It was a day where records were shattered in many divisions as Cork claimed a 10th All-Ireland title in front of a record attendance of 31,000 fans, making the Ladies All-Ireland final the highest attended female sports event in Europe for 2015.
And for a second consecutive year, Dublin were the victims of Cork's unceasing hunger for All-Ireland success. But this time their application was far more emphatic as they stormed into a second half lead they refused to relinquish. This latest win represents a second five-in-a-row of All-Irelands for Cork.
It was far from a pretty game of football with both sides deploying defensive strategies yielding a 0-05 0-05 scoreline at the break. The play was static at times and the hangover affects from last year's final clearly provoked nerves to the surface.
Cork's chances of securing that 10th All-Ireland looked to be in even greater danger after veteran defender Geraldine O'Flynn was forced off at half-time due to injury. But a bottomless resolve propelled Cork into another gear for the second half. Valerie Mulcahy ignited their attack with two frees after the restart while corner forward Doireann O'Sullivan pitched in with two of her own to lay the foundations for a win.
Dublin persisted all the way to the final whistle with captain Lyndsey Davey and Niamh McEvoy gathering scores for Dublin along with freetaker Carla Rowe. But when Davey gifted away possession with three minutes to go, and two points behind, it was apparent that the Dublin cause was spent.
The physicality stakes were high throughout this meeting. Tackles were frequent and fierce causing a fatigue which manifested in some poor shooting on both sides. The final three kicks of the first half were noticeably starved of the required distance to steer them over the bar.
But Eamon Ryan's charges weren't looking for a classic, they came for glory and they depart Croke Park as satisfied visitors. Geraldine O'Flynn, Bríd Stack, Deirdre O'Reilly and Valerie Mulcahy are the four recipients of 10 football titles while Briege Corkery and Rena Buckley will add their football honours to the 6 All-Ireland camogie medals already occupying their cabinet.
Elsewhere, Waterford vanquished their Croke Park demons to win the Intermediate All-Ireland title at the expense of a subdued Kildare side. This was Waterford's third attempt at All-Ireland success after losing out at the final hurdle in 2010 and 2012. Two goals from Aileen Wall however, ensured they would be celebrating this time and they brushed aside the Kildare challenge with thirteen points to spare in the end.
Scotland made a bit of history with their first All-Ireland appearance in the Junior final, but the experience came to an unfortunate end when they were undone by the Wee county on a scoreline of 4-12 to 0-02.
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