Emma Cleary: Munster's getting tougher and Kerry are still team to beat

Cork ladies football captain Emma Cleary believes the growing competitiveness of the Munster championship is a hugely positive sign for the game as her side prepare to begin their provincial campaign on Saturday night.

The seven-time All-Ireland champions open their Munster Senior Ladies Football Championship against Tipperary at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday at 7pm, before games against Waterford and Kerry in the round-robin series.

Cork go into the competition in confident form after defeating Galway in the Lidl National Ladies Football League final – their first league title since 2019 – but Cleary is expecting no easy task as Munster continues to close ranks.

“That league win was massive for us,” Cleary said while speaking at the official launch of the Munster championships at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles.

“Confidence-wise it’s huge, but when championship comes around, everything starts again. Munster is getting tougher every year, and there are no easy games.”

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The launch itself marked a milestone for inter-county GAA in the province, with the women’s football, camogie, hurling and men’s football championships all unveiled together for the first time.

“It’s brilliant, really,” the Éire Óg star said. “Usually, the men’s and ladies’ championships would have separate launches, so it’s great to see everything coming together like this. There’s definitely more recognition now and more talk around the women’s game. It feels like we’re moving in the right direction.”

Cork’s opener against Tipperary is a familiar Munster pairing, and Cleary expects the Premier, who have shown steady progress in recent seasons, to provide a stern opening test.

“They’ve run us very close before,” she said. “A couple of years ago we only got out by a point against them in Mallow. Tipp have been improving season on season, so our full focus is on that first game. You don’t want to be chasing things after your opening match.

“You really do have to be consistent. Every game counts, and that’s what makes it exciting. It’s wide open, which is a great way for the championship to be.”

While Kerry go into the competition as reigning Munster champions, Cleary feels Cork have shown this year they can compete with all provincial rivals, having already recorded league wins over Kerry and Waterford.

“Kerry are still the standard-bearers,” she said. “But we’ll be looking to close that gap. 

After losing to Waterford in the championship last year, that’s another result we’d like to put right as well. For us, it’s about taking it game by game.”

The final group game against Kerry is set to be played as a double-header ahead of the Munster men’s football final, a prospect Cleary admits would add to the occasion.

“We’ve done that before and it was brilliant,” she said. “Those are the days you really look forward to – big crowds, big venues, and everything riding on it.”

For now, however, Cork’s attention is firmly on Saturday night in Páirc Uí Rinn, as their Munster journey begins against a Tipperary side eager to make another step forward.

The Rebels will be looking to the likes of Katie Quirke, Shauna Kelly, Rachel Leahy, Grace Murphy, and Aoife Healy, among others, to get off to a winning start tomorrow night.

Before their game, the senior B side will take on Kerry in their opening Munster championship tie at 4.30pm, also at Páirc Uí Rinn.