Niamh Hetherton: Dublin determined to atone for 2021 defeat

Her mother and father played camogie and football respectively, her father was also a former selector for the Dublin hurlers, while her brother played senior hurling for the Dubs too.

"I never played with Dublin senior camogie," says Niamh. "I went straight into the football setup from minor. I was asked to play camogie but I was asked to play the football first and it's kind of hard to leave such a good team."

And that’s perfectly understandable when you are a vital cog in one of the best and most successful teams in the game.

The 21-year-old has become a go-to player for Dublin manager Mick Bohan, even despite the embarrassment of riches in his forward ranks.

Last weekend against a very accomplished Mayo outfit at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise, Carla Rowe, Kate Sullivan, Hannah Tyrrell, Lyndsey Davey, and Nicole Owens were the scoring forwards.

Unusually, Sinéad Aherne and Caoimhe O’Connor didn’t get among the scorers but it shows the depth charts that last year’s TG4 All-Ireland finalists have at their disposal.

Hetherton was called upon in the 40th minute and she has floated between the starting 15 and substitutes’ bench for much of her early career with the Dubs.

The Clontarf ace actually started at full-forward in the Lidl National Football League Division 1 semi-final defeat to Donegal last March.

The manner of that 2-8 to 1-10 loss at St Tiernach’s Park in Clones lives long in the memories of these Dublin players, and they won’t have to wait long to put things right.

Dublin face Donegal in the quarter-finals of the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship at Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon next Saturday, 9 July.

"We came up short to them in the league semi-final, you have to learn your lesson and not let that happen