1. Goals key to Kerryโs charge
By half-time, Kerry had one hand on the Brendan Martin Cup. With 15 minutes to go, they were inevitable winners and by the time their third goal arrived, they were coasting through a victory lap.
They had 12 points to spare at full-time, with goals from Aoife Dillane, Hannah OโDonoghue and Emma Dineen accounting for much of the damage. Dillane was the first to lift a green flag with a brilliant run from half-back to complement some clever link play between Niamh Carmody and Aisling OโConnell before looping her shot over the head of Galway goalkeeper Dearbhla Gower, who was caught too far forward from the goal line.
With just 30 seconds remaining in the first half, that score put Kerry into a 1-8 to 0-3 lead at the break. Substitute Hannah OโDonoghue supplied the second goal shortly after her introduction to put Kerry 11 points clear. There was no way for Galway at that point but Emma Dineen turned the screw again with Kerryโs third goal to leave the scoreline reading 3-14 to 0-10.
Galway kept their net clear in the semi-final win over Cork and only conceded one goal against Dublin in the quarter-final, while scoring five of their own across both games. Kerry had scored just one goal across the quarter-final and semi-final victories against Meath and Armagh. The prospect of ending that long wait for an All-Ireland title inspired a three-goal feast in Croke Park.
2. Kerryโs big players stand up
Louise Nรญ Mhuircheartaigh had one of her quieter games in last yearโs All-Ireland final, where Dublin defender Leah Caffrey limited her to 1-1 from play. She cut a far more dominant figure yesterday, with four from play and looked far more involved in general play. And after 17 years of service to Kerry, she was honoured with the All-Ireland medal that had always eluded her.
Anna Galvin, another experienced player in the team, was excellent at midfield. She tapped over a point from play and carried possession through the middle strongly throughout the game. Team captain Niamh Carmody was also lively as was Sรญofra OโShea who curtailed Nicola Wardโs influence with her performance at centre-forward.
Full-back Kayleigh Cronin was named the Player of the Match after anchoring a defensive effort which kept Galway to just seven points from play. Her opponent Emma Reaney was also the first Galway player to be withdrawn in the game after 24 minutes.
3. Inexperience costs Galway
Sisters Nicola and Louise Ward were all on the pitch for Galwayโs 2019 All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin, as were Olivia Divilly and Charlotte Cooney.
But that experience from five years ago was simply no match from the hurt that Kerry had accumulated in their 2022 and 2023 All-Ireland final defeats. Galway had just three points on the board by half-time, one of which was a Rรณisรญn Leonard free. That, allied with the goal late in the first half, left Galway with too much of a mountain to climb in the second half.
Nicola Ward, who normally devastates teams with her surging runs, was too occupied by OโShea to add to their attacking play. Divilly left Croke Park yesterday with two points from play while Cooney also split the posts in the second half.
Of their six starting forwards, Divilly, her sister Niamh, and Leonard were the only ones to score from open play. Their combined tally was 0-8, including four frees. After taking a major scalp in the quarter-finals by eliminating defending champions Dublin, and overcoming Cork in the semi-final, Galway were unable to produce another performance of that quality in the decider.
4. Kerryโs faith in management team
In the aftermath of their win, the Kerry players pointed to the management team of Declan Quill and Darragh Long as being critical in summoning another effort after consecutive All-Ireland final defeats. The inclusion of some of their more experienced players was conditional on Long and Quill remaining at the helm.
The pair had even privately agreed to step down after last yearโs defeat to Dublin. But after speaking to players in the aftermath of that defeat, they endeavored to come back with the single focus of winning the All-Ireland.
Nรญ Mhuirtcheartaigh spoke of her affection for the duo when she spoke to the Sunday Game after the final and how crucial they were to Kerryโs success.
