KATIE QUIRKE netted a vital goal brace either side of half-time to send Cork into the All-Ireland quarter-finals as they held off a late Mayo fightback in Castlebar.
The Rebels are aiming to end a nine-year wait for another crown and got off to the perfect start when Máire O’Callaghan ran through the heart of the home defence and fired into the net just seconds after the throw-in.
With a strong wind at their backs, Mayo responded admirably through their go-to sharpshooter Sinéad Walsh as she struck over two frees.
But Hannah Looney fisted over Cork’s first point after evading the Mayo defence on the end line. A tit-for-tat opening period saw the Connacht side draw level again by the end of the first quarter thanks to a third Walsh free and a splendid point from play by substitute Ava McDonnell — who came on in the fourth minute for the injured Erin Murray.
Sherin El Massry then nudged the hosts ahead before Looney restored parity with her second white flag.
Cork went back in front after Quirke’s point attempt from 20 metres sailed over the head of unfortunate stopper Julia Gawalkiewicz and into the net on 21 minutes.
Quirke (free) and McDonnell traded scores before Mayo were denied a goal themselves after a short Cork kickout was intercepted by Clodagh Keane.
The quick-thinking full-forward fed Walsh but Cork goalkeeper Sarah Murphy got back heroically to block.
That action preceded a long delay to the game after Shauna Kelly suffered a serious injury after being caught by the Cork No 1 when Murphy blocked Walsh’s effort.
Leading 2-3 to 0-6 at half-time, Cork kept Mayo at bay in the third quarter as a point from Aoife Geraghty and two Walsh frees were matched by a trio of Aine O’Sullivan points.
The Rebels appeared home and hosed after Quirke’s second goal on 52 minutes but Mayo refused to wilt and were back to within three after substitute Annie Gough found the net.
Mayo thought they had levelled — with a draw enough to send them through at Cork’s expense — when Clodagh Keane got on the end of Gough’s pass but it was ruled out for a square ball.
Laura O’Mahony’s late point made sure of Cork’s passage to the last eight, while Mayo play Leitrim in the relegation play-off in two weeks’ time.
CORK: S Murphy; S Kelly, S Leahy, M Duggan; A Corcoran, S Cronin, R Corkery; M O’Callaghan 1-0, A Healy; A O’Mahony, L O’Mahony 0-2, K Horgan; A O’Sullivan 0-3, H Looney 0-2, K Quirke 2-1, 1f. Subs: E Cleary for Kelly 25 mins (inj), A Ring for Corkery 45, S McGoldrick for Horgan 50, L Hallihan for A O’Mahony 53.
MAYO: J Gawalkiewicz; L Wallace, N O’Malley, C Durkin; D Caldwell, E Brennan, S El Massry 0-1; H Reape, S Lally; L Hanley, S Walsh 0-6, 5f, A Geraghty 0-1; E Murray, C Keane, K Sullivan. Subs: A McDonnell 0-2 for Murray 4 mins (inj), A Gough 1-0 for Sullivan 42, C Whyte for Hanley 50, B Hession for Brennan 52.
REFEREE: G Chapman (Sligo).
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ANYONE who has recently stood in a supermarket queue, filled up their tank or received an energy bill will tell you that Ireland is an expensive place.
And now, new data from Eurostat confirms it.
In fact, we are the second most costly country in the entire EU, with prices a staggering 38 per cent above the bloc’s average.
Only Denmark, often held up as a model of social democracy, is pricier.
But while the Danes at least benefit from generous public services, good public transport and clean streets, Ireland often feels like it charges Scandinavian prices and taxation while delivering poor public services in return.
Here, Daragh Cassidy of comparison site Bonkers.ie, asks why Ireland is so expensive – and considers what can be done to bring prices down.
WHAT is quite striking about Eurostat’s figures is how far we seem to be drifting from the European average each year.
In 2015, our prices were 28 per cent above average, but the gap seems to be widening almost every year.
And we’re no longer just more expensive than our Mediterranean neighbours.
We’ve leapfrogged traditionally costly countries like Finland, Sweden and even oil-rich Norway. So where are we being hit the hardest?
Let’s start with the obvious — alcohol.
Ireland has the second highest alcohol prices in the EU — almost 198 per cent the average. Only Finland is dearer.
Much of this is due to high government taxation and the recent introduction of minimum unit pricing.
The cost of food and non-alcoholic drink is also relatively high in Ireland. Our grocery prices are the third highest in the EU, at nearly 15 per cent above average.
However, this is actually an improvement on recent years.
In 2020, our prices were over 21 per cent above average, but that’s probably not much comfort to households.
Dining out and hotel stays are pricey, too, with costs nearly 30 per cent above the EU average.
Electricity, gas and fuel? They are 17 per cent above average.
Mobile and broadband services? A jaw-dropping 40 per cent higher.
There are a few positives, though!
Our clothing costs are slightly below the EU average, and the “Harvey Norman effect” keeps the cost of household appliances and furnishings somewhat in check.
These small wins, though, are dwarfed by the overall trend: Ireland is an expensive place to live. But why?
There is no single answer. And some reasons are complex and structural.
But factors which contribute to our high cost of living include a lack of competition in certain sectors and high taxation on goods such as tobacco, alcohol, petrol and diesel.
Low government subsidies in areas such as public transport and childcare compared to our European neighbours are a factor, as is our small, dispersed population, which pushes up the cost of delivering goods and services.
In addition, businesses are faced with high insurance and energy costs which then get passed on to consumers.
So what can be done?
