FEW players have experienced a 12-month period of highs and lows quite like Méabh Cahalane did in 2025.

A key figure with Cork camogie at county level, and with St Finbarr’s camogie and Éire Óg LGFA at club level, Cahalane captained her county in both the national league and All-Ireland finals, while also playing a central role in Éire Óg and St Finbarr’s county final triumphs. There’s a lot to unpack.

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FEBRUARY – The first high of Méabh’s season arrived in February. Vice-captain in 2024, she was named Cork senior camogie captain, 30 years after her father Niall captained the county’s footballers.

‘It was a huge honour to captain Cork this past year,’ she said.

‘They are a special group, so to be the one who leads them out on to the pitch was an unbelievable honour for me. The good thing about this group is that there are so many leaders in it – anyone could captain this team.’

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APRIL – A proud day for the Cahalane family as Méabh lifted the Very Camogie League Division 1A trophy following Cork’s 0-21 to 0-10 win over Galway at FBD Semple Stadium.

A first national league title since 2013, it was a timely boost heading into the All-Ireland championship.

‘I was fortunate to be the one to lift the national league trophy on behalf of Cork that day,’ Méabh said.

‘It was a really important moment for the group as most of us had never won a national league medal before. It was also a great performance on the day against Galway.

‘Hopefully, we will go for the league again in 2026. There will be a few new additions to the panel and the league will be a chance to show what they can do.’

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MAY – The first low point arrived in May with the now-infamous skorts issue that

resulted in the Munster camogie final between Cork and Waterford not going ahead. As county captain, Méabh found herself repeatedly asked for her views on an issue no inter-county player should have been put in the middle of.

‘It was a tough couple of weeks, not only for ourselves but for every camogie team in the country,’ she said.

‘As an inter-county team trying to prepare for a big championship game, to be denied a fixture – especially a Munster final – was tough. We respect that competition a lot. So, to be told a day before the final that the game wasn’t going ahead didn’t show much respect to the players involved. Thankfully it’s all behind us now.

‘The skorts issue has been resolved with the best outcome for players going forward: having a choice in what they want to wear.’

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AUGUST – The lowest of lows came on August 10th at Croke Park. An injury-time Carrie Dolan winner handed Galway a one-point victory in the All-Ireland senior camogie final, ending Cork’s hopes of claiming three-in-a-row.

‘It was a huge disappointment. Being so close in the end – I don’t know if that makes it better or worse?’ the Cork captain said.

‘When you lose by the minimum, you go back over every mistake that you made as an individual and as a team.

‘Talking about going for three-in-a-row was never the top priority inside our dressing room, but it was always at the back of our minds because this is such a special group of Cork players.

‘Going in at half time, we hadn’t performed and were really disappointed. We knew that wasn’t what a Cork camogie performance should look like.

‘We promised ourselves going out for the second half that we’d do everything we could. It wasn’t to be, but everyone died with their boots on that day.’

Proud granny Kathleen Cleary, from Castlehaven, with her five granddaughters - Kate, Meabh and Orlaith Cahalane, and Emma and Laura Cleary - who were on the Éire Óg team that won the county senior final in October.

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OCTOBER – From the despair of Croke Park to the joy of a history-making afternoon at MTU Cork. After the heartbreak of four consecutive Cork LGFA senior football final defeats, Méabh and Éire Óg finally climbed the mountain, becoming senior champions for the first time with a replay win over Aghada.

‘There is such character in this group,’ she said.

‘Not only had we lost the previous four county finals, but we had lost some real household names who put in huge shifts for us during that time as well.

‘It was the young girls – the U21s and minors coming through – who really stood up for Éire Óg in the two games against Aghada. They had that winning attitude.

‘There were times it looked like it was gone from us, but everyone vowed to fight until the bitter end.

‘To finally get over the line, after all the heartache of the last couple of years, was incredible. I’m just so happy for the group as we had been on the road a long time.’

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NOVEMBER – Her year finished on an unforgettable high as Méabh helped St Finbarr’s retain their county title before going on to win a first-ever Munster senior camogie crown.

‘Getting over the line last year and winning a first senior camogie county title in 18 years was unbelievable for us,’ she said.

‘We felt we wanted to go one step further this year as the Munster championship was unfamiliar territory the last time out. We learned a lot from it and were determined to give it our best shot.

‘That Munster semi-final win over Newcastle West, that went to two periods of extra-time, was like a whirlwind. It was probably the toughest game we’ve ever had to play together as a group.

‘It stood to us in the Munster final against De La Salle. Even when we were six or seven points down, to come out on the right side against an incredibly talented De La Salle team – I can’t even describe the feeling. It was amazing.’