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With Meath qualifying for their first All-Ireland senior final last weekend to set up a September 5th meeting with reigning champions, Dublin. We decided to look back on the Dub’s first appearance in a senior final which took place on Sunday the 5th of October 2003. 

Dublin’s opponents in the final were Connacht champions, Mayo. The final itself turned out to be a tense, low scoring encounter.  Dublin led by 0–4 to 0–2 at half-time. With two minutes remaining in the game Mayo trailed Dublin by a single point.

The match was decided thanks to a late goal from Player of the Match, Diane O'Hora. Cora Staunton dropped a last-minute long range free kick into the Dublin square. Dublin goalkeeper, Cliodhna O'Connor, was unable to secure the football, allowing O'Hora to pounce to toe poke the ball over the line to seal the victory for Mayo. Full time Mayo 1-04 (7) Dublin 0-05 (5).

The victory was Mayo’s fourth All-Ireland win in five years and ironically it would be their last as the Westerners have failed to achieve All-Ireland glory since. Losing out respectively to Cork (2007) and Dublin (2017) in their two All-Ireland final appearances since lifting the Brendan Martin cup in 2003.  

There are several connections between the 2003 squad and the current panel. Mick Bohan was the Dublin manager in 2003 returning to the post for a second term in 2017. Cliodhna O’Connor, Elaine Kelly and Sorcha Farrelly are part of the extended Dublin backroom team while current team Captain and five times All-Ireland winner Sinead Aherne came on as a second half substitute in the 2003 final versus Mayo, aged just sixteen to score a point.

Dublin scorers: Angie McNally (0-1), Gemma Fay (0-1), Mary Nevin (0-1), Karen Hopkins (0-1), Sinead Aherne (0-1)

Dublin Team v Mayo (2003): 1 Cliodhna O'Connor (Naomh Mearnog), 2 Sorcha Farrelly (Ballyboden St Endas), 3 Louise Keegan (St Brigid’s), 4 Maria Kavanagh (Round Towers, C), 5 Niamh Hurley (Fingallians), 6 Martina Farrell (c) (Ballyboden St Endas), 7 Orla Colreavy (Naomh Mearnog), 8 Angie McNally (Ballinteer St Johns), 9 Niamh McEvoy (Parnell’s), 10 Elaine Murphy (St Brigid’s), 11 Gemma Fay (Ballyboden St Endas), 12 Bernie Finlay (Na Fianna), 13 Mary Nevin (Na Fianna), 14 Louise Kelly (Ballyboden St Endas), 15 Karen Hopkins (Ballyboden St Endas). Substitutes: Elaine Kelly (St Brigid’s) for Murphy (28), Aisling McCormack (St Mark’s) for Hopkins (43), Sinead Aherne (St Sylvester’s) for Finlay (45).

Dublin will play Meath in the 2021 TG4 All Ireland final on September 5th, 4.15pm in Croke Park. The LGFA today issued a statement to say, ‘ticketing information will be released early next week’.