REBEL ACE CORKERY HELD BACK FOR FINAL

CORK have held veteran ace Briege Corkery in reserve for tomorrow’s All-ireland senior camogie final.

Despite having given birth in late March, the holder of 17 All-ireland medals between camogie (six) and football (11), made a remarkable return to inter-county duty during the second half of the All-ireland semi-final against Tipperary on August 19.

That had sparked a considerable amount of speculation about whether the long-serving star will feature in her county’s starting 15 tomorrow.

But the defending champions have named the same starting 15 from the semi-final win over Tipperary while cornerforward Miriam Walsh is the only change to the Kilkenny side which beat Galway the last day.

It is understood Corkery (above) has been razor sharp in training since the All-ireland semi-final.

According to reports the 31-year-old also impressed in a recent practice match for the Cork senior side against their intermediate counterparts who take on Down in the All-ireland second-tier final at Croke Park on Sunday.

It is believed that the Cork backroom would prefer if Corkery, the holder of six camogie All-star awards and 10 football All-star awards, had another month of training under her belt.

However, it is likely that Corkery will be introduced to the fray at some stage, as her county bid to repeat last year’s All-ireland final victory over Kilkenny and to avenge this year’s League final defeat by the same opposition.