Casey: 'It's absolutely fantastic'

Dublin joint manager Paul Casey said he knew when the squad assembled on Sunday morning that they were poised to go all the way and reclaim the TG4 All-Ireland senior title.

“It’s obviously absolutely fantastic. When you have so much experience as we have in that group, to get a day when they all bring that experience to the pitch is just superb. We knew when we met them this morning that they were ready for it,” said Casey.

“They had a pep in their step and they probably came in here bouncing, but it's nothing like the way they're going to leave here because it's absolutely fantastic.

“A day when you're hoping that all your big names and stars will turn up and give a performance. I think that they went over and beyond that. It was fantastic.”

He praised the contribution of Player of the Match Orlagh Nolan who battled back from injury to produce a stunning performance on the biggest day of all.

“Orlagh has worked so, so hard to come back. When we were up in Clonshaugh and Craobh Chiarain in the dark and the muck, Orlagh was in the gym and she was working so hard to come back. She always did it with a smile on her face.

“We would have loved to have her back playing full games, maybe in the quarter-final, but our medical team were very strict in terms of just easing her back into it. It fell perfectly for her to have her first start today," added Casey.

Hannah Tyrrell, Kate Sullivan and team captain Carla Rowe registered an impressive combined tally of 0-13 as Dublin bossed matters throughout.

Nicole Owens and Niamh Hetherton also bagged goals in a dominant opening half as Dublin ended their first season under the joint management of Casey and Derek Murray with the Brendan Martin Cup back in their possession for the seventh time in history in front of a crowd of 48,089.

Meath, bidding for their third TG4 All-Ireland senior title, were always chasing the game and manager Shane McCormack said his side battled to the end but they knew it was going to be an uphill battle.

“I'm just gutted for the girls, to be honest. We were always doubted, even at the start of the year before a ball was thrown in, to even get to a quarter-final stage. But we did believe within our circle that we would achieve it. We played Dublin three times this year. A 16-point trimming in the league wasn't good, so we sat down that week and had a chat among ourselves and we kind of worked on different tactics.

“In fairness to the girls with the Leinster campaign, obviously we lost to Dublin in the Leinster final, but we were gutted because Dublin got the last eight points without a reply from us. So coming into today's game, we knew what was going to happen but the game was nearly over at half-time. In fairness to our girls, they battled to the end. I think we were 11 down at half-time.

“In the second half, pretty pleased that we came out of the blocks quick enough. I think we lost the second half by a point. But I'm just gutted for the girls because they're a fantastic bunch," said McCormack.