Ireland is unlikely to ever be a cheap country — nor should we aim to be.
High prices often go hand in hand with high living standards.
It should be noted that most of the countries with the highest standards of living in the world (such as Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Denmark) also have very high prices, some in excess of ours.
But the problem is that Irish incomes, while high, don’t quite match the salaries in these countries.
We have Danish prices, but wages closer to Germany (where prices are about 25 per cent lower than here).
Taxpayers in more expensive countries tend to get back more from the government in terms of better and more affordable healthcare, childcare and public transport, though there have been welcome improvements in Ireland in recent years.
So what now?
The Government could begin by looking at our rate of VAT and excise, and continue to crack down on high insurance costs, which have dragged on for far too long.
Regulators such as ComReg and the CRU need sharper teeth and stronger mandates to tackle anti-competitive practices.
And a Minister for Consumer Affairs could help ensure consumer interests are more consistently championed at government level.
But consumers aren’t powerless.
By shopping around and switching providers for everything from electricity and insurance to broadband, households can claw back hundreds of euro a year.
Ireland may never be a bargain destination, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find better value.
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THE GREATEST show on earth? This Championship is right up there — and it is wide open.
The way this season has gone, somebody can come in from left field and lift Sam Maguire.
No game is a certainty and last weekend proved that.
You would have fancied Armagh to beat Galway and they didn’t, despite powering nine points clear in the first half before vintage Shane Walsh took the game by the scruff of the neck and fired over nine points, including the winner.
Mayo put it up to Donegal, but were undone by another buzzer beater when Ciarán Moore’s last-gasp score knocked them out.
While that was the fatal blow, the damage was inflicted much earlier in that opening-round defeat by Cavan in another example of these matches being so difficult to call.
It’s the Championship we have been missing for so long — 50-50 games are the norm again. The two-pointer has been instrumental — it keeps teams in games but also provides a quicker way back for sides that find themselves trailing.
And we’ve seen that over the last number of weeks.
Could Louth spring a surprise in Ballybofey against Donegal?
I can’t see it, but I’ve said that a few times during this Championship and been wrong.
And Tyrone have already turned Jim McGuinness’ men over at home in their All-Ireland series opener. The worry is that Louth struggled to dispose of Clare last weekend.
They dominated for large parts but still allowed Peter Keane’s men a way back into the game and only won by three points.
The Wee County have failed to hit the heights that propelled them to Leinster Championship glory.
The emotion of ending that 68-year wait for provincial glory looks to have taken a toll. They celebrated — and rightly so, you can’t take that away from them.
And no matter what they do in this All-Ireland series, Ger Brennan’s side have written their names into the history books and 2025 will be considered a massive success.
They would dearly love to advance and add to that legacy, but Donegal is a huge step up, even though we don’t know the toll last week’s battle with Mayo has taken out of the Ulster champions. McGuinness’ men have played seven Championship games now and the level they’re playing at does take a lot out of bodies.
Having said that, I still think they’ll win at home and head into the pot tomorrow morning.
Pádraic Joyce takes his men to Newry to face Down, and this match is a potential banana skin after the high of the win over the Orchard.
It can be hard to get players back down to earth after a victory like that, but no better man to do it than Joyce.
Down are a very good side and will be eager to set the record straight after putting in a huge performance against Monaghan but falling short in an absolute thriller.
Their physicality might just let them down, particularly with the power Galway have in John Maher, Cillian McDaid, Walsh and Paul Conroy.
On paper, you’d imagine Galway will have too much for them. They won’t have it all their own way, but they will still win, especially if Walsh brings his shooting boots again.
Do Meath have a chance of getting to an All-Ireland semi-final for the first time since 2009?
It depends on the draw, but nobody will fancy taking on this side.
You would have said Kerry beating Meath was a certainty — I called it for Kerry — but was delighted to be proven wrong.
It was a fantastic performance and the fact that nobody saw it coming makes it all the sweeter.
I thought they’d give the Kingdom a run for their money, but the Munster champions were completely outplayed.
It was a free hit in a sense. Having already qualified, Meath probably said, ‘Listen, we’re through anyway, we’ll give it a good rattle and see how it goes’.
Much has been made of Kerry’s injury list but Meath were missing some of their big hitters too.
James Conlon, Ronan Jones, Jack Flynn and Mathew Costello missed the trip to Tullamore with hamstring injuries.
They mightn’t be household names like the Kerry absentees, but they’re hugely influential.
Nobody will want to play Robbie Brennan’s team because they’ve proven they can take out big teams. Dublin and Kerry were dispatched comprehensively and the Royals have also seen off Cork.
They were unbeaten in the All-Ireland series and were unfortunate against Louth in the Leinster final. They will be coming into the quarter-finals fresh and fearless.
Contrast that with Mayo, who are facing another long winter and the accompanying post-mortem. It’s hard to see Kevin McStay saying on for a fourth campaign after health issues forced him to step aside following the Cavan defeat.
That dressing room could be headed for a big clearout and the days of challenging for All-Irelands seem to be behind them, with Galway chasing five consecutive Connacht titles next summer.
The Championship is a poorer place without them, but they only have themselves to blame.
It’s fine margins and they bow out as one of the biggest losers.
For this weekend’s winners, they face three games in 14 days so fatigue will be a factor.
We always compare our players with soccer players in the League of Ireland or across the water who play week in, week out but having sampled a bit of that life, I can say that it’s completely different.
Soccer doesn’t have the same level of physicality or pressures on the body and those take a huge toll. It’s survival of the fittest from now.
