IF THE NUMBERS could be produced, James Masters believes that the majority of goals scored during his time with the Cork Ladies could be attributed to the Mourneabbey sisters Ciara and Doireann O’Sullivan.
Both could glide past defenders with ball in hand. Both could dictate the play to conjure up goal opportunities at will. Doireann was renowned for her long-range kicking skills. Ciara’s engine and athletic ability were her trademark skills.
Those qualities are stitched into the 13 All-Ireland medals they won between them along with a combined six All-Stars [five for Ciara, 1 for Doireann]. They’re also the same qualities that Cork must now go without as the pair have both decided to announce their inter-county retirements.
Masters was involved in the Ephie Fitzgerald administration which ran from 2016 to 2019. Ten All-Irelands in 11 years under the late Éamonn Ryan was a difficult act to follow, but Fitzgerald’s squad completed a Brendan Martin six-in-a-row in his first year in charge. Doireann was just four years in the panel at that point while Ciara had been turning the wheel for Cork since 2008. Both were prominent in that 2016 triumph against their old agitators Dublin.
Masters recognised the influence of the O’Sullivans on the group from the first training session, which, incidentally, took place in Mourneabbey. He became even more aware of their different abilities when he took charge of them for kicking practice.
“Doireann was an extremely talented kicker,” he tells The42. “She’s one of the best kickers in the country; extremely natural from frees and from play. Ciara required special attention from a kicking perspective. She’d be open enough to say that that was an area she needed to work on.”
Rena Buckley, one of the greats of Cork’s All-Ireland winning crop, knew the O’Sullivans would become vital players for the team before they were even invited onto the panel. She had experienced their might in a club game with Donoughmore. The Mourneabbey siblings were intent on measuring up to Buckley’s standard and demonstrate their worth to the Cork squad.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish @CorkLGFA and @MourneabbeyLFC's Ciara O'Sullivan all the very best following confirmation that she has retired from inter-county football
— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) March 8, 2024
Ciara joined the Cork senior panel in 2008 and steps away as an 8-time @TG4TV All-Ireland… pic.twitter.com/a4ICElJARI
“I was one of the more well known players and they attacked me straight away,” Buckley says.
“It really highlighted to me that, along with their talent, they had an attitude that was going to carry them a long way.”
That 2016 All-Ireland final is a highlight for Buckley when she thinks back on the time she spent playing alongside Ciara and Doireann. Dublin were the biggest threat to their dominance in Ladies Football at the time. In Cork’s All-Ireland-winning stretch between 2005 and 2016, Dublin provided the opposition on four occasions. Cork won all four battles, but only just. The biggest winning margin was two points in the 2015 All-Ireland final where the O’Sullivan sisters combined for 0-3.
2016 was Buckley’s last season with the Cork Ladies, and it was also the county’s last time to reign supreme as All-Ireland champions. Doireann’s performance that day left a lasting impression on Buckley.
“I remember going forward and looking for Doireann. She kicked a monster point that day that any male footballer would have been proud of. The winning margin was one point.”
Injuries felled both Ciara and Doireann throughout their careers. Ciara famously played through the 2012 All-Ireland final against Kerry with a torn cruciate ligament which she suffered in their semi-final victory over Monaghan. In what was her second time to suffer the injury, she committed to three gym sessions per day to restore her match fitness in time for throw-in.
Other GAA stars tried a similar effort with their ACL including Henry Shefflin, who attempted to play in the 2010 All-Ireland but was forced to withdraw in the early stages as his knee gave way.
“That really just highlights her strength of mind and strength of character,” says Buckley, still amazed by how Ciara managed to navigate the delicate terrain of the dreaded knee injury.
“She became captain of the Cork team at quite a young age as well whereas there were other players who were older and more experienced that she would have looked up to, and she wasn’t fazed at all by the captaincy.
“Her sidestep is phenomenal and her ability to read the game is excellent.”
Doireann, however, suffered even more misfortune on the injury scale. Several issues with her knees along with some back and concussion trouble kept her confined to the sidelines for huge chunks of her days with Cork. But even with those extended periods of absence, Masters had seen enough to know she was one of the county’s best products.
It has now been confirmed that Ciara O'Sullivan's sister, Doireann, is also bringing the curtain down on her glittering inter-county career
— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) March 8, 2024
Doireann was a five-time @TG4TV All-Ireland Senior Championship medallist with @CorkLGFA and a TG4 All Star in 2018
Another fabulous… https://t.co/A2j4xhaqnH pic.twitter.com/MhAwqHOJzI
“We had good medical staff and Doireann knew herself that there were times when she played in big matches where she probably shouldn’t have played. I’d say the amount of pain she was going through at the time was frightening.
“But that’s just the type of person she was. She wouldn’t make any bones about it. She’d put her head down and drive on. She could be wincing with pain but she’d never tell anyone, especially management because we were trying to get the best out of them. We wouldn’t put them through any pain either.
“Other players would have retired four or five years ago.”
The role of captaincy was delegated to both of the O’Sullivans at different stages of their careers. Ciara was just 24 when she skippered the Rebelettes to All-Ireland glory in 2015 and 2016 while Doireann was unfortunate not to lift the Brendan Martin Cup after she took over the leadership role from her sister.
Silverware aside though, Masters recalls the pair as consistent standard-setters in the Cork team. If the team started slipping at training, or balls started slipping out of hands during a drill, the O’Sullivans would be among the first to call the players into a huddle and remind them of where they are and what they’re here for.
“There’d be a bit of effing and blinding because they weren’t up to standard,” says Masters. “That’s the difference and that’s why Cork were so successful for so many years.
“When I started my playing career with Nemo [Rangers] under Billy Morgan, there was a bit of a fear factor there. You wanted to get everything right. I’m not saying Ciara was a Billy Morgan but the standards needed to be right. Before the term leadership group came in, you probably had it in the Bríd Stacks, the Ciara O’Sullivans and Doireann O’Sullivans.”
Another tie with Cork’s golden period has been severed as the O’Sullivans depart. It’s a particularly difficult time for the county to lose such experienced players as they face relegation from Division 1 after just one win from five games in the league. Five-time All-Ireland winner Róisín Phelan has also announced her Cork retirement this week, meaning there are no remaining links to that 2016 All-Ireland final team in the current squad.
“They were colossal players,” Masters says summing up the combined loss of the O’Sullivans. “Ciara, for me, is probably the one of the most talented players I’ve ever worked with in men’s and Ladies football. There’d be two to three players on her at times.
“Throughout my four years, they were the two most driven individuals I’ve ever met in my entire life. You do meet some talented players and they’re not as driven.
”Even when Doireann wasn’t playing, she was on the sideline and a massive driving force. I’ve no doubt they might get into management down the line.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
