COURCEY Rovers’ Saoirse McCarthy capped another stellar Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Camogie senior final display with a brilliant goal.

Forty minutes were on the Croke Park clock when McCarthy collected possession and engaged her afterburners en route to Galway’s goal.

The Courcey Rovers star had only one thing on her mind and expertly placed the ball beyond goalkeeper Sarah Healy for the second of two crucial Cork goals.

‘I was just happy Amy Lee finally sent one puck-out long to be honest (laughs)!’ McCarthy told The Southern Star.

‘She’ll kill me for saying that, but look, the opportunity was there. I was lucky enough to get on the end of it and absolutely delighted to see it go in.

‘I decided to go for it. I’d say the girls probably didn’t expect me to pass it because it is something I would normally go for anyway.

‘Thank God it went in. We’d be talking about something else if it didn’t! It was our second goal too, so it was really important when it came.’

Cork's Saoirse McCarthy and Laura Hayes celebrate their All-Ireland senior camogie win over Galway last Sunday. (Photo: James Crombie/INPHO)

The relief on McCarthy and her fellow Cork squad members faces at the final whistle underlined the effort needed to overcome reigning champions, Galway.

‘I’m just absolutely delighted for every single one of us,’ McCarthy said. ‘I suppose it was nerve-wracking there towards the end alright. I’m just delighted the final whistle went and we were on the right side of it.

‘There were 15 girls out on that pitch today ready to die. Look at the block that Izzy O’Regan made there right the end of the match. That would have been a Galway goal but she put her body on the line to stop it.

‘That’s Izzy’s first All-Ireland final in Croke Park as a starter too.’

Turning their season around following disappointing National League and Munster campaigns, Saoirse McCarthy states that an injection of youth from the county’s U23 squad proved a timely boost.

‘I think the girls playing Cork U23 and winning was a massive boost for our senior panel during the year,’ the Courcey Rovers player stated.

‘There were a lot of girls who won the Ashbourne Cup as well back in February. That winning mentality, coming into the panel and as a group, I think it spread to some of the older players.

“Look, the vibes have been really good. We’ve stuck at it and stayed believing.

‘There were definitely some dark nights there in January, February and March where you were looking around and saying, “God, I don’t know if this is going to come together!”

‘Look, it did and that’s testament to the management as well and bringing all that together.’

Cork's Saoirse McCarthy on her way to scoring her sides' first goal of the match. (Photo: James Crombie/INPHO)

McCarthy didn’t hesitate to answer when asked if Galway brought the best out of Cork.

‘Always, and I think we are the same in that I think we bring the best out of them,’ the Cork forward admitted.

‘You see the way they came back into it. And look, there’s no love lost. They said it in a lot of interviews beforehand. I suppose they came out of the traps last year wanting to get us and this year was no different.

‘I think we knew what we were facing into today. The first half probably was a bit cagey, a bit flat to be honest. We knew at half-time that we hadn’t played our best.

‘So, it was a big third quarter for us and we were just happy to get over the line. I don’t care what the match was like (laughs).’

Finally, McCarthy believes playing numerous challenge matches during a seven-week block helped Cork prepare for a third final meeting in as many years with Galway.

‘We played a lot of challenge matches,’ McCarthy concluded. ‘I think we played Clare, Limerick, Laois and we even played Newtownshandrum U16 boys at one stage!

‘It was where we gelled together, getting game time into the younger girls. It was a massive boost for us to get those games in during that big gap. Those (challenge) games were the making of us.’