, so it probably will have no significance," she said.
"Both Dublin and Meath have improved a lot and have grown a lot since then.
"The All-Ireland final will take on a life of its own. Meath beating Dublin back in 2021, stopping their five-in-a-row aspirations will have more of a bearing on it than the Leinster final of 2025.
Attendances at All-Ireland finals have grown considerably in recent years and the hope is that another big turnout will be present at the Jones's Road venue. That's what the four-time All-Ireland winner want to see.
"It's the one day of the year that most people will watch so it is really important to have a big crowd there, important that the three finals are of a high quality.
"I was in Tullamore for both semi-finals and there was a good crowd. The thing is to keep building the game. It's not like the men's game, you only get one or two games in the year to highlight the game. I suppose there has been a lot of talk of girls exiting, leaving for Australia, and that's another thread going through this final. Jennifer Dunne and Grace Kos (Dublin players) have opted to go back early, to be back with their clubs.
"Then you have Sinéad Goldrick, Éilish O'Dowd, Vikki Wall and Aoibhín Cleary, who'll be heading out to Australia shortly, all opting to stay and represent their counties. So you have all that but above all it's important that we have a good crowd there and that it is a good spectacle."
So, who is going to prevail?
"It's a hard one to call," was Staunton's opening thoughts.
In drilling down more, she added: "After seeing the semi-finals, Meath impressed me the most. Dublin have had a mixed bag this year as have Meath in the group stages; both drew a match and Meath struggled to get over Kildare, while Dublin were poor against Waterford.
"Looking at it from quarter-finals onwards, both teams have been excellent. I'm tipping Dublin in terms of their experience, of being in that '23 final and having the likes of Sinéad Goldrick back who wasn't there in '23.
"The likes of Hannah Tyrrell is back to herself. I read an article a couple of weeks ago that this is her last hurrah. I think the huge experience that Dublin have will get them over the line.
"That said, I do like the youth and enthusiasm of a lot of the Meath stars, in particular their back line of Sarah Wall, Áine Sheridan and Karla Keely. But I'm just about giving the nod to Dublin."