DUBLIN manager Mick Bohan has made two changes in personnel to the team that lined out against Cork for Sunday’s TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Senior Football Final against Galway at Croke Park.
2017 Footballer of the Year Noelle Healy is recalled to the starting line-up, along with Jennifer Dunne, as boss Bohan juggles his pack in the quest for a third successive title win.
Healy didn’t start the semi-final victory over Cork at Croke Park but she made a huge impact after coming off the bench at half-time to replace Niamh Hetherton.
In the reshuffle, Hetherton drops to the bench, with Nicole Owens, who started against Cork, ruled out after undergoing surgery on the knee injury that resurfaced in the early minutes of the victory over the Leesiders.
Dunne, meanwhile, get the nods to start against the Tribeswomen, after replacing Aoife Kane for the last seven minutes of Dublin’s 2-11 to 0-11 win last time out.
In total, there are 12 survivors from the starting team that lined out in the 2018 Final against Cork.
Sinéad Finnegan, Leah Caffrey and Owens began the two-in-a-row success in front of 50,141 spectators last September but 12 months on, Éabha Rutledge, Kane and Dunne are in the starting team.
Galway, meanwhile, are unchanged from the team that edged past Mayo in the semi-final at Croke Park on August 25.
Boss Tim Rabbitt has given a vote of confidence to the same starting 15 as the Westerners, appearing in their first Senior decider since 2005, aim for a first Brendan Martin Cup success since beating Dublin in 2004.
The Senior Final throws in at 4pm, and is preceded by the Intermediate Final meeting of Meath and Tipperary at 1.45pm.
Meath, who were runners-up in 2018, are unchanged from their semi-final victory over Roscommon, with the returning Stacey Grimes and Niamh Gallogly notable inclusions among the substitutes.
Pre-match favourites Tipperary, aiming for a second Intermediate title win in three seasons, have made two changes to the team that started against Sligo in the last four.
Dual star Orla O’Dwyer returns to the side, while Ava Fennessy is also handed a start, as Róisín Daly and Laura Dillon drop to the bench.
Getting proceedings underway at Croke Park on Sunday (11.45am) are Fermanagh and Louth in the Junior decider.
Fermanagh, champions in 2017, have made two changes in personnel, with Shannan McQuaid and captain Joanne Doonan named in the starting line-up, as Áine McGovern and Noelle Connolly drop out.
Louth, who lost the 2018 Final to Limerick, have also opted for two changes in personnel, with Deirbhle Osborne and lethal inside forward Lauren Boyle named to start ahead of Áine Breen and Jennifer McGuinness.
All three games will be broadcast LIVE by TG4 from Croke Park on Sunday afternoon.
Fermanagh (v Louth): S Murphy; A Maguire, E Murphy, M Flynn; M McGloin, C Murphy, S McQuaid; R O’Reilly, A Flanagan; J Doonan (capt.), L Maguire, D Maguire; A O’Brien, E Smyth, B Bogue.
Louth (v Fermanagh): U Pearson; E Hand, S Quinn, S McLoughlin; C Nolan, M McMahon, D Osborne; E Byrne, A Byrne; R Carr, S Byrne, A Russell; L Boyle, K Flood (capt.), N Rice.
Meath (v Tipperary): M McGuirk; K Newe, O Duff, S Powderly; O Byrne, S Ennis, S Wall; M O’Shaughnessy (capt.), A Cleary; E Duggan, V Wall, M Thynne; B Lynch, K Nesbitt, F O’Neill.
Tipperary (v Meath): L Fitzpatrick; L Spillane, M Curley, E Cronin; B Condon, S Lambert (capt.), C Kennedy; A McCarthy, A.R. Kennedy; N Lonergan, A Moloney, O O’Dwyer; A Fennessy, A McGuigan, C Condon.
Dublin (v Galway): C Trant; É Rutledge, N Collins, M Byrne; A Kane, S Goldrick, O Carey; L Magee, S McGrath; C Rowe, N McEvoy, L Davey; S Aherne (capt.), N Healy, J Dunne.
Galway (v Dublin): L Murphy; S Burke, N Ward, S Lynch; O Murphy, B Hannon, S Molloy; L Ward, Á McDonagh; O Divilly, M Glynn, M Seoighe; T Leonard (capt.), S Conneally, R Leonard.
