The Galway girls are going for their second successive All-Ireland final tomorrow and the whole county is behind them. Brian McDonald reports on the grit and glamour f ladies' foofootball.

(From Irish Independent)

You might be forgiven for thinking Galway people are a sloppy, forgetful lot. The All-Ireland hurling final was fully three weeks ago and still they have the maroon and white flags hanging from pubs, clubs and houses all over the county. County loyalty is all very well, but don't forget, most of these GAA followers are up on their feet, ranting and raving at politicians who leave up their posters after elections.

Such sentiments are best uttered from a distance beyond the reach of the back of Mary Hernon's hand. The Milltown-based grandmother, who is credited as the driving force in the rise and rise of ladies Gaelic football in Galway city and county, would not take kindly to those unaware of the goings-on at Croke Park tomorrow afternoon or of the huge upsurge in support for her girls.

The Galway ladies football team are going for their second successive All-Ireland title when they square up to National League champions Cork at GAA headquarters. It's the biggest day of the year for Mna na hEireann, bigger even than the camogie final, if not quite matching the 80,000 or so who pile into Jones's Road for both the hurling and football finals in September.

Somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 supporters are expected to travel to the game which will be the single biggest women's sports event anywhere in the country this year.

Right now, ladies' Gaelic Football is massive - and it's also cool.

For the first couple of decades since the beginnings of competitive ladies' football in 1974, the game struggled. A distinct lack of interest among the general public, plus the perception that only farmers' daughters and big bruising women togged out, kept it in the doldrums.