Dublin aim to weather the worst

It's strange to be talking to Dublin captain Martina Farrell deep under the Hogan Stand this week as she speaks about last year's painful defeat to Mayo in the All-Ireland final.

Sitting just yards from the same dressing-room the Dublin players retreated to after failing to become All-Ireland champions, in a performance that lacked their usual flamboyance, the pain is still evident but at least there is a chance to atone.

"No matter who you are it's devastating to lose such a game and we lost in the last couple of minutes. We should have won the game earlier on but unfortunately we didn't," says Farrell. "It took a while but we picked ourselves back up and are here again and we really want to win this year."

Farrell was the one shining light that afternoon as constant rain forced both sides to adopt a style of football they had rarely played before. However, the shrewdness Mayo had gained in three previous finals ultimately proved the difference.

It was a bitter pill for Dublin to swallow and not one easily digested. It took the manager Mick Bohan some time to appear afterwards and, uncharacteristically, he spoke in hushed tones of the heartache and disappointment.

It was his last act as Dublin manager and, considering all his good work, the dank and drab location was a regrettable venue for his departure.

Things have changed since, however. Bohan has moved on and John O'Leary has become the kind of replacement they could only have dreamed of. After all how many counties can claim to have a two-time All-Ireland winner, men's intercounty manager and International Rules selector as the boss?

And Dublin are back. Back with the swagger, back with a bit of class. The hurt stemming from their performance last year was bad but in fairness, they play open attractive football more suited to hard provincial grounds in the summer.

"I definitely think that the conditions had a massive effect on how we performed and on the game in general," explained Farrell. "It was the first day all year that we played in rain and then we were playing in Croke Park, with rain, there were people slipping all over the place."

The other major change is the absence of Mayo. Their reign has been ended, at least for this year, Galway putting them to the sword this year. The fact that the Connacht final was a 14-point margin cannot be overlooked.

Annette Clarke leads Galway out on Sunday in the first pairing of these counties in the All-Ireland football final.

The rapid rise of Clarke's team is in direct contrast to Farrell's side, who have been patiently waiting for the big prize for three years. Between 1993 and 1997 Galway's championship campaign ended after one game.

But Galway's fortunes began to change in 2000, at junior level, with an All-Ireland final appearance ending in defeat to Down. The following year the juniors came back stronger and obliterated all in their path, eventually beating Donegal in the final. The future looked bright.

And though the senior-level standard may have proved more challenging, this year Galway beat the defending All-Ireland champions on three occasions en route to the decider.

"When you come out of junior level you notice immediately that it is a lot more competitive. Each team asks more questions," said Clarke.

"There are so many young players who have come into our team and a lot of them have had success at underage. They're a very talented bunch, there is a great mixture of experience and youth. If we get to the top there is no reason why we can't hold on to it."

Initial weather reports are forecasting wind and rain, just like last year. This time Dublin will be prepared for the conditions. Figuring out how they will beat the latest potentially great team from Connacht is another matter entirely.