by Daire Walsh

Having known for quite a few weeks that it was on the horizon, Emma Cleary is excited to be leading out Cork in their Lidl National Football League Division 1 final against Galway at the TUS Gaelic Grounds tomorrow evening (throw-in 5pm).

After edging out Meath at MTU Cork (4-8 to 2-12) on March 21 to make it five wins on the bounce, the Leesiders booked their spot in the Division 1 decider with a round of fixtures still to play. This meant Cork closed out the group stages of the NFL away to Dublin eight days later knowing they were already guaranteed to feature in a showpiece affair in Limerick this weekend.

This was also the case for Galway, whose run of five wins and just one defeat (to Cork in round two) from their opening six games of the league helped them to seal a showpiece slot in advance of their clash with Waterford on March 29. Just under a fortnight will have passed when the sides finally battle for silverware in the Gaelic Grounds and it is a game Cleary and Cork will be tackling with considerable vigour.

“We knew we were in the final before the Dublin game. We’ve had a few weeks to prepare now, so really looking forward to Saturday,” the Cork captain said at a Lidl LGFA National League Finals Media Day in Dublin earlier this week.

“We’ve had such a positive league campaign that it’s great to make a final and when you’re in a final you want to win it. If we got over the line this weekend, it would be very positive for the group going into championship.”

By representing Cork in top-tier ladies football finals - she also featured in their NFL Division 1 decider loss to Dublin in 2021 - Cleary is following in the footsteps of a close family member. A debutant at the adult grade with the Leesiders back in 2004, Emma’s aunt Nollaig Cleary won no fewer than nine TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship titles during a golden period for the county under the guidance of the late, great Eamonn Ryan.

She also secured a multitude of National Football League crowns during her time in the red of Cork, including featuring in Division 1 final victories over Galway in 2005 and 2010.

Having watched on as a proud niece for much of Nollaig’s playing career, Emma is now privileged to be in a position where she is a potential role model for the young supporters and footballers within Cork.

“I’d have grown up going up to Croke Park every September to watch Nollaig. We absolutely idolised Nollaig. It was so cool having an aunt like that on the team, winning all those All-Irelands.

“Even for myself playing in a similar position to where Nollaig would have played, it’s great. She comes to all the games now with her kids to watch us. I had great female role models growing up, so it’s great to be in that position now.”

Nollaig isn’t the only member of her family that Cleary can look to for advice, however, as her father John is the current manager of the Cork senior men’s football team.

Additionally, John previously guided the Leesiders to four ZuCar All-Ireland U18 ‘A’ ladies football championship titles in the space of five years from 2015 to 2019. Whereas Emma was on the team that defeated Galway in a 2017 minor decider, her older sister Laura was part of the group that won All-Ireland titles in 2015 and 2016.

The reigning champions of the competition, Cork also secured an U18 ‘A’ title with a showpiece triumph under Joe Carroll in 2022.

Also heavily involved with O’Connor Cup football in UCC, Carroll is now in his second season at the helm of the Cork seniors.

After helping them to qualify for a Lidl NFL Division 2 final – which they lost to Galway in Croke Park – and seal promotion back to Division 1 for 2026, Carroll’s debut campaign with the Leesiders ended in a All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to eventual winners Dublin last July.

Although she acknowledges this was a disappointing way for the year to end, Cleary feels Cork have progressed significantly in Carroll’s second season with the squad.

“Last year was Joe’s first year in with the group. I think he took so much learnings from that and I think we can see all that coming out this year for the management team as a whole. All the learning we took from last year will only stand to him and us going forward this year,” Cleary added. 

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