Cork showed tremendous character to almost snatch a draw after playing the second half of yesterday’s All-Ireland final with 14 players. Carrie Dolan’s late free may have been the decisive score, yet Galway’s All-Ireland success was built on winning key match-ups, particularly in defence.
Four of Cork’s starting forwards were taken off, including their inside line of Katrina Mackey, Sorcha McCartan and Amy O’Connor, while Emma Murphy (0-2) and Orlaith Cahalane (1-0) were the only starting forwards to score from play.
Three of Cork’s points in open play came from their midfield pairing of Hannah Looney and Ashling Thompson. Half-back Laura Hayes added another with a monstrous effort in the second half.
O’Connor did win a penalty in the opening 10 minutes but was otherwise restricted to two points and one ’45, before she was replaced by Cliona Healy in the 48th minute. Cork manager Ger Manley revealed after the game that she suffered a torn hamstring last week, and wasn’t ‘at full tilt’ in the final.
Amy O'Connor played the All-Ireland final with a torn hamstring. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
Mackey also missed that penalty after a brilliant reflex save by Sarah Healy.
Cork got three points from their bench in last year’s final, but none from their substitutes yesterday. Orlaith Mullins hit 1-2 after she came on in the semi-final against Waterford but couldn’t add to her tally after replacing McCartan in the 40th minute.
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Hannah Looney’s red card dismissal certainly impacted formations, as Saoirse McCarthy was forced to move to midfield in the second half. Galway centre-back Ciara Hickey conducted the sweeper role effectively for Galway throughout, and had just been called ashore before Orlaith Cahalane scored the goal that levelled the game in the final moments.
But ultimately, Galway profited from their match-ups to win and put a halt to Cork’s All-Ireland three-in-a-row dreams.
*****
2. First-half momentum swingers
When O’Connor was hauled down by Aoife Donohue and Annmarie Starr for that penalty in the ninth minute, it was a draw game. Mackey kept her effort low and into the corner but Galway goalkeeper Sarah Healy dropped quickly to bat the ball out for a ’45 which O’Connor scored. One point registered instead of the three that were on offer.
Four minutes later, Galway created their first goal chance after Donohue raced through a gap and offloaded to Mairead Dillon who also opted for a low trajectory shot. The Kilconieron forward was successful with her attempt as Galway took a 1-3 to 0-4 advantage.
In a game that ended in a one-point win for Galway, Caoimhe Kelly’s score in the 21st minute has since become a big talking point. Kelly created the score after a turnover on Cork keeper Amy Lee who was trying to secure possession from a Laura Treacy pass. Kelly’s goal-bound effort ended in a point and Cork manager Manley disputed the score after the game, pointing out Kelly pushed Lee.
Arguably the biggest moment of the game occurred just before half-time. Cork midfielder Hannah Looney reacted to a push by Galway captain Carrie Dolan, resulting in a straight red card.
Looney was a huge loss for Cork but they did manage to fight back from five points down and almost clinch a draw with that late Cahalane goal.
*****
3. Referee criticism
The performance of referee Justin Heffernan has dominated much of the post-match conversation. Cork boss Manley was among his critics. During his briefing with the media after the game, he repeatedly came back to the disappointment he felt at some of Heffernan’s decisions.
The Looney red card along with the push on Lee were among his grievances. He also felt substitute Clodagh Finn was the victim of a push in the concluding moments, and questioned the injury-time foul on Dolan which she scored to settle the contest.
Hannah Looney's sending off was a major talking point. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
Victorious Galway manager Cathal Murray felt some of his players were wrongly penalised for charging but said camogie referees have improved to allow for a more free-flowing contest.
“Justin is a good referee and that’s the way he referees it, he’ll always shake hands and say ‘I’m going to let it go as much as I can’ and in fairness, most of the referees are doing that. You don’t want a game of frees like we had in the past but I do think it was an unbelievable game of camogie.”
It’s a difficult position for match officials to achieve that balance between enforcing the rules and giving players the freedom to play. In previous years, there were complaints over too many frees being awarded in All-Ireland camogie finals. The 2025 final has been condemned by many for allowing too much physicality in the game.
*****
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4. Camogie Association must improve promotion
During the week, camogie president Brian Molloy announced that the association was targeting a crowd of 40,000 for the 2025 All-Ireland camogie finals. The attendance was 28,795, a slight improvement of last year’s figure of 27,811.
It’s also well below the 48,089 who turned out for Dublin’s demolition effort against Meath in last week’s Ladies football All-Ireland final.
Molloy was hoping that reversing the skorts narrative would encourage people to go to Croke Park. He called on all those who articulated their views about the players’ right to choose between shorts and skorts, and asked them to demonstrate their support by coming to the All-Ireland finals. His tactic failed.
Fans cannot be preached into attending a sports event. It must come from their own desire as a supporter of the team.
Camogie president Brian Molloy before the junior All-Ireland final between Laois and Armagh. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Another factor which affected the turnout was the throw-in times. Galway and Cork’s battle didn’t get underway until 5.15pm. That leaves families with a long journey back to either the western county, or back down south. And as a result, many obviously felt it was too big an undertaking. Ladies football and camogie All-Ireland finals day are a great opportunity for a family day out but the evening throw-in time created a major barrier for families to go and enjoy the 2025 event.
Of course, holding the junior, intermediate and senior All-Ireland finals in the one day creates a tricky scheduling scenario. But starting with the junior final between Armagh and Laois at 1pm was a misguided call.
Reverting to the 12pm, 2pm and 4pm throw-in times could certainly help with getting those crowd numbers up.
