2018 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final

The 2018 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final featured Dublin and Cork for the fourth time in five years. [5] Cork were aiming to preserve their unbeaten record in All Ireland Finals, however Dublin defeated Cork for the first time. This was the first time Cork had lost an All Ireland Final. Dublin also won back-to-back All-Irelands for the first time. Dublin captain, Sinéad Aherne, was the game's top scorer with 1-7 while Carla Rowe scored a goal in each half. Cork's top scorer was Orla Finn who scored 0-8 from free kicks. [1][6][7][8][9]

2018 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Final

Event	2018 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship
Dublin Cork 3-11 1-12
Dublin and Cork meet for the fourth time in five years. Dublin defeat Cork for the first time. They also win back-to-back All-Irelands for the first time
Date	16 September 2018
Venue	Croke Park, Dublin
Player of the Match	Carla Rowe [1]
Referee	Garryowen McMahon (Mayo)
Attendance	50,141 [2][3][4]
Weather	18 °C, cloudy

Route to the final

Attendance record

For the second year in succession, the attendance record was broken. In 2017 a crowd of 46,286 attended the final at Croke Park. The 2018 final saw an increase of almost 4,000 as the attendance reached 50,141. [2][3] The ladies' final was better attended than the 2018 men's All-Ireland semi-final between Tyrone and Monaghan which was watched by a crowd of 49,696. [4]

TV audience

The 2018 final was broadcast live by TG4. [10] An average of 179,000 viewers watched the final, representing a 26.1% share of viewing. The match peaked just before the final whistle, at 5.21pm, with 283,500 viewers. The game commanded a 23.7% share of women and a 29.5% share of men. [11]

Match info

16 September 2018

16:00 IST (UTC+1)

Dublin	3-11; 1-12	Cork
Sinéad Aherne (1-7) Carla Rowe (2-0) Nicole Owens (0-2) Niamh McEvoy (0-1) Sinéad Goldrick (0-1)	[1][6][7][8][9]	Orla Finn (0-8) Áine Kelly (1-1) Ciara O'Sullivan (0-2) Doireann O'Sullivan (0-1)

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 50,141

Referee: Garryowen McMahon (Mayo)

Teams

Manager: Mick Bohan Team: 1 Ciara Trant 2 Niamh Collins 3 Leah Caffrey 4 Martha Byrne 5 Sinéad Goldrick 6 Sinéad Finnegan 7 Siobhán McGrath 8 Lauren Magee 9 Olwen Carey 10 Lyndsey Davey 11 Niamh McEvoy 12 Carla Rowe 13 Sinéad Aherne (c) 14 Noëlle Healy 15 Nicole Owens Substitutes: Jennifer Dunne for Owens (51) Hannah O’Neill for McEvoy (53) Amy Connolly for Healy (60)

Manager: Ephie Fitzgerald Team: 1 Martina O'Brien 2 Emma Spillane 3 Róisín Phelan 4 Melissa Duggan 5 Marie O'Callaghan 6 Eimear Meaney 7 Shauna Kelly 8 Áine Kelly 9 Hannah Looney 10 Doireann O'Sullivan 11 Ciara O'Sullivan (c) 12 Aisling Hutchings 13 Libby Coppinger 14 Eimear Scally 15 Orla Finn Substitutes: Saoirse Noonan for Coppinger (HT) Orlagh Farmer for Looney (54) Chloe Collins for Spillane (54)

References

1. "Cork v Dublin - TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Senior Championship Final Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
2. "Record-breaking crowd attends All-Ireland final". www.rte.ie. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
3. "Record Attendance Yet Again As Croke Park Hosts Ladies Football Finals". www.balls.ie. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
4. "Attendance at ladies final smashes record and trumps men's semi". www.sportsjoe.ie. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
5. "Cork-Dublin rivalry overplayed, says Fitzgerald". www.rte.ie. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
6. "Dublin make history with back-to-back All-Irelands". www.rte.ie. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
7. "Dynamic Dublin retain Ladies title". www.gaa.ie. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
8. "Dublin bank back-to-back All-Ireland senior ladies football crowns". www.irishnews.com. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
9. "As it happened: Dublin v Cork, Ladies All-Ireland football final". www.the42.ie. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
10. "All you need to know: Women's football finals". www.rte.ie. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
11. "TG4 Ladies Football Finals Weekend Audience Viewership". ladiesgaelic.ie. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.