THE MOOD IN Kerry may be sombre, but it’s onto the next All-Ireland final after Sunday’s shock defeat to Mayo.
The county’s ladies football team are in their fourth decider in five years, looking to regain the Brendan Martin Cup as they face Galway in Croke Park on Sunday.
A thought for their male counterparts first, and the atmosphere back home.
“It’s not an easy thing to do for the lads to go down to a losing homecoming, but to see the amount of people that turned up for them was great,” says captain Siofra O’Shea.
“They were obviously disappointed, but to see the scenes in Mayo and the scenes in Croke Park after, I saw a lot of Kerry people stayed to watch it, it was just a historic day. Delighted for Mayo as well because after all their hurt, it’s class for them to get over the line.”
O’Shea and her teammates stayed in the Kingdom and watched it as a group after training that morning, mindful of their own job at hand.
A meeting with team psychologist Claire Thornton the previous Friday about focusing on themselves regardless of what happens came as a timely reminder amidst the noise.
“A lot of us are probably staying away from people this week so you wouldn’t hear too much about it,” says star forward O’Shea.
“But it probably does show you what you don’t want to be like next weekend after the final whistle and the scenes in Mayo probably shows you the other side of it and what you do want to experience. I suppose having experienced that in 2024, you really want to experience it a couple of more times again. To get that feeling again would be massive.”
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Kerry's David Clifford and Sean O'Shea dejected after Sunday's All-Ireland final. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Having made it third time lucky as they ended a 31-year wait for glory in 2024 – comfortably beating Galway – last year was hugely disappointing as Kerry crashed out in the semi-finals to Meath.
Manager Mark Bourke – who succeeded Declan Quill and Daragh Long after the breakthrough – has spoken about letting the ball drop. Players have referenced not doing themselves justice. The hurt ran deep.
“The biggest thing was that we felt we didn’t perform to our own standards,” O’Shea reflects. “Meath were fully deserving of it on the day and we could have no complaints because we didn’t hit our own performance levels. I suppose it was really disappointing having been in the last few All-Irelands.
“We kind of didn’t know what to do with ourselves.”
Well, they came up with something pretty decent.
A group holiday to Albufeira was a welcome distraction – and a balm for the pain on All-Ireland final day as Dublin wrestled back the crown.
“I think there was about 20 of us went away. We just booked a flight and went over to Portugal and we were sat by the pool watching it on our phones, watching a bit of it anyway.
“There were a few alright who couldn’t watch it. It was definitely tough and I suppose it was a new experience for us from the last few years. But being there as a group probably made it a small bit easier, and it was great for the headspace.
“When you got back to Kerry it was kind of forgotten about, just being able to reset then and go straight back to club football. It was definitely nice just to be with everyone and build those connections and bonds and something we carried into this year.”
2026 inter-county plans were long in place while in Portugal, vows made to return as one hours after the semi-final exit in Tullamore. There was unfinished business to be attended to.
“That night we were as a group together and just back in one of the girls’ houses after,” O’Shea remembers. “I think a lot of the talk was that everyone was staying on, no one was going to leave.
“(They decided) that they weren’t going to go out like that and weren’t going to leave the Kerry ladies jersey after a performance like that. I think a lot of people decided that night that they were going to give it another go again this year.”
O'Shea is Kerry's top scorer with 3-25 in the All-Ireland championship. Stephen Heaney / INPHO
Stephen Heaney / INPHO / INPHO
Everyone stuck to their word and the revenge mission began with “a great meeting” with Bourke and the senior leadership group in early November.
“We broke down the whole season and just things that we wanted to improve on, different aspects. We dug into absolutely everything, such as strength and conditioning, the training, just the commitment, the game plan, every single thing that you could think about.
“Then when we came back, there was just one goal in mind and that was getting back to All-Ireland final day just to give us a chance of getting over the line again.”
After a mixed bag in the league, Kerry have been really impressive in championship action, but the summer began with defeat to Waterford in their Munster opener.
That was somewhat of a blip after an encouraging challenge match against Dublin, though O’Shea points to it as a critical time as they bounced back to retain the Munster title, with a 100% record ever since.
“It was definitely a turning point. I suppose going into those other Munster championship games then, we knew we had to win. Every game since then has been a must-win. I think it’s probably brought out the best of us.
“We’ve been learning from each game. We have been winning, but there are definitely things that we’ve tried to improve on in every single game. No different to the semi-final, we’ve taken learnings into training over the last two weeks to try and improve for the next day.”
Having comfortably cleared the final four hurdle on this occassion by dethroning Dublin, O’Shea and co. are exactly where they want to be.