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Galway win the big moments, Cork forwards shut down, referee criticism
1. Galway keep Cork firepower at bay
Cork showed tremendous character to almost snatch a draw after playing the second half of yesterday’s All-Ireland final with 14 players. Carrie Dolan’s late free may have been the decisive score, yet Galway’s All-Ireland success was built on winning key match-ups, particularly in defence.
Four of Cork’s starting forwards were taken off, including their inside line of Katrina Mackey, Sorcha McCartan and Amy O’Connor, while Emma Murphy (0-2) and Orlaith Cahalane (1-0) were the only starting forwards to score from play.
Three of Cork’s points in open play came from their midfield pairing of Hannah Looney and Ashling Thompson. Half-back Laura Hayes added another with a monstrous effort in the second half.
O’Connor did win a penalty in the opening 10 minutes but was otherwise restricted to two points and one ’45, before she was replaced by Cliona Healy in the 48th minute. Cork manager Ger Manley revealed after the game that she suffered a torn hamstring last week, and wasn’t ‘at full tilt’ in the final.
Mackey also missed that penalty after a brilliant reflex save by Sarah Healy.
Cork got three points from their bench in last year’s final, but none from their substitutes yesterday. Orlaith Mullins hit 1-2 after she came on in the semi-final against Waterford but couldn’t add to her tally after replacing McCartan in the 40th minute.
Hannah Looney’s red card dismissal certainly impacted formations, as Saoirse McCarthy was forced to move to midfield in the second half. Galway centre-back Ciara Hickey conducted the sweeper role effectively for Galway throughout, and had just been called ashore before Orlaith Cahalane scored the goal that levelled the game in the final moments.
But ultimately, Galway profited from their match-ups to win and put a halt to Cork’s All-Ireland three-in-a-row dreams.
*****
2. First-half momentum swingers
When O’Connor was hauled down by Aoife Donohue and Annmarie Starr for that penalty in the ninth minute, it was a draw game. Mackey kept her effort low and into the corner but Galway goalkeeper Sarah Healy dropped quickly to bat the ball out for a ’45 which O’Connor scored. One point registered instead of the three that were on offer.
Four minutes later, Galway created their first goal chance after Donohue raced through a gap and offloaded to Mairead Dillon who also opted for a low trajectory shot. The Kilconieron forward was successful with her attempt as Galway took a 1-3 to 0-4 advantage.
In a game that ended in a one-point win for Galway, Caoimhe Kelly’s score in the 21st minute has since become a big talking point. Kelly created the score after a turnover on Cork keeper Amy Lee who was trying to secure possession from a Laura Treacy pass. Kelly’s goal-bound effort ended in a point and Cork manager Manley disputed the score after the game, pointing out Kelly pushed Lee.
Arguably the biggest moment of the game occurred just before half-time. Cork midfielder Hannah Looney reacted to a push by Galway captain Carrie Dolan, resulting in a straight red card.
Looney was a huge loss for Cork but they did manage to fight back from five points down and almost clinch a draw with that late Cahalane goal.
*****
3. Referee criticism
The performance of referee Justin Heffernan has dominated much of the post-match conversation. Cork boss Manley was among his critics. During his briefing with the media after the game, he repeatedly came back to the disappointment he felt at some of Heffernan’s decisions.
The Looney red card along with the push on Lee were among his grievances. He also felt substitute Clodagh Finn was the victim of a push in the concluding moments, and questioned the injury-time foul on Dolan which she scored to settle the contest.
Victorious Galway manager Cathal Murray felt some of his players were wrongly penalised for charging but said camogie referees have improved to allow for a more free-flowing contest.
“Justin is a good referee and that’s the way he referees it, he’ll always shake hands and say ‘I’m going to let it go as much as I can’ and in fairness, most of the referees are doing that. You don’t want a game of frees like we had in the past but I do think it was an unbelievable game of camogie.”
It’s a difficult position for match officials to achieve that balance between enforcing the rules and giving players the freedom to play. In previous years, there were complaints over too many frees being awarded in All-Ireland camogie finals. The 2025 final has been condemned by many for allowing too much physicality in the game.
*****
4. Camogie Association must improve promotion
During the week, camogie president Brian Molloy announced that the association was targeting a crowd of 40,000 for the 2025 All-Ireland camogie finals. The attendance was 28,795, a slight improvement of last year’s figure of 27,811.
It’s also well below the 48,089 who turned out for Dublin’s demolition effort against Meath in last week’s Ladies football All-Ireland final.
Molloy was hoping that reversing the skorts narrative would encourage people to go to Croke Park. He called on all those who articulated their views about the players’ right to choose between shorts and skorts, and asked them to demonstrate their support by coming to the All-Ireland finals. His tactic failed.
Fans cannot be preached into attending a sports event. It must come from their own desire as a supporter of the team.
Another factor which affected the turnout was the throw-in times. Galway and Cork’s battle didn’t get underway until 5.15pm. That leaves families with a long journey back to either the western county, or back down south. And as a result, many obviously felt it was too big an undertaking. Ladies football and camogie All-Ireland finals day are a great opportunity for a family day out but the evening throw-in time created a major barrier for families to go and enjoy the 2025 event.
Of course, holding the junior, intermediate and senior All-Ireland finals in the one day creates a tricky scheduling scenario. But starting with the junior final between Armagh and Laois at 1pm was a misguided call.
Reverting to the 12pm, 2pm and 4pm throw-in times could certainly help with getting those crowd numbers up.
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