Cáit Lynch’s second coming as a Kerry footballer is turning out to be quite the sequel – from Castleisland to Croke Park, via Amsterdam.
The two-time All Star defender captains Kerry this season – 10 years after she last filled that role and about half a dozen since it looked like her days in the green and gold were over.
Lynch, who made her Kerry senior debut in 2012, moved to the Netherlands in 2016 to work with Bord Bia. She soon got involved playing what was, essentially, recreational Gaelic football in Amsterdam. As the years drifted by, so did Lynch’s hopes of playing for Kerry again.
She also had a spell in Central America but then Covid-19 hit and Lynch found herself back in Ireland. It wasn’t long before she was back in the Kerry dressingroom.
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“I thought the county days had passed me until Covid happened,” said the 32-year-old. “I had to make the decision to leave for work (in 2016) so it was a very big decision at the time (to leave the Kerry panel). They put down a good few tough years as well when I was away, so I was lucky enough to come back when I did.”
Lynch was on the pitch at the final whistle last August as Kerry beat Galway to win a first All-Ireland senior title since 1993.
The Kingdom are out to retain the Brendan Martin Cup this year with Lynch as team captain. She had previously captained Kerry to a Munster title in 2015. Fast forward a decade and she was official squad captain in Mallow last Sunday as they beat Waterford to win the provincial crown.
Lynch is now Kerry’s longest serving player and admits the retirement of Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh last December has left a void in the dressingroom.
That hole, it can’t be filled, but you look at the panel and you just have to work harder and try and keep her legacy going in terms of Kerry football
— Cáit Lynch
“It’s a hole that can’t be filled. She was part of the furniture,” adds Lynch. “We’re just so grateful to Louise for the service that she’s given to Kerry football and to ladies football in general.
“She has really become a face of ladies football. There are little girls growing up who want to be like Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh. We couldn’t thank her enough for what she has done for ladies football.
“That hole, it can’t be filled, but you look at the panel and you just have to work harder and try and keep her legacy going in terms of Kerry football.”
So far, so good, as far as 2025 is concerned.
Kerry won the Division One league title in April, beating Armagh in the final. Last week’s Munster decider win means the Kingdom have claimed two of the three trophies on offer to them this season.
The TG4 All-Ireland football championships were launched at Croke Park on Tuesday and Kerry are aiming to retain the senior title for the first time since their nine in-a-row run between 1982 and 1990.
“Thankfully things have gone well for us so far this year,” adds Lynch, who now works in Kerry as a sustainability consultant.
“I suppose at the start of the year we had a lot of changes with players leaving, retiring or taking a year out and we had a complete change to the management as well, so it’s hard to know how the year will pan out.
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“But we were lucky that a really strong core of the team had stayed and I think that really helped with the transition from last year.
“You just never know how a season is going to go. We were hoping that we’d do well in the league, I think initially we were trying not to get relegated and then anything after that is nearly a bonus.
“We were hoping to do well in the Munster championship as well. We’ve been delighted with how the season has gone so far.”
Ultimately, the aim is to be back in Croke Park on August 3rd for the All-Ireland final.
During the launch at the stadium on Tuesday, Lynch was asked what emotions spring to life on returning to the stadium.
“I’m just lucky to have so many memories of playing at Croke Park at this stage of my career. It’s just such a wonderful place to be.
“There are a good few tough memories from here as well, but it’s always just such a lovely place to be. I’m always just happy to be back here.”
Back in Croke Park and back in a Kerry jersey.
*The 2025 TG4 All-Ireland finals will be staged as a triple-header at Croke Park on Sunday, August 3rd, with the junior final at 11.45am, followed by the intermediate decider at 1.45pm and the senior final at 4.15pm.
