Earlier this year, Kerry joint-managers Declan Quill and Darragh Long told their players to circle July 31st in their calendars.
"Hand on heart we told the girls that the All-Ireland final was July 31st and not to book anything or book holidays before then," says Quill.
Seven months on, and that pencil lead hasn't been wasted. For the first time since 2012, Kerry have reached the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship final. A men's and women's double - what would be the county's first since 1986 - is on, though reigning All-Ireland champions Meath stand in the way.
"I don't think a lot of people outside our group would have believed that we'd be here or anywhere within an ass's roar of it," Quills says.
In April, Kerry defeated Armagh in the Lidl National League Division 2 final. For a team which had lost two of the previous three deciders, it was a breakthrough moment. It had been achieved without regular use of a facility they had access to the previous year: Kerry GAA's Centre of Excellence in Currans.
For Kerry's star forward Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, not being able to train there was especially galling - her image is on the front of the main building right beside Sean O'Shea, Maurice Fitzgerald and Shane Conway.
26 July 2022; In attendance at a photocall ahead of the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship Final on Sunday next are Anna Galvin of Kerry and Shauna Ennis of Meath at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
"If Louise can't talk after 15 years in a Kerry jersey then who can?" says Quill.
"It’s her place to do that and highlight these things for the girls, and this is not just for Kerry girls it's for the hundreds of girls around the country.
"The Centre of Excellence thing, look it was a big deal at the time, we have been in there for the last few weeks preparing. They are doing the pitches up over there and probably the biggest problem with access this year was the pitches weren’t in the best of state, and we were the team to lose out.
"In one way you can understand it, it is a GAA facility, they have to look after their own lads and all that. But what Louise said I didn’t see anything wrong with it, you have to highlight these things."
It was not the only issue which a Kerry player put the spotlight on this season. In a survey conducted by GPA members at the request of The42.ie, it was disclosed that Kerry captain Anna Galvin had racked up monthly expenses of €1792. Galvin lives and works in Dublin, and travels back to the Kingdom regularly for training. Unlike their male counterparts, female inter-county Gaelic games players are not reimbursed for their expenses.
Galvin says there was "a lot of shock, a lot of disbelief" when people read how much it was costing her to play for Kerry.
"They are just astonished at how expensive it is," she says.
"There was a lot of 'fair play' sort of attitude for sticking at it, and following your dream, doing what you love.
"There is a disappointment that there is such a gap still [between men and women]. You look at people who have daughters playing, and they might think 'Why would I encourage them to stay in this? How is this sustainable for them to stay in this game?' I do think that we will see change in the near future, and I think that highlighting the issues is really, really positive.
"Hopefully, we can get a bit more traction with the merger, the merger being voted for this year, for the integration of the LGFA, GAA, and Camogie Association. Hopefully now we see some action on that and some actions are put in place or a timeline at the very least is put in place."
16 July 2022; Kerry joint-managers Darragh Long, left, and Declan Quill celebrate during the closing stages of the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Senior Championship Semi-Final match between Kerry and Mayo at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Quill believes situations like Galvin's are not sustainable.
"The amount of people that don't know these things... the amount of people that don't know the LGFA and the GAA are different organisations is astounding," he says.
"Then you get the whole, sure, when you're training at a club field you're using a GAA facility. When you're training at Currans you're using a GAA facility.
"I think it blows peoples minds at times, the fact that a Kerry [male] senior [player] could drive from Tralee to Killarney to training and he gets compensated for that, whereas Anna can drive down from Dublin, Aisling O'Connell is a Guard down in Bandon, she's driving every night to training and back [and they don't get compensated]. The amount of money that's costing them, they're not getting a penny for it, but people think they are.
"It's something we're worried about because Anna is only 26. We're going, 'Will she even play next year?' You just don't know, like. She's trying to make rent in Dublin, she's trying to feed herself, she's trying to put fuel in the car and come to training and she's not the only one. Anna was [just] one of the girls who highlighted it in that survey.
"Is it sustainable? I wouldn't think so. And that's a shame because you're going to lose an awful lot more top players out of the game because of that.
"I don't know what the long term solution is. In my opinion the girls should be compensated every time they get into their car. There should be some kind of a deal there for two or three nights a week. But, look, it's outside of my control. I have highlighted it before after games and have gone on Radio 1 talking about it and things like that. It's something that I'd be passionate about.
"The girls are very well looked after in Kerry, we have to say. Like, since we came in the county board have very rarely said 'no' to us. They do their best with what they have and the resources they have.
"I still think it could go up a couple of levels across the board for all the girls in all the counties. They should make sure that they get fed after every training session. There should be a physio at every training session. Things like that. Things that cost money. You know, you ask any of the girls below in our camp at the moment and they'd say they're very, very happy with whatever they've been given this year."
Galvin says the opportunity to shine the spotlight - like when you're standing in front of the media at Croke Park just days before an All-Ireland final - "only comes if you are performing on the pitch".
"The lads are really good at keeping our heads screwed on, and making us focus on training when we're there. We've been able to manage that divide quite well," she says.
"If you're in a position, and have a platform - I don't know how much of a one that we have - you have to take them if you're given the privilege of being able to talk to people. You have to raise the issues, and highlight them."
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