{"id":470779,"date":"2026-05-28T05:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/470779\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T05:31:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:31:17","slug":"hopes-high-for-all-ireland-frontrunners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/470779\/","title":{"rendered":"Hopes high for All-Ireland frontrunners"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the start of the Women’s All-Ireland senior football championship a little over a week away, hopes and ambitions are high among a number of counties<\/p>\n

The three clear frontrunners for the Brendan Martin Cup are holders Dublin, league finalists Galway and a Kerry side that bowed out at the penultimate stage in 2025 after three successive final appearances.<\/p>\n

Dublin will put their title defence on the line in Group 3 where they will have Mayo and Donegal for company.<\/p>\n

It has been a rather turbulent period since captain Carla Rowe climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand last August after victory over Meath<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hannah Tyrrell and Nicole Owens called time on their respective inter-county careers, Martha Byrne has stepped away after collecting a sixth Celtic Cross while Sin\u00e9ad Goldrick and Eilish O’Dowd will be concentrating on AFLW duties in Australia.<\/p>\n

The Dubs also fell through the Division 1 trapdoor before bouncing back with a 13th successive Leinster title.<\/p>\n

Their All-Ireland series gets underway on 7 June against Mayo, and defender Niamh Donlon says her team-mates are primed for another All-Ireland tilt.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the launch of the 2026 Ladies Football Championships \u2013 which begin this weekend \u2013 @MartyMofficial<\/a> reports from Croke Park where a number of counties harbour silverware ambitions pic.twitter.com\/wUpnwutSXm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 RT\u00c9 GAA (@RTEgaa) May 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

“I think it’s easy to motivate yourself because we’re kind of a new team this year,” she told RT\u00c9 Sport.<\/p>\n

“Last year’s win was exceptional, but we could have to park that now and we have a new team.”<\/p>\n

Many are tipping Galway as the side most likely to wrestle the Brendan Martin Cup away from the capital.<\/p>\n

After accounting for Donegal and Tipperary in last year\u2019s group stages, the Tribes were squeezed out after extra-time in an absorbing All-Ireland semi-final defeat to eventual champions Dublin.<\/p>\n

Twelve months previous it was defeat in the showpiece and despite losing to Cork in the recent Division 1 final, victory over Mayo secured a Connacht three-in-a-row and they head into a group containing Meath and Tyrone with confidence.<\/p>\n

“You can always take learnings from losing,” Galway\u2019s Kate Geraghty said on the recent league reversal. “Cork are a really good team, there are definitely things we took from that game that we would hope to take into the championship.”<\/p>\n

Kerry\u2019s progress this year will be watched with a close eye.<\/p>\n

\"Kerry\"
\nCan Kerry replicate their 2024 success?<\/p>\n

Following successive All-Ireland final defeats to Meath (2022) and Dublin (2023), the Kingdom roared back to end a 31-year drought for success on the biggest day on the calendar.<\/p>\n

Their title defence ended at the hands of Meath in 2025, with questions swirling as to whether they can replicate the highs of 2024.<\/p>\n

“Coming in off the back of a Munster championship success (they had the bare minimum to spare over a spirited Waterford is massive<\/a>) for us as a group,” S\u00edofra O\u2019Shea said.<\/p>\n

“It was disappointing for us to lose last year\u2019s semi-final to Meath and not making the final. It\u2019s a big motivating factor to get back to an All-Ireland final.”<\/p>\n

Outside of the Big Three, Waterford look to be next in line, with the likes of Cork, Meath, Ulster champions Armagh<\/a> and Mayo among the chasing pack.<\/p>\n

The Rebels\u2019 2016 All-Ireland success was an 11th in 12 years, but a couple of final appearances in the intervening nine years is as close as they have come to getting their hands back on the trophy.<\/p>\n

League silverware came courtesy of a fine win over Galway, but a crushing 11-point defeat to Kerry in Munster served as a reminder of the work needed to seriously challenge once again at the business end of the season.<\/p>\n

\"Cork
\nCork captain Emma Cleary lifts league silverware in April<\/p>\n

The Rebels have a tricky group, pitted alongside Waterford and Armagh.<\/p>\n

Emma Cleary, whose father John is manager of the men\u2019s team, can\u2019t wait to get stuck into the All-Ireland series, starting at home to the Orchard County on 7 June.<\/p>\n

“There were loads of positives to take from the league, even though we had a disappointing Munster championship,” she said. “We have had a few weeks to reset now and we have to build towards Armagh and Waterford.”<\/p>\n