Galway footballers may be on the brink of a new tradition in reaching the All-Ireland but the senior camogie side have already got themselves a head start by going into the championship final tomorrow for the third year in a row. After winning their first senior title over Cork two years back and then narrowly losing out to them last year, the indications are that camogie success in Galway is something the county may be getting used to.

Galway manager Tony Ward says: "There's not been more than four points separating us in the past and I imagine this one will be just as close. We lost the League final to Cork earlier this year but I think we've made great improvement since then and there won't be a lot between us right now."

In his fifth season with the squad, and his third final, Ward is more than happy with the way the preparations have gone. "Most of the injuries that hampered us in the previous two games have cleared up, so we're a lot stronger now than earlier on in the year. We've probably done more training this season as well. In the past the mid-field has been our weakness and that's something we've been working on a lot."

Five players on the side come from Na Piarsaigh, the All-Ireland club champions for the past two years. "Having the group of us on the same club does add a bit of strength to the team, but I think we all know each other very well now and there's a lot of experience in the squad," says midfielder Sharon Glynn.

Team captain Olivia Broderick has found herself in the unfamiliar position of full back for this year's final after playing at midfield and corner back on the previous two outings. "It's probably not the easiest place to be playing, since you're very much on your own. There is only the goalkeeper behind you so it's a fairly responsible position."

It's the Galway defence that may provide the greatest problem for Cork. Centre back Tracey Laheen has been a huge factor in Na Piarsaigh's success, along with Louise Curry in goal. With Broderick orchestrating the action at full back this unit should provide high security even against Cork's respected forwards.

Add to that sort of experience the likes of Ann Forde, Aine Hillery, and the captain of the victorious '96 team, Imelda Hobbins, all veterans of the recent Galway campaigns, and the team looks impressive.

Galway and Cork have the biggest club structures in the country, with 34 clubs currently registered in Galway and as many in Cork. The Galway team also have strong associations with Galway hurling. Senior hurling panel member and former All Star Kevin Broderick is a brother of Ann Broderick and Vinny Maher is a brother of Therese Maher. Veronica Curtin is a daughter of former Galway star Mick Curtin.

The football connections are less obvious, however, with most of that recent success coming from the north and west of the county, while the hurling and camogie achievement has, traditionally, come from the south and east. Mairead Meehan is the only direct link - she is the sister of the Meehan brothers currently preparing for the football final.

The route to Croke Park has not gone exactly as smoothly as Galway would have wanted. They edged past Limerick in the first round and then struggled in the dying moments to overcome a determined Tipperary. After trailing for most of the game, it took a Veronica Curtin goal in the last five minutes to see them through, a lesson they hope will be of use in the final.

"Cork's big strength has always been to keep the pressure on until the final whistle," says Broderick. "We proved to ourselves that we could come back against Tipperary and we'll be careful to make sure that nobody pulls away from us this time."

The Galway junior team also make the trip tomorrow, to meet Tipperary, and judging by their record this season, could be on target for their first All-Ireland title after a number of efforts this decade. They demolished Roscommon in the Connacht final and then came through against the much-fancied Carlow. With three county teams heading to Croke Park in four weeks, at least some honours are likely to be going west.