Cork ladies footballer's established a dynasty after first ever All-Ireland title success in 2005 

IT'S 18 years since Cork defeated Galway 1-11 to 0-8 and became All-Ireland ladies Gaelic football champions for the first time.

It was an emotive win for many different reasons; and there was no shortage of analysis from the people of Leeside in the weeks that followed. 

To some, it was the day that the ‘Rebel Treble’ was clinched as the Liam McCarthy Cup and O’Duffy Cup where already in Cork. 

Other people looked at the double; the second time that this had been done by the county. 

There was also the most simple point: Cork were finally All-Ireland ladies Gaelic football champions.

The run could easily be seen in hindsight as an isolated incident, something that is best put alongside sporting stories like London getting to the 2013 Connacht final and Waterford challenging for the O’Duffy Cup in 2023. 

Instead, Cork used their victory over Galway as a launchpad and that herald an age of pure dominance.

The Rebels would go on to win five in a row, a streak that was broken by Dublin 2010. 

That wasn’t an ‘end of an era’ type defeat, it was just a rallying call to go on and do six in a row. 

Cork rewrote the very meaning of what it takes to be successful in the grade, and now all champions in the sport are measured against what was done on Leeside between 2005 and 2016.

Everyone knows winning something once is special, going back to back is a sign of a good team, and a three-peat is a dynasty. 

It’s a term most used in US sports, usually reserved for extreme circumstances like the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick and Phil Jackson’s Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers.

Cork started that conversation in an Irish context during a period that produced some of the greatest teams to ever take to the pitch. 

The language had only ever been applied in a handful of circumstances since; mostly to Kilkenny under Brian Cody, Jim Gavin’s Dublin, and the current Limerick senior hurling team.

The Rebels, simply put, won more and that started by defeating Galway in the 2005 All-Ireland final.

The team lined out as follows on October 2nd 2005: E Harte; B Stack, A Walsh, R Buckley, B Corkery, C Walsh, S O’Reilly, J Murphy, N Kelly, A Murphy, R Curtain, N Cleary, V Mulcahy, C Creedon, G O’Flynn.

Those players had to deal with a different type of pre-match nerves as they got ready for the ball to be thrown in. 

The two sides were well acquainted as they both contested that year’s league final. 

Cork came out on top, and they were going for the real prize that Sunday at Croke Park.

The Rebels picked up from where they left off and went into an early two point lead. 

Valerie Mulcahy put those over the bar, and that was the start of a tally that would end up being 1-5 at the full-time whistle.

What worked for Cork was targeting the right wing, and the space that opened up was largely down to the work done by Amanda Murphy and Mulcahy. 

That forced Galway to change things around, and reports say that their management team opted for a ‘seven player’ back-line as a response. 

They even positioned Rebecca McPhilbin, who predominately plays as a centre-forward, in midfield. 

All of this was designed to stop Cork playing and getting scores, and it seemed to work midway through the half.

Niamh Fahy – who would go on to have a distinguished career as a professional footballer – then kicked her county into a 0-04 to 0-3 lead.

Cork tightened up after the break and by forcing Galway shoot from distance, they won turnovers that were used to generate scores.

The decisive one was a penalty that Mulcahy converted after Deirdre O’Reilly was brought down by Una Carroll.

Things wound down after this, with the Cork players on the pitch clearly savouring the seconds as they counted down to the full-time whistle.

It was an extra-special day for Rena Buckley as she became a double winner, something very few can claim in Irish sport.

"It was will to win. We have plenty of training done during the year and there is no excuse for not being ft for the full sixty minutes," was how she described being on two panels that year.

When it came to motivation to go again on All-Ireland final Sunday, Buckley said there was no shortage.

“Not really no. There is a one bunch of players in that dressing room and we wanted to win the All-Ireland football championship for them as well as ourselves," she explained.

18-years later; the analysis of the game remains the same. 

A Cork team totally outplayed their opponents and made it look easy. Mulcahy’s post-match interview possibly sums this up the best. 

The Rockbán club stalwart simply said she looked up and made sure to shoot before anyone in a maroon coloured jersey could close her down.

It worked, and Cork left Dublin having won the Brendan Martin Cup for the first time.