Cork great Martina O'Brien backs old team-mates to down Dublin

While there are times when she finds it difficult to watch her old team-mates in action, former Cork ladies football goalkeeper Martina O'Brien has made peace with being away from the inter-county limelight.

Having won 15 major honours over a nine-year period, O’Brien brought the curtain down on her career with the Leesiders last November. She was among the substitutes at Cusack Park, Ennis on 9 July 2022 when Cork lost to Mayo in a TG4 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final.

This was the first time since 2010 – and just the second occasion in 19 championship campaigns – that the Munster giants failed to make the last four of the Brendan Martin Cup.

They will be back at the semi-final stage on Saturday evening to take on Dublin at FBD Semple Stadium and O’Brien is calling on the Cork faithful to come out in force to cheer on their county.

"I suppose when it gets to these stages, the semi-finals and what not, you kind of have that bit of yearning to go back," said O’Brien. "I haven’t missed all the really difficult training and knowing what was ahead of you in pre-season! Definitely I was happier to be probably sitting on the couch with my feet up.

"Time moves on and once you’ve made a decision to step aside and hang the boots up in that sense, you come to make peace with it.

"It’s definitely hard to watch in a sense that the nerves will be at you, because you’ve no impact on anything that happens, but it’s good to watch and I think the girls deserve all the support they get. They work really, really hard. I think people getting out now and going to the game Saturday would be great. It’s only up the road from Cork. It would be great to get good Cork support going."

A footballer at club level with Clonakilty,