Back once again. And hopeful of lifting the mood in the Kingdom.
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Having watched 2025 All-Ireland final poolside in Portugal, Kerry back with unfinished business
THE MOOD IN Kerry may be sombre, but it’s onto the next All-Ireland final after Sunday’s shock defeat to Mayo.
The county’s ladies football team are in their fourth decider in five years, looking to regain the Brendan Martin Cup as they face Galway in Croke Park on Sunday.
A thought for their male counterparts first, and the atmosphere back home.
“It’s not an easy thing to do for the lads to go down to a losing homecoming, but to see the amount of people that turned up for them was great,” says captain Siofra O’Shea.
“They were obviously disappointed, but to see the scenes in Mayo and the scenes in Croke Park after, I saw a lot of Kerry people stayed to watch it, it was just a historic day. Delighted for Mayo as well because after all their hurt, it’s class for them to get over the line.”
O’Shea and her teammates stayed in the Kingdom and watched it as a group after training that morning, mindful of their own job at hand.
A meeting with team psychologist Claire Thornton the previous Friday about focusing on themselves regardless of what happens came as a timely reminder amidst the noise.
“A lot of us are probably staying away from people this week so you wouldn’t hear too much about it,” says star forward O’Shea.
“But it probably does show you what you don’t want to be like next weekend after the final whistle and the scenes in Mayo probably shows you the other side of it and what you do want to experience. I suppose having experienced that in 2024, you really want to experience it a couple of more times again. To get that feeling again would be massive.”
Having made it third time lucky as they ended a 31-year wait for glory in 2024 – comfortably beating Galway – last year was hugely disappointing as Kerry crashed out in the semi-finals to Meath.
Manager Mark Bourke – who succeeded Declan Quill and Daragh Long after the breakthrough – has spoken about letting the ball drop. Players have referenced not doing themselves justice. The hurt ran deep.
“The biggest thing was that we felt we didn’t perform to our own standards,” O’Shea reflects. “Meath were fully deserving of it on the day and we could have no complaints because we didn’t hit our own performance levels. I suppose it was really disappointing having been in the last few All-Irelands.
“We kind of didn’t know what to do with ourselves.”
Well, they came up with something pretty decent.
A group holiday to Albufeira was a welcome distraction – and a balm for the pain on All-Ireland final day as Dublin wrestled back the crown.
“I think there was about 20 of us went away. We just booked a flight and went over to Portugal and we were sat by the pool watching it on our phones, watching a bit of it anyway.
“There were a few alright who couldn’t watch it. It was definitely tough and I suppose it was a new experience for us from the last few years. But being there as a group probably made it a small bit easier, and it was great for the headspace.
“When you got back to Kerry it was kind of forgotten about, just being able to reset then and go straight back to club football. It was definitely nice just to be with everyone and build those connections and bonds and something we carried into this year.”
2026 inter-county plans were long in place while in Portugal, vows made to return as one hours after the semi-final exit in Tullamore. There was unfinished business to be attended to.
“That night we were as a group together and just back in one of the girls’ houses after,” O’Shea remembers. “I think a lot of the talk was that everyone was staying on, no one was going to leave.
“(They decided) that they weren’t going to go out like that and weren’t going to leave the Kerry ladies jersey after a performance like that. I think a lot of people decided that night that they were going to give it another go again this year.”
Everyone stuck to their word and the revenge mission began with “a great meeting” with Bourke and the senior leadership group in early November.
“We broke down the whole season and just things that we wanted to improve on, different aspects. We dug into absolutely everything, such as strength and conditioning, the training, just the commitment, the game plan, every single thing that you could think about.
“Then when we came back, there was just one goal in mind and that was getting back to All-Ireland final day just to give us a chance of getting over the line again.”
After a mixed bag in the league, Kerry have been really impressive in championship action, but the summer began with defeat to Waterford in their Munster opener.
That was somewhat of a blip after an encouraging challenge match against Dublin, though O’Shea points to it as a critical time as they bounced back to retain the Munster title, with a 100% record ever since.
“It was definitely a turning point. I suppose going into those other Munster championship games then, we knew we had to win. Every game since then has been a must-win. I think it’s probably brought out the best of us.
“We’ve been learning from each game. We have been winning, but there are definitely things that we’ve tried to improve on in every single game. No different to the semi-final, we’ve taken learnings into training over the last two weeks to try and improve for the next day.”
Having comfortably cleared the final four hurdle on this occassion by dethroning Dublin, O’Shea and co. are exactly where they want to be.
Back once again. And hopeful of lifting the mood in the Kingdom.
*****
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