Favourites to retain their crown, only to be ambushed at the quarter-final stage by Galway. Will their long-serving manager be back? Will a handful of decorated stars wander off towards the inter-county sunset, or redouble their efforts in search of one more All-Ireland?
Dessie Farrell has put down five years with the men; Mick Bohan has been there even longer, eight seasons and counting in his second spell with the Jackies.
“Everyone wants to get through the club championship healthy, take a couple of months to see where their heads are for next year – management-wise and player-wise as well,” says Kate Sullivan, speaking at a Parnell Park event to promote the 2024 Go-Ahead Dublin Club Championships.
“Mick’s been there since I came in, as a 17- or 18-year-old, and has made huge strides for ladies football and Dublin. And the management team that he brought in would obviously be a big loss, so I would love to see him and the rest of them back.”
The St Sylvester’s forward certainly doesn’t qualify as a veteran, having broken into Bohan’s then all-conquering squad while still a teenager.
Later, in the Covid-delayed 2020 championship, she came off the bench to score an All-Ireland final point as Dublin made it four-in-a-row, while she started the 2023 final triumph against Kerry. But this year’s last-eight shock has left many wondering if a period of transition beckons.
“I suppose there’s a handful of players there that have that decision to make. Some of them have families … and work/life and stuff like that,” Sullivan accepts.
“So they might [wait and] see until after club championship, if they can get through that healthy enough and see how their body is then come the New Year and make that decision. But it’s a tough one, to step away from something you’ve been involved in for so many years.”
Sinéad Aherne, who first played senior for Dublin back in 2003, will be among those mulling over their futures.
“She’s definitely one of the players in that boat,” says her Sylvester’s clubmate. “She was a bit unlucky with injury at the start of this year and got herself back then towards the end of the season so, again, it’ll be a case of seeing how the club championship goes first and if it fits into her lifestyle.”
Sullivan’s own inter-county season was cut short by a grade three hamstring tear that rendered her a frustrated bystander for the Galway game. The squad has yet to sit through a painful analysis of that defeat but, even with the alibi of injuries to Sullivan and a few others, it was a game they could and should have won.
“I wouldn’t imagine the shot-to-score ratio is good!” she concedes. “Look, we obviously didn’t play up to our standards on the day and were caught. We were probably the most competitive squad we had been in the last few years … everyone pushed each other on. We were taking one game at a time, but had our sights set on reaching that final day.”
