Briege Corkery among GAA greats featured as Laochra Gael returns this Thursday
Briege Corkery of Cork celebrates with her son Tadhg Scannell, then aged five months, after winning the 2018 camogie All-Ireland. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
ONE of the absolute icons of women's sport in the modern era and a true Rebel Legend features in the 19th series of Laochra Gael.
Breige Corkery, with 18 senior All-Ireland medals and 16 All-Stars to her name, takes centre stage on Thursday, April 8 on TG4. Geraldine O'Flynn, Fiona O'Driscoll and Rena Buckley are among those interviewed for the documentary on the dual diamond.
The series, produced by NemetonTV from An Rinn in the Waterford Gaeltacht, has expanded to an hour-long format since 2018, to allow a deeper dive into the careers of the GAA stars.
Earlier this year, Kevin Cassidy, Ryan O’Dwyer, Therese Maher, Shane Curran, Johnny Pilkington and Dermot Earley were showcased in the first half of season 19, and those episodes are still viewable on the TG4 Player.
The first series in 2001 included Cork's Con Murphy, and since then Jack Lynch, Billy Morgan, Justin McCarthy, Dinny Allen, Tomás Mulcahy, Ray Cummins, Teddy McCarthy, Jimmy Barry-Murphy, Juliet Murphy, Gerald McCarthy, Brian Corcoran, Larry Tompkins, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, John Allen, Donal Óg Cusack, Ashling Thompson and Rena Buckley have all followed suit.
There was also an emphasis on great rivalries from specific eras, which meant the Rebels' battles with Tipp, Meath, Waterford and Kilkenny got the NemetonTV treatment.
The upcoming episodes are as follows:
He won eight All-Ireland medals and Hurler of the Year. But in the background, he was struggling. Towards the end of his career, his mental health declined. He kept his suffering a secret until he received a phone call from Brian Cody that changed his life.
As a teacher and trainer, he instilled in young people that sport was the best way to express their nationalism. As manager of Down, he brought the Sam Maguire across the border for the first time since the 1960s, inspiring an Ulster Takeover in football.
She accepted two Sportswoman of the Year awards with humility and shyness. She was the ultimate team player.
The life and soul of the dressing room, the lynchpin on the field, Briege collected her last All-Ireland six months after giving birth to her son Tadhg.
Cormac Morel.
Briege Corkery; Diarmuid Scannell; Sorcha Furlong; Geraldine O'Flynn; Fiona O'Driscoll; Maireád Corkery; Daragh Ó Conchúir; Rena Buckley; Gerard Coakley; Kitty Corkery; Michael Corkery.
As part of a legendary full-forward line, Bernard provided some of the greatest individual displays of any forward in his era. Unbeknownst to anyone, he was struggling the whole time. He paid dearly for it in retirement when his body completely gave up.
Seán overcame his early challenges with nutrition to become one of the most accomplished athletes of his era. He put himself under incredible pressure. Insecurity became a driving force, and he came through the tragedies that were visited upon the team to win three All-Ireland titles.
Wexford hurling was in dire straits when Liam was made manager in 1995. In his second year as manager, unbeknownst to anyone he would be stepping down as soon as Wexford were out of the championship because of his wife Mary’s illness. As it happened, they went all the way in 1996.
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