KERRY defender Kayleigh Cronin has gone from all-time low to All-Star high.
The Kingdom full-back hit rock bottom in the wake of last year’s All-Ireland SFC final defeat by Dublin.
The Dr Crokes star blamed herself as the Sky Blues emerged victorious by 0-18 to 1-10 on that August Sunday, meaning Kerry had lost back-to-back finals — following the 2022 reverse by Meath — and their wait for the Brendan Martin Cup drifted out to 31 years.
Cronin felt she could not even show her face in public for weeks.
She revealed: “I literally don’t really have the words to tell you heartbroken I was.
“I don’t think it’s gone away — I don’t think it ever will.
“It’s as low as I’ve felt full-stop, in relation to football or not. It took a long time for me to raise my head again.
“Even little things like going into town or going to the shop . . . I was slow for a while.
“I didn’t want to meet anybody. It felt like we had let ourselves down but let everybody else down as well.
“We were ashamed of how we performed on the day, myself in particular, 100 per cent.
“I felt ashamed. So it took a lot to get back training and back with the group and to go again and to kind of get that belief back.”
But what a difference a year makes.
On August 4, Kerry ended the drought in style with a stunning final victory over Galway at Croke Park.
At full-back, Cronin produced an exceptional performance that earned her the Player of the Match award.
The 2022 All-Star added another to her collection — and was nominated for Footballer of the Year — as the side managed by Declan Quill and Darragh Long also captured the Munster title for the first time since 2017.
Cronin said: “It finally came right, third time lucky.
“Funnily enough, I’d say this year was probably one of my least enjoyable years, in terms of playing with Kerry. I was fairly low for a while.
“I was coming out of every single game hammering myself, saying like . . . I just couldn’t find form basically.
“If you told me in May that I’d finish the year with an All-Ireland medal, never mind an All-Star, I would have laughed at you.
“But I’d go through it all again no bother if you told me it would be the same outcome.”
CHANGE FOR 2025
The winds of change have now swept through the camp as joint-bosses Quill and Long departed.
Mark Bourke is in line to fill the void but it remains to be seen if star forward Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, 33, will return in 2025.
Cronin cannot wait to start the defence of their title but just hopes Footballer of the Year Ní Mhuircheartaigh is alongside her in their bid to retain their crown.
She said: “If she had one leg we’d still want her! Just in terms of her attitude and her commitment and everything over the last number of years.
“Her experience, it’s invaluable. So obviously, selfishly, I’m hoping she does stay on.
“If she does decide that it’s time to go, she certainly owes Kerry football absolutely nothing and she will definitely go down as one of the greats.”
KERRY star Kayleigh Cronin is a GOAL Mile ambassador.
To win one of ten €1,000 prizes for your GAA, camogie or LGFA club, register for the AIB GOAL Mile at www.aibgaagoalmile2024.
