The morning after Cork won last year’s All-Ireland senior camogie final, Molly Lynch grabbed her gear bag, quietly left the team hotel in Dublin and headed for the hills.
There was no fanfare, no fuss, she snuck away largely unseen. When her team-mates eventually arrived down in dribs and drabs for breakfast, many wondered as to the whereabouts of the Sarsfields player.
As her colleagues snoozed, Lynch had travelled to the Annaverna Mountain on the Cooley Peninsula to defend her All-Ireland camogie Poc Fada title, which she did so successfully.
She hadn’t told many of her team-mates about the expedition. But when the triumphant Cork team arrived back at Kent Station later that day, Lynch was waiting to greet them having collected her second All-Ireland in as many days.
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And so, despite Lynch captaining Cork at Croke Park on Sunday in the 2024 All-Ireland senior camogie decider against Galway, there was never any question of her not turning up for the Poc Fada competition on Monday.
“It was a busy day on Monday but it’s an incredible competition, so I never second guess going up,” says Lynch. “It’s always in my calendar. Extremely tough conditions on Monday, I’d never seen anything like it up there, we struggled to see the ball on the way back.”
But the elements weren’t enough to deny Lynch a fourth successive All-Ireland Poc Fada title.
“I was delighted to get over the line. It’s a great competition and I don’t think it gets the recognition it deserves. Every interview you do might put it on the map for somebody else.
“You get to go up and defend your title every year, so I’ll keep going as long as I can. I get a great kick out of it, it’s something different, when are you ever going to be hitting a ball over a mountain like that?
“I had to cut the celebrations a small bit short last year after the All-Ireland final, so I kind of snuck off to bed about 12 o’clock to get some sleep.
“I was delighted I did it last year the morning after the final though because my two medals are equal at the end of the day, it’s an All-Ireland medal, you are never going to pass up an opportunity to try win one.”
Lynch has been understudy to Amy Lee in the battle for the Cork goalkeeping spot for most of the season, and with the pair vying for just one available spot on the team it has made the chance of getting game-time difficult for the current captain.
Having won the Cork senior camogie title last October, Sarsfields nominated Lynch to lead the county in 2024.
“I suppose it’s an honour to be captain and I suppose I’m really lucky by the way it’s done, whatever club wins the county gets to have captain. It is an honour,” she says.
“Amy has been a brilliant goalkeeper. I suppose she learned from Aoife Murray so to get the opportunity to learn from Amy is brilliant. But, yeah, it is tough. I suppose you just have to be ready, something could happen Amy in the warm-up or the first minute of the match and you could be in.”
Lynch actually played outfield until under-16 but carrying such a long strike, it was a weapon various team managers were keen to use as a launch pad from between the sticks.
“I probably wouldn’t have made the standard out the field so it’s given me great opportunity,” adds Lynch. “I probably wouldn’t be sitting here unless I was a goalkeeper so I’ve gotten so much out of it. I really do enjoy it, it’s something so unique.”
Cork have already beaten Galway in this year’s championship, dishing out a 2-16 to 1-7 hammering at Páirc Uí Chaoimh during the group stages at the end of June. But Galway did beat Cork 0-14 to 0-9 in the league when the sides met at Duggan Park in March.
Still, the reigning champions enter Sunday’s final as favourites to win the O’Duffy Cup.
“We’ll be under pressure on Sunday, Galway are an outstanding side,” says Lynch. “They have made us bring our game to the next level, to push on and try and be better. If we are favourites it won’t be by much. It will be a very tough match.
“They beat us in the league, so we’re level going into it if you want to look at it that way. It’s knockout championship and an All-Ireland final is completely different from a round-robin stage. It will be very close.”
Both counties have experienced All-Ireland final heartache in recent weeks – Cork lost the hurling decider, while Galway failed to get over the line in both the men’s and women’s football showpiece events.
“People in Cork have been brilliant,” continues Lynch. “Everyone left up their flags [after the hurling final]. I know in my own housing estate at home there were flags left up, and a few more put up as well, which is always nice to have people backing the girls. Coming up the motorway you see the flags still left up, so it’s a nice buzz.”
The Glen Dimplex All-Ireland camogie finals take place at Croke Park on Sunday, August 11th.
All-Ireland premier junior final: Laois v Tipperary, 1.05pm
All-Ireland intermediate final: Cork v Kilkenny, 3pm
All-Ireland senior final: Cork v Galway, 5.15pm
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