โWhen Darragh and Declan came in to help in 2019, we knew there was something in them. They got us to believe again. When they came in, the belief was down on the ground. We didnโt believe at all that this dream would ever come true. They instilled that belief in us. It was frightening how fast they did is as well. I absolutely love them; Iโm forever grateful for every single one of that management team.โ
5. One-sided final a disappointing spectacle
The Ladies All-Ireland final triple-header opened with two absorbing contests. The junior decider saw Fermanagh barely edge Louth by two points, while Leitrim managed to withstand a late fightback from Tyrone to clinch the intermediate crown.
The senior final was intended to be the blue riband event, and a tight contest was the forecast for Kerry and Galway. But it was essentially over as a contest by half-time after that Aoife Dillane goal. Galway, to their credit, tried to eat through the gap in the second half but Kerryโs defensive line was impenetrable.
Dublin were the clear winners in last yearโs final, but the difference was just five points at full-time in that clash while Kerryโs three-goal display put a considerable difference between the sides in this yearโs final.
Additionally, there seemed to be less of a focus on the build-up for the 2024 final which may have been caused by a clash with the Olympics. A crowd of 30,340 was recorded in Croke Park which is down from the attendance numbers at Ladies All-Ireland finals in recent years. Dublin and Meath were in some of those finals, counties which are closer to Croke Park, but other factors may have contributed to the lower turnout.
There were menโs club championship games in Kerry at the weekend, along with the senior hurling final where Abbeydorney ended a 50-year wait to become champions. That may have diverted attention away from the Kerry Ladies. After last weekendโs All-Ireland menโs final against Armagh, many Galway fans may not have been able to travel to Dublin again in successive weekends. Their county is also in the camogie All-Ireland final against Cork this coming weekend.
Less of the chat about the attendance and more about the great game that evolved in the most awful conditions. Hats off to the players. Tremendous commitment shown.
The pubs and hotels in Dublin must have been hoping for a Limerick win today. 35 or 40 thousand Limerick fans would have made a weekend of it in the capital for the final. The same doesnโt apply to KK as they are there nearly every year.
If 30-40k Kilkenny fans went to a game that would be about 50% of the population. So probably a 25-30% of the population is not half bad turn out!
Show me the stats to back that up or are you just another anti Kk griper?
Iโm not anti KK in any way. If u read my contributions on other threads relating to todayโs match u would see that. Itโs just perfectly understandable โฆ Whatโs rare is wonderful โ in recent decades Limerick average one all Ireland appearance every 8 or 9 years. For Kilkenny itโs almost as common as Christmas.
Not even 50,000 at todayโs game!!!
Wayne โ u are aware that finals always attract larger attendances than finals?! People living abroad, those struggling financially etc will come for finals where it wouldnโt be realistic (or affordable) to come for semi also. Strange comment โฆ
* finals always attract higher attendance than semis
Wow really thanks for that nugget of wisdom! 190,000 population between todayโs 3 counties, and then neutrals! I was there today and Iโm a Dub. Attendances down so far this summer by 50-60 thousand across all games.
GAA should be looking at free kids tickets for weaker hurling countys for days like today. Or hold todayโs game in Semple instead reducing costs for fans
U were there today, congrats โฆ it probably cost u approx โฌ35 between ticket and getting bus/luas. Treble that amount at least, for someone travelling from Limerick or a few hundred โฌโฌ if the wife and kids were with u โฆ Get real Wayne !
Pay attention and read what I suggested 42,000 today, would Semple not have been a better location?
Semi finals and finals always take place in Croke Park. As a Dub u should know that โ Teams and their fans know that โฆ If todayโs game had been in Thurles the attendance would maybe have been bigger .. But only marginally.
& the costs to the fans attending would have been??? Lower :)
Send an email/write a letter to Peter McKenna or Sean O Neill and ask them to put the hurling semi final(s) on in Thurles and let me know how that works out for u โฆ.
Limerick (City & County) alone has a population of over 160k, so the 3 counties together would have a lot more than 190k. Saying that I was a little disappointed with todayโs attendance, 16k down on last yearโs.