Sarah Leahy: Cork can put Munster exit behind them as they target All-Ireland series

Despite her side coming off the back of a difficult Munster campaign, Sarah Leahy has said the Cork ladies will embark on the TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship with considerable ambition.

Following defeats to Waterford and Kerry either side of a 3-13 to 0-11 triumph over Tipperary on May 4, Cork fell short in their quest to reach this year’s TG4 Munster senior football championship final.

Yet there were plenty of positives to derive from that victory against the Premier County and they produced a commendable second-half performance before eventually falling to a six-point opening-round defeat to reigning All-Ireland champions Kerry on April 26.

The Leesiders are now set to renew acquaintances with the Kingdom in Group 2 of the All-Ireland senior football championship, with a home fixture currently pencilled in for Saturday, June 14. This will be followed by an away clash against Mayo seven days later.

“We are ambitious in this All-Ireland championship. We hopefully can get our best games out there and play to our potential. We want to be honest as to what we can play and achieve, but we are ambitious. Hopefully it goes positively for us,” Leahy remarked at the recent launch for the All-Ireland ladies football championships in Croke Park.

“Kerry and Mayo are two really, really strong teams. 

"We know that, so hopefully we can apply those learnings from the Munster championship and from the league, and utilise them positively in this All-Ireland championship.”

The league campaign that Leahy refers to ended with Cork losing on a scoreline of 2-8 to 1-5 to Galway in a Lidl NFL Division 2 final held at Croke Park on April 12. 

While this was a disappointing result in the end for Joe Carroll’s team, Leahy was nevertheless satisfied that the Leesiders had already secured an automatic return to the league’s top-tier prior to this showdown.

“I think getting to the final was such a positive experience for those younger players. 

The team to even play in Croke Park was an invaluable experience for them coming into the All-Ireland series. 

"We had a positive first half [Cork had led by three points at the break], so there was positives to take from it.”

A few months on from winning a senior county with her club Aghada, Leahy found herself selected as Cork captain for the 2025 inter-county season. 

The retirement of some high-profile figures in recent years, such as her Aghada colleague Roisín Phelan, means she is taking on a key leadership position within a relatively young group, but the secondary school teacher at Pobalscoil na Tríonóide in Youghal is more than happy with this responsibility.

“Being captain of Cork, it’s such an honour. It’s something that I really actually enjoy doing because I’m lucky to have such a great group of girls around me."