DUBLIN HAVE CONFIRMED a change in captaincy, with Carla Rowe and Niamh Collins taking over from All-Ireland four in-a-row winning skipper Sinéad Aherne.
A post on Dublin LGFA’s official accounts begins: “Ahead of Saturday’s opening round of the TG4 Leinster senior championship, Dublin manager Mick Bohan has announced that Carla Rowe and Niamh Collins will share the Dublin captaincy role.”
Aherne remains a key figure for the Sky Blues as they open their 2022 championship campaign against Westmeath in Mullingar on Saturday, looking to bounce back from their 2021 All-Ireland final defeat to Meath and Division 1 league semi-final loss to Donegal.
The change in the top leadership role is certainly an interesting one.
Star forward Rowe, of the Clann Mhuire club, and teak-tough defender Collins, from Foxrock-Cabinteely, are two of the team’s most established players and have stood up for Dublin time and time again through the years.
BREAKING - Ahead of Saturday’s opening round of the TG4 @LeinsterLGFA senior championship Dublin manager Mick Bohan has announced that Carla Rowe @ClannMhuireCLG & Niamh Collins @OFFICIALFoxCab will share the Dublin captaincy role.
— Peil na mBan Átha Cliath (@dublinladiesg) April 27, 2022
MORE - https://t.co/YLWJ8KgLOi #DublinLGFA pic.twitter.com/SmmmQIkcQn
Both enjoyed glittering underage careers with the county, before quickly announcing themselves on the senior stage. Three-time All-Star Rowe, 27, made her senior debut in 2014, while 29-year-old Collins first appeared in 2012.
The duo both hold four senior All-Ireland titles, two Division 1 league honours and countless Leinster medals (six for Rowe, eight for Collins).
A statement issued by Dublin LGFA lauds both players, with an interesting paragraph within on Collins, in particular: “Collins is recognised by many as one of the top defenders and indeed man markers in the country. Although often overlooked by the All-Star selection committee, this was eventually rectified in 2019.”
Aherne has captained Dublin since Bohan took the reins from Gregory McGonigle in December 2016. Through her tenure, she led the team to four All-Ireland senior titles in-a-row, three Leinster championships and the county’s only two Division 1 league honours.
The free-scoring forward made history in 2020 when she became the first player in ladies football to captain a team to a four-in-a-row.
Denise Masterson (2010) is the only other Dublin player to have ever lifted the Brendan Martin Cup.
Throw-in at TEG Cusack Park on Saturday is 1.30pm, as Dublin get their bid for their 16th Leinster and sixth All-Ireland titles underway.
The Ulster senior championship also kicks off this weekend, with Armagh and Monaghan going head-to-head in the first semi-final. The meeting of Donegal and Cavan has been postponed until Sunday 8 May, to form a double-header with their male counterparts in Clones.
