Sinéad Aherne knows well the dangers of looking past the next game and still all the signs already are that Dublin will play Meath in the Leinster women’s football final.
That game is already down as a double-header in Croke Park, along with the men’s final on Saturday, May 28th, and after beating Westmeath 6-23 to 0-4 in their opening game last weekend, Dublin look certain to at least have representation in the women’s final.
They play Meath in round two in Parnell Park this Saturday (7pm), the team that beat them in last year’s All-Ireland final, before Dublin beat them in the league, and for Aherne, a former Dublin captain, there is value in that game even if they will likely meet again soon and possibly later again.
“It’s Meath’s first game in Leinster, they obviously still have to play Westmeath,” she says. “We have done what we can in our first match, looking forward to playing Meath. To get another chance to play against their style and their system is a pretty useful exercise for us.
“Again I am conscious that Meath and Westmeath still have to play. If Meath are successful in that and we end up playing each other again in a Leinster final I don’t know if everyone will throw the kitchen sink at it on the weekend.
“We played each other in the early rounds of the league knowing there was a chance we could meet again, either in the league or certainly down the line in championship, and I don’t think either team held back on the day. It was a pretty good game so I expect the same at the weekend.”
“For us to be playing a championship game in Parnell Park in the evening there should be a great atmosphere and hopefully it would be good to see a good crowd come out.”
Attendance
The double-header with the men’s Leinster final will help ensure a larger attendance, and for Aherne that makes sense in the short term.
“It goes back to the question of where we see the game going in terms of attendances. You’d hope I suppose we’d get to a point where we’re able to reach attendances without being on the same day, and we’re obviously not there yet.
“One of the ways to grow that is to have those matches, particularly if you’ve got two sets of teams on both sides, that certainly adds a bit of flavour to it...One of the things we’re always thinking about is what the venue is going to be and being guaranteed a top-class venue, guaranteed a good atmosphere can hopefully add something to the game. It will hopefully be a special day to go and claim a bit of silverware.”
