EMMA Cleary didn’t have to look too far for a hero when she was growing up. The new Cork captain is a niece of one of the county’s greatest-ever footballers.

‘I would have grown up going to Croke Park every year to watch my aunt Nollaig play in All-Ireland finals,’ Cleary says, a salute to nine-time All-Ireland winner Nollaig Cleary, ladies football royalty, and already a Hall of Famer.

‘It was like clockwork: every September we’d go up to Dublin for the All-Ireland ladies football final. Those were amazing days out, with all the cousins and grandparents. Days we’ll never forget.

‘To have Nollaig as my aunt, seeing her there and winning All-Irelands, she was a huge influence on all of us growing up, showing us what you can do in ladies football.

‘To have someone like her so close was very special.’

Nine-time Cork All-Ireland winner Nollaig Cleary is Emma Cleary's aunt.

Nollaig Cleary – a sister to Emma’s dad, Cork football manager John Cleary – was a trailblazer, a talented forward in Eamonn Ryan’s juggernaut that dominated ladies football.

Her CV demands instant respect: nine All-Irelands, nine Munster titles, seven national leagues, three All-Stars, an All-Ireland final MVP, and a role model for young footballers in the county who dreamed of the big days. Emma Cleary was one of those dreamers, and now she shoulders the shared responsibility of returning the Rebels to those biggest days.

This season marks ten years since Cork’s last All-Ireland senior triumph. The road back to the summit will have twists and turns, but new captain Cleary is determined to push the Rebels forward. She accepts it’s a challenge, but there’s a steel to the Éire Óg footballer that makes it easy to understand why she has been picked to lead her county this year.

Emma (left) and Laura Cleary with their father, John, and mother, Helga, after Cork beat Down in the All-Ireland U21 final in 2009.

‘You might have to ask some of the other girls,’ Cleary laughs when asked to describe her leadership style. Quiet leader or loud voice?

‘I don’t think I’d be too quiet. I am known for giving out a bit on the pitch, but all constructive stuff!

‘The way I train, I don’t miss too much. I’d like to think I train hard and lead that way.’

Cork manager Joe Carroll has pointed to Cleary’s hard work and commitment as two of her top traits.

‘She sets the standard by her dedication,’ he said, and he wants that to rub off on her team-mates. Ditto for her approach to high standards – these are non-negotiable.

Now in her seventh season involved with Cork, and having played under several managers and captains, the hard-working forward with the ability to cover the ground better than most knows what’s acceptable and what’s not. Cleary also knows she needs to lead by example with her actions.

‘I’ve played under a few captains at this stage. When Mourneabbey were winning for a while, it was the likes of Doireann O’Sullivan who always set the standards at training. Maire O’Callaghan was the same, really high standards,’ she says.

‘Martina O’Brien was captain for a year too. Sarah Leahy was captain last year, is a similar age to me and I played with her the whole way up – again, set really high standards.

‘One of the most important things about being a captain is making sure you are setting the standards for the rest of the group, and that’s what I will hope to do for the rest of the year.’

After an off-season that has seen the average age of the Cork team drop, with the loss of experienced campaigners like Libby Coppinger, Hannah Looney, Sarah Leahy and Shauna Cronin, maintaining high standards is more important than ever. Cleary agrees.

‘We have had a good bit of change to the panel and we do have a lot of younger girls, so it’s making sure that even though some of those experienced players – like Libby and Hannah – have stepped away, we don’t let those high standards drop at training and in games. That’s up to the few older girls, to keep those standards high all the time.’

She admits she’s surrounded by football wherever she looks. If Cleary’s not playing a match at the weekend, the odds are she’s gone to watch a game. That love for the game can be traced back home, to her dad, who played with Cork and Castlehaven, her aunt Nollaig, and indeed the wider Cleary clan that stretches into the Cahalanes and the Maguires. The DNA is strong here.

So when Éire Óg finally won the club’s first-ever county senior ladies football title on October 11th last, dethroning Aghada, it was no surprise to see the Clearys and Cahalanes well represented. Emma and her sister Laura played, as did their cousins Meábh, Orlaith and Kate Cahalane. After four consecutive final defeats, Éire Óg crossed the finish line. There to enjoy the celebrations was proud granny Kathleen Cleary, from Castlehaven.

Proud granny Kathleen Cleary, from Castlehaven, with her five granddaughters - Kate, Meabh and Orlaith Cahalane, and Emma and Laura Cleary - who were on the Éire Óg team that won the 2025 county senior final.

‘That day was extremely special,’ says Cleary.

‘Granny has been there at the county finals that we have lost. I remember during the storm in 2024, she was frozen up in the stands. So after we won last year it was lovely to get that picture afterwards, similar to the picture with the lads when Castlehaven won a county title a few years ago.

‘She’s at all the matches she can make; she is there for all of us. So on the good days when we get a chance to get a picture like that, it’s great.’

The hope is Cork will have some good days this season too, and Granny Cleary will be in the stands to cheer on the Rebels, with her granddaughter as captain, setting the standards.