Smyth aiming to add college honours to plethora of medals
By DAIRE WALSH
It has been a goal of hers since she first entered the college and today will finally see Meath’s Ciara Smyth getting a chance to line out in an AIG O’Connor Cup final in the colours of TU Dublin.
During her maiden season with the capital-based college, Smyth was part of a TUD side that lost out narrowly to DCU Dóchas Eireann after extra-time in the penultimate phase of the O’Connor Cup at MTU Cork in March 2024.
This denied them an opportunity at a first appearance in the competition’s showpiece game, but the current crop of TUD players ultimately achieved this milestone last Wednesday week.
Thanks in no small part to a five point haul from Smyth, TUD overcame UCC in another O’Connor Cup semi-final that went beyond the 60 minutes of normal time at the Mardyke.
This means they will now make the short journey to DCU St Clare’s to lock horns with DCU Dóchas Eireann for the top prize in third-level ladies football and while their opponents are seeking a fourth successive O’Connor title on home soil, Smyth and her TUD team-mates are in a bright mood ahead of this afternoon’s 4pm throw-in.
“It has always been a dream since we got into college. We’ve all been talking about it since first year, getting to an O’Connor Cup. We never actually thought it was going to happen, but in first year we got very close. That was the closest we’d gotten and I’m so excited now for Saturday. We’re just going to give it our all,” Smyth said.
“We’re so excited, the whole team is absolutely buzzing. There’s such a good buzz this week. We’re looking forward to the occasion because it’s our first time ever in the O’Connor Cup final, but we know DCU are very good. They’re going for four-in-a-row. They’re going to bring a lot, but we’re all buzzing this week.
“I don’t mind it being in DCU at all. I’m happy with it. We’ve been all around the country. We’ve been to UL, Cork, Belfast, so we’re actually happy to have a game [in Dublin]. It will bring a good crowd and we do have a lot of support behind us this year.”
By the time she first started playing third-level football, Smyth already had three seasons under her belt in the Meath senior set-up - picking up a brace of TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship crowns as a panel member in 2021 and 2022.
She is therefore well placed to compare the standard of college football to what she experiences with the Royals on the inter-county scene.
The Skryne star has featured alongside a host of players from across Ireland during her three campaigns to date in the O’Connor Cup – she will also find herself up against Meath colleague Robyn Murray in today’s final – and Smyth believes the quality on display at this grade stands up well to scrutiny.
“The standard is so high, I think it’s just as high as county. We’re playing with the best players from the counties all around Ireland. I’ll be playing against Robyn now on Saturday. That’ll be a bit of competition. It’s such a high standard, to be honest. It’s the same as playing for the county, I’d say.”
As she is currently three years into a four-year course on nutraceuticals in health and nutrition, Smyth will have another shot at an O’Connor Cup breakthrough in 2027 if today’s final doesn’t go the way of TU Dublin.
However, now they have gotten this far, she and TUD are looking to do everything within their powers to get over the line later on today.
If she does emerge on the winning side at DCU St Clare’s, it would add nicely to the list of honours Smyth has accumulated at a number of different grades in her career.
In addition to the aforementioned All-Ireland triumphs in 2021 and 2022, she was also part of the Meath squad that secured Division 1 and Division 2 Lidl National Football League titles in the same period.
2022 also saw Smyth playing a significant role as Skryne claimed a Meath intermediate football championship and she lifted this trophy with her club for a second time in 2025.
Additionally, Smyth contributed five points when Loreto St Michael’s, Navan got the better of Sacred Heart Westport to win an All-Ireland Post-Primary Schools Senior ‘A’ football title at Pearse Park in Longford on March 28, 2023.
“That still has to be one of the best finals I’ve won to date. I think winning with your school is just something different. My Dad would always say, college football is the best football you play and he’s actually right. Because of the school All-Ireland and now if we win the O’Connor Cup, that would just be twice as nice,” Smyth acknowledged.
“To win an O’Connor Cup and a Leinster championship with Meath, that would be great this year. Those are our main goals.”
Going as far as possible in the Leinster and All-Ireland championships will undoubtedly be a target for Meath later in the summer, particularly after the Royal County reached the final of both competitions in 2025.
For the time being, however, Wayne Freeman’s charges will be aiming to end their Lidl NFL Division 1 campaign on a high after registering two wins and three losses from the opening five rounds of this year’s top-tier.
Presently fifth in the overall league standings, Meath still have to face Cork and Armagh on March 21 and March 29 respectively. There have been some difficult results for the Royals in the current season, but they have also come away with encouraging successes over Dublin and Waterford with Smyth amassing 1-4 in a player of the match display against the former.
“We’re just trying to build ourselves up towards championship. We mainly focused on that Dublin game. We really wanted to bring a performance, because they got us in the All-Ireland final last year,” Smyth added.
“We’ve Cork next. They’re top of the table, so they’ll bring something big. We know we have to go down there with a big performance and finish off the league strong going into Leinster then.”