Síofra O'Shea enjoying Kerry's  journey towards redemption

By Paul Keane

On the day of last year's TG4 All-Ireland ladies senior football final, Kerry captain Síofra O'Shea and most of her Kingdom colleagues were gathered around a swimming pool in Portugal.

Still in the throes of torment over how their season ended, with a six-point semi-final defeat to Meath, they opted for collective therapy in the form of a group holiday.

Lounging around in the sun, a few of them pulled out their phones and streamed the final between Dublin and Meath, resulting in little groups gathering together here and there.

The hardy ones watched until the end. Others had enough after a few minutes and jumped in the water. All of them, crucially, resolved to return in 2026 and to do absolutely everything in their power to be even better.

They've gone a step further by returning to the final, and will face Galway on Sunday in a repeat of the 2024 decider.

"I think there was about 20 of us that went away," said attacker O'Shea, arguably the standout player in the entire Championship so far. "We just booked a flight and went over and we were sat by the pool watching the final on our phones.

"There were a few alright who couldn't watch it. It was definitely tough and I suppose it was a new experience for us from the previous few years.

"But it's something that you have to kind of get through as well."

It's no surprise to O'Shea that the team that lined out against Dublin in their recent semi-final win was virtually identical to the one that ended last year's campaign. Cáit Lynch and Anna Galvin would have been back but for injuries.

"I think being together as a group at that time after last year's Championship was definitely important and probably bonds you a bit more, going through those tough days," said O'Shea.

"When we came back at the start of this year, and even at that time last year, everyone was kind of fully committed to coming back again. When we came back this year, there was just one goal in mind and that was getting back to All-Ireland final day, just to give us a chance of getting over the line again."

O'Shea's form has been consistently excellent throughout Kerry's march to what is a fourth TG4 All-Ireland senior final in five seasons. She has accumulated 3-25, with 0-14 of that coming from placed balls, in four All-Ireland series games against Tipperary, Kildare, Meath and Dublin.

And yet the summer started on a low note, with an opening round Munster championship round robin loss to Waterford.

That game came a week after playing Dublin in a low-key challenge game, a friendly fixture that O'Shea credits now as central to their entire season, despite the subsequent loss to Waterford.

"We played Dublin in that challenge game and we probably played the best football we had in a long time," said O'Shea. "That gave us massive confidence.

"To go then and play Waterford the next week in Munster, and to play great football again for 40 minutes and then fall apart, that was disappointing.

"But there were still definite signs that we were growing and had improved from the League.

"We got three Munster wins on the bounce then and secured the Munster title for the third year in a row, that was a massive confidence booster and something we took into the All-Ireland series.

"It was definitely a turning point. Going into the rest of the Munster championship games, we knew we had to win. And every game since has been a must-win. I think it's probably brought out the best in us."

Kerry lead the way with a dozen TG4 All-Ireland ladies SFC titles, edging ahead of Cork with that 2024 final win over Galway.

Joint managers Darragh Long and Declan Quill stepped down afterwards and Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, a former footballer of the year, also retired. Two years on, they're without high-profile performers who featured in that game like Hannah O'Donoghue, Emma Dinneen, Kayleigh Cronin, Galvin, Lynch and Lorraine Scanlon for various reasons too.

Departures, as ever, have opened the door for fresh talent and Mikala Mulvihill made a successful first start for Kerry in the recent semi-final win over Dublin.

"We got some new young players in, which has really boosted the group, they've made a massive difference," said reigning All-Star O'Shea, who highlighted Mulvihill's contribution.

"Mikala played a good bit in the League. She's just up from minor so she came on in the majority of the League games as a sub. She picked up an unfortunate and bad shoulder injury in a challenge game against Mayo before our Championship. She was out for a good few weeks and only got back in really for the start of the All-Ireland series. It's great to see that the work she's put in to get back has been rewarded. She's slotted right in and the work she put in the last day, up and down the pitch, was unreal."

A Kerry win would lift the mood around the county after last weekend's loss for the men's team in their final against Mayo.

"They were obviously disappointed," said O'Shea. "But to see the scenes in Mayo, and the scenes in Croke Park after the game, I saw a lot of Kerry people stay to watch it, because it was just a historic day. So, delighted for Mayo as well because after all their hurt, it's class for them to get over the line."