Gaelic Games

Ciara O’Sullivan: Cork still on course for glory, despite AFLW defections

‘Up to this year, we were one of the few teams who hadn’t been impacted by it’

Cork’s Róisín Phelan and Ciara O’Sullivan celebrate after victory over Kerry in the TG4 Munster Ladies Senior Football Championship Final in May. File photograph: Inpho
Cork’s Róisín Phelan and Ciara O’Sullivan celebrate after victory over Kerry in the TG4 Munster Ladies Senior Football Championship Final in May. File photograph: Inpho
Paul Keane
Fri Jun 24 2022 - 05:00

For a long time there, Cork was the nut that AFLW clubs couldn’t crack.

Ciara O’Sullivan, for example, an eight-time All-Ireland winner, was asked to attend trials a couple of years back but didn’t fancy it so knocked them back.

It was about that time that former Mayo manager Peter Leahy, in the context of several Mayo players signing up with AFLW teams, claimed that “none of the Cork players go to Australia” because they’re more interested in winning with their county.

The thing is, Cork are finally feeling the pinch now with talented teenager Erika O’Shea tempted away by the Melbourne Demons.

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To make matters worse, whilst fellow All-Star Vikki Wall has also joined the Demons, the Meath colossus — along with Orlagh Lally who has signed for Fremantle — won’t leave until after the Championship.

“It’s disappointing the fact that a lot of players who are signed to go are going after they finish their Championship but we’ve lost Erika before that,” said O’Sullivan. “The likes of Vikki Wall, Orlagh Lally and them will be here until the end of the Championship. So that is disappointing. Erika is such a young and fast, fit player. She is going to be a massive loss. The only good thing about it is we’ve known that and had time to prepare without her and plan accordingly. So I think we’re set up now as best we can be but definitely, it’ll be a huge loss.”

O’Shea will follow in the footsteps of Bríd Stack by playing in Australia though Stack had finished with Cork by the time she joined the Greater Western Sydney Giants.

“I think we were very fortunate,” said O’Sullivan of Cork avoiding the loss of players to the AFLW until now. “Up to this year, we were kind of one of the few teams who hadn’t been impacted by it, who hadn’t had someone go over. Losing a player of the calibre of Erika now is obviously a massive loss to any team.”

Still, it’s a case of so far, so good in the 2022 Championship for Cork, the Munster champions, who are on the brink of qualification for the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

If they beat Waterford tomorrow in Portlaoise, a game that is live on TG4 TV, they will set up a last-eight date with Dublin or Mayo.

Somewhere down the line, they may even get an opportunity for revenge against Meath. Cork appeared to have an All-Ireland semi-final win over Meath wrapped up last August but conceded two late goals which forced extra-time. Meath, of course, won and O’Sullivan, forced off early in that game with a serious shoulder injury, learned of the news in the Mater hospital.

“Our team doctor came with me to the Mater and we were following the score on Twitter and it was all going well and we kind of thought we were home and hosed,” recalled the Mourneabbey forward. “Maybe that’s the rock we perished on as a team in general. For me, in hindsight, it’s ridiculous to be that upset about it in a hospital where there’s people with real issues and real problems but at the time I was bawling in hospital, not about the shoulder but about the loss.”

  • Ciara O’Sullivan is part of SuperValu’s #CommunityIncludesEveryone campaign.