2026 TG4 Munster Senior Ladies Football Championship – Kerry 1-16 Cork 0-8

TG4 Munster Senior Ladies Football Championship

Kerry defeated Cork by 1-16 to 0-8 in the TG4 Munster Senior Ladies Football Championship on Sunday May 10th at Fitzgerald Stadium Killarney.

Kerry 1-16 Cork 0-8

By Dan Kearney

A sensational second half performance where they outscored Cork by 1-9 to 0-2 points propelled Kerry to the Munster final at a sun-soaked Fitzgerald Stadium on Sunday in the curtain-raiser to the men’s final between the two counties.

Siofra O’Shea struck 1-3 and Niamh Ní Chonchúir 0-3 as they put a shell-shocked Cork outfit to the sword.

Kerry played with a strong breeze in the first half and threatened early when a lightning move involving Ní Chonchúir and O’Shea saw Caoimhe Redmond produce a great save from Leah McMahon, although the corner forward did follow up with a good point.

It was then Cork’s turn to slice open the Kerry defence and Mary Ellen Bolger got down smartly to save from Rachel Leahy although Emma Cleary did follow up to score the first of her two first half points.

Kerry popped over two points on the trot through Niamh Carmody and a Jadyn Lucey punch over. Katie Quirke replied for Cork, but Ní Chonchuir did the same for Kerry at the other end with a monster effort in the 15th minute.

Then Cork took over and started running at Kerry. Points followed from Emma Cleary, and two Quirke frees, although McMahon did force Richmond into her second good save in the 23rd minute.

Kerry rose again and with the wind strengthening hassled and harried Cork for all their worth, scoring the final three points of the half. Lucey with her second, and Kerry’s first in 14 minutes, was followed by Ní Chonchúir and an Anna Galvin punch over to see the hosts take a 0-7 to 0-6 lead in at the half time break. A slender lead, it was felt, considering Cork would have the strong breeze for the second half.

The elements made no difference to the home side as they tagged on the first five points of the second half through the brilliant Ní Chonchúir, Emma Costello, and two O’Shea punch overs and substitute Danielle O’Leary with another, her side’s eighth on the trot.

Then, in the 46th minute came Kerry’s goal when O’Shea sliced through the Cork defence before confidently burying the ball to the back of the net.

Aishling O’Connell, O’Leary, O’Shea from a free and McMahon raised further white flags before Cork finally troubled the scoreboard operator with two Quirke frees in the 57th minute.

It was all mere consolation though as Kerry strolled home to victory.

Niamh Carmody of Kerry races clear of Sadbh McGoldrick of Cork and kicks a point during the TG4 Munster Senior Ladies Football Championship round 3 match between Kerry and Cork at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, Kerry. Photo by Paul Phelan/Sportsfile

Scorers – Kerry: S O’Shea 1-3 (1f), N Ní Chonchúir 0-3, J Lucey 0-2, D O’Leary 0-2, L McMahon 0-2, A Galvin 0-1,N Carmody 0-1, E Costello 0-1, ,A O’Connell 0-1.
Cork: K Quirke 0-5 (4f), E Cleary 0-2, R Corkery 0-1.

KERRY: ME Bolger; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O’Connell; N Carmody, N Ni Chonchúir, C Evans; J Lucey, L McMahon, S O’Shea.
Subs: E Ní Laighin for E Costello (13-17), D O’Leary for J Lucey (half-time), E Ní |Laighin for R Rahilly (half-time), L Boyle for E Costello (53), M O’Connor for N Carmody (57), N Quinn for C Evans (57).

CORK: C Richmond; M Duggan, S Callanan, S Kelly; A Corcoran, S McGoldrick, R Corkery; M O’Callaghan, A O’Mahony; R Leahy, K Redmond, E Cleary; L Hallihan, K Quirke, Á O’Sullivan.
Subs: G Murphy for M O’Callaghan (38), R O’Regan for E Cleary (46), A Ring for R Leahy (50), K O’Driscoll for K Redmond (51), E Hurley for L Hallihan (57).

Referee: David Grogan (Tipperary).

TG4 Munster Senior Championship
Kerry v Cork; Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, 11.45am

Old rivals Kerry and Cork lock horns in Killarney on Sunday morning, a fixture that precedes the Munster men’s senior football final between the counties.

Cork are the only team without a point in the round-robin phase but they could still qualify for the final if they beat Kerry and Tipp lose to Waterford.

That would leave a situation where three teams would be level on three points – Kerry, Tipperary and Cork.

Score difference would then come into play, with Kerry and Tipperary currently on 0, while Cork are on -13.

A Kerry win would eliminate Cork and the Kingdom would then hope for Waterford to get the better of Tipperary.

If Kerry and Tipperary both win, that would leave another scenario where three teams are level on three points each, namely Waterford, Kerry and Tipperary.

Score difference will come into play then to determine the two finalists, with Waterford starting the day on +13.

Kerry are unchanged as they look to build on their victory over Tipperary last time out, while Cork make two changes to the side that lost to Waterford, with Grace Murphy and Rachel O’Regan replacing Siobhan Callanan and Leah Hallihan.

KERRY: C Butler; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O’Connell; N Carmody, N Ni Chonchúir, C Evans; J Lucey, R Dwyer, S O’Shea (capt.).

CORK: C Richmond; M Duggan, D Kiniry, S Kelly; A Corcoran, S McGoldrick, R Corkery; M O’Callaghan, A O’Mahony; R Leahy, G Murphy, E Cleary (capt.); R O’Regan, K Quirke, Á O’Sullivan.