By John Harrington

At the outset of the campaign, few people were tipping Kerry to make it all the way to Sunday’s Lidl All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Final.

But within the camp, there was a quiet confidence.

This was Year Three of Darragh Long and Declan Quill’s tenure as joint-managers, and their hard labour was starting to bear fruit.

A Division 2 Lidl National Football League title back in April provided reassurance they were on the right track, and Quill had no qualms about telling his players to keep the weekend of the All-Ireland Final free in their diaries.

“When we started, it was something that we always wanted, we always aimed for,” he said. “We always looked at what date the All-Ireland final was on.

“This year, hand on heart, we told the girls that the All-Ireland final was July 31st, and not to book anything or book holidays before then. It took us a couple of years to get up to speed. We were well behind the likes of Cork and Dublin, and even Meath in our conditioning, and fitness, and skills.

“Myself and Darragh were hasty thinking that we might be up to the level in a year or two. It's taken a couple of years, and it's taken getting through Covid, and the girls putting in an awful lot of effort on their own training.

“I'd be quite honest with you, it's a date that we put in the calendar. I don't know how much the girls believed in it themselves. I suppose that as the year was rolling along, winning Division 2 was a massive thing for us. It was very like Meath last year. It gave us great confidence winning here in Croke Park in a tight game. Hand on heart, I will say that we put July 31st into the calendar at the start of the year.

“I don't think a lot of people outside our group would have believed that we'd be here or anywhere within an ass's roar of it. It's just testament to the group, and how much they've put into this. We've lost girls along the way, girls from last year.

“We have five girls in America that could possibly be starting on Sunday. We just moved on, there wasn't an eyelid batted.”

Kerry has always produced skilful footballers, but in recent years they struggled to compete with the physical intensity of the leading teams like Dublin and Cork.

That’s no longer the case now though thanks to the hard work done by the players under the watchful eye of Strength and Conditioning coach, Cassandra Buckley.

Now Kerry are able to give as good as they get when it comes to physicality and stamina, and it’s made the world of difference.

“Massive,” agrees Quill. “We definitely weren't at the level where we needed to be when we came in first. When you looked at the other teams, and played the other teams, especially Dublin...When we got involved first for a couple of weeks to help out with the previous management, we played Dublin in a quarter-final in Tullamore, and they just eventually blew us off the field.

“We played Galway in one of the group games, I think we were 10 points up, and gave them an awful shock with the way we played in the first half, but then we just ran out of steam. They came back and beat us by a couple of points.

“You couldn't live with those teams three years ago, but at the moment, we're finding that we're outlasting a lot of teams. That's just a testament again to the amount of work they put in.”

What Kerry also have in their locker is serious firepower. They’ve scored 13 goals in four All-Ireland SFC matches this year with forwards like Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, Siofra O’Shea, and Daniella O’Leary all playing with a really ruthless edge.

“We’ve worked a lot on it but I think they’re getting easier chances now from the work the girls are doing out the field,” says Quill of the cutting edge his inside forwards are now playing with.

“Niamh Carmody not only is she scoring but she’s setting up a lot of scores for other girls, the amount of work that Lorraine Scanlon gets through, Anna Galvin gets through.

“That’s the job of the girls at the moment Louise and Siofra and Daniella that’s their job. You expect someone like Eilish Lynch to mark her girl and you expect Louise or Daniella to put the ball over the bar that’s their job on the team so that’s what you expect.

“Our conversion rate has gone up and that is something we are working on but again its confidence when you’re scoring goals and putting up big scores it seems to come easier and you are not as tense in front of goals.”

Quill is well aware that Meath’s superbly organized defence will present the biggest challenge yet that his attack have faced this year.

The fact that the Royals are reigning All-Ireland champions and backed that up by winning the Division One League title this year means that they go into Sunday’s Final as favourites for a very good reason.

But Kerry couldn’t be in a better place mentally thanks to the form they’ve shown to beat quality opponents like Armagh and Mayo in recent weeks, so they’re bringing a lot of confidence and momentum into the match.

“Yeah we are surfing a wave,” says Quill. “The men winning Sunday and the homecoming last night in Tralee and the amount of people coming up to us and wishing us luck and telling us that it will be us next week you are hoping they will turn up and support us.

“The whole county is talking about football, the amount of signs up for the lads as well as the girls is great around the clubs and around Tralee on the railings there is loads of them and it is great to see.

"The profile of the game has changed since 2012 (the last time Kerry contested a Ladies Senior Final), how many people knew the ladies final was on, but now the coverage TG4 give it and Lidl give the leagues and the media and social media have driven is so much.

“Every man woman and child knows the Kery ladies are playing in an All Ireland final on Sunday."