Orla Finn: Brilliant shooter when the pressure was on and role model for young players

ORLA Finn recently announced her retirement from Cork, bringing an end to her outstanding inter-county career.

She had a superb innings in Rebel red. She's also been a leader for her club Kinsale, who have thrived in recent years. 

While shining for her county, she was an ultra-reliable scorer, an unbelievable athlete, and an excellent role model.

Winning a total of six senior All-Ireland titles with Cork and also a two-time All-Star winner, Finn was a hard worker who constantly strived to reach high standards in the Cork geansaí.

At her peak, she was one of the top forwards in Ireland. Finn could always be trusted to produce the goods, with her accurate point-kicking and free-taking critical to Cork's success.

For her local club, Finn has been absolutely outstanding time and again, as they progressed through the ranks on Leeside.

The fact she chose a game playing for Kinsale to discuss in Ger McCarthy’s Cork LGFA: Game Of My Life, sums up completely how much wearing her local club colours means to her.

The match in question was in November 2017. Kinsale were playing against Moycullen in the All-Ireland IFC semi-final on home turf. Kinsale won 0-18 to 2-11 with Finn scoring a total of eight points.

It was an occasion when the community came out in force as their heroes secured a famous victory. 

“To this day, I cannot believe the amount of effort that went into making sure that everything was ready for one of the biggest games in the club’s history," Finn told Ger McCarthy. 

UNIQUE

"The club erected a huge marquee and you could sense the community spirit the minute you walked in through the gates of our ground. It was a unique feeling and has never left me.

“All the bunting and flags around the town…. I don’t think I’ll ever experience a build-up to a match like that ever again. It was beautiful.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’d enjoyed special days with the Cork Senior footballers too, but nothing quite like this.

“The Kinsale players could sense that the whole town was behind us. That was an amazing feeling to have before a ball was even kicked.” 

Sadly for Kinsale, the subsequent All-Ireland final ended in defeat to Dunboyne of Meath.

Vikki Wall and Emma Duggan both scored 1-2 and they would of course develop into two of the sport's best and most popular footballers, guiding Meath to successive All-Irelands.

Finn was a class act on and off the pitch. Many have commented on how she was the first on the pitch at Cork training. The floodlights would go on early as she looked to do some shooting practice before the start of a training session. 

Her success and consistency were no accident.

She was always a pleasure to deal with, someone who her teammates always have plenty of time for. Even from a media perspective, she was always obliging.

When she started her career making her senior inter-county debut in 2011, Finn would have looked up to some Leeside footballing greats such as the likes of Briege Corkery, Valerie Mulcahy and Rena Buckley.

Fast forward a decade and she took over their mantle, a veteran the younger players looked up to and soaked up advice from.

The 2016 All-Ireland final was a prime example of Finn’s influence in Cork colours. She scored a total of 0-3 in Croke Park in the gritty 1-7 to 1-6 victory over Dublin.

Two years previously, in the 2014 All-Ireland decider, Finn scored twice as Cork staged a sensational comeback to defeat Dublin, who had led by 10 points with 15 minutes remaining.

As Finn now focuses on her career post-inter-county football, she can look back proudly on her accomplishments on the field of play in the Cork jersey.

The Kinsale native will most certainly go down as one of the greats to have played the game.