Back in the 1980’s Kerry were absolute football royalty. In 1986 the men completed their last three in a row and the women were at the midpoint of a run of nine consecutive national titles.

After the men ended an eight-year drought by claiming Sam Maguire last weekend, attention now turns to Sunday when the women will seek to secure the first double for the county since that 1986 triumph and a first win for themselves since 1983.

Standing in their way will be the Royal County of Meath who transformed the sport by stopping Dublin’s hopes of five in a row last summer and have made it back to defend their crown after a season in which they have lit up the sport.

Kerry children grow up to the rhythm of the history of Gaelic football and another nod to that is that the 1986 final, when they beat Wexford, was the first to be played at Croke Park.

The crowd that day was not formally recorded but was likely to be around the 5,000 mark, a number since far exceeded as the sport has grown in stature and popularity.

Attendance

Attendance hit a high point so far in 2019 when 56,114 set a new record to watch Dublin beat Galway.

The intervention of Covid slowed the momentum and the number was a lockdown hit 32,000 last year after a closed door final in 2020.

The hope is that this will rise again this year with an estimate of somewhere between mid 30,s and 40,000 expected.

The Senior Final throws in at 4 pm and is preceded by two provincial derbies in the Junior and Intermediate deciders.

The action gets underway at 11.45 am when Antrim, the 2021 runners-up, take on Fermanagh in an all-Ulster Junior Final, before last year’s beaten Finalists, Wexford, take on Leinster opponents Laois in the Intermediate Final at 1.45 pm.

Redemption

Potential redemption is the name of the game for Antrim and Wexford, who lost out in the 2021 Junior and Intermediate Finals respectively.

Meath, remarkably, are preparing for a fifth successive TG4 All-Ireland Final appearance.

They lost the 2018 and 2019 Intermediate deciders before a breakthrough 2020 victory in the grade.

Last year, Eamonn Murray’s charges swept all before them to land the TG4 All-Ireland Senior crown and while it was recognised as one of the sporting stories of the year, Murray yesterday was talking about not being sure that the achievement was given as much credit as it deserved.

That suggests there is a hunger for Meath to set up their own period of dominance having broken the stranglehold that Dublin and Cork had held on the sport. That they were the only one of last year’s semi-finalists to reach the same stage this year, with Dublin, Cork and Armagh falling at the Quarter Finals indicates that the sport is now more competitive that ever before.

Partnership

TG4 is celebrating a 22nd year of partnership as Title sponsors and will carry live coverage of all three finals on Sunday.

To whet the appetite of attendees and TV viewers they will host Ceiliúradh Peil na mBan, presented by Máire Ní Bhraonáin, which will air from 8:55 pm on Saturday evening.

The programme will visit all six counties playing in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior deciders.

Spórt TG4 will have exclusive behind the scenes action from the TG4 All-Ireland Finals Day in Croke Park across its social media channels.

Spórt Iris will come from Croke Park on Friday evening at 9 pm, with Kerry footballing legend Dara Ó Cinnéide on hand to speak to a panel of experts ahead of the weekend’s action, while Gemma Ní Chionnaith will get the latest news and updates from the camps across the country.

All of TG4’s LGFA coverage will be available to audiences globally on the TG4 Player at www.tg4.ie/beo and on the TG4 Mobile and Smart TV App.

“TG4 is delighted in 2022 to have agreed our longest-ever contract with the LGFA, a five-year extension of our sponsorship of the All-Ireland Ladies Football inter-county championships, with the new deal set to last until the conclusion of the 2027 season,” said Director general Alan Esslemont.

“In our new agreement with the LGFA, TG4 commits over the five years to gradually strengthen our live coverage of LGFA competitions and develop new linear and digital content which reflects and supports the LGFA community in Ireland and internationally.”

“We also pledge to produce a raft of high-quality programming which will celebrate the LGFA’s 50th anniversary in 2024.”

“I see this as a redoubling and intensification of TG4’s most important sporting partnership and I’d like to pay tribute to Uachtarán Micheál Naughton, Chief Executive Helen O’Rourke and all of her wonderful staff who make our partnership both a privilege and a pleasure.”

“merging from the Covid pandemic, it is proper that we celebrate to the full extent wonderful days like the LGFA 2022 TG4 All-Ireland Championship Finals.”

“I believe also that, post-Covid, minoritised parts of our society, including women’s sport and the Irish language, should challenge the state to imagine a vision for the future, an investment in a reimagined future, where fair play is truly applied to both gender and language. Ní béalghrá ach cothrom na féinne.”