Ailish O'Reilly: The Quiet Fire of Galway's Camogie Heart
There is a stillness to Ailish O'Reilly that belies the storm she carries. As Galway prepares to defend their All-Ireland senior camogie title against Cork on Sunday, the 32-year-old from Oranmore/Maree is not interested in the noise. She has heard it all before. Last year, it was Cork's three-in-a-row. This year, it is Galway's back-to-back. She wants none of it.
“All we heard last year was ‘the three-in-a-row, the three-in-a-row’,” O'Reilly recalls, her voice carrying the same edge it did in the minutes after Carrie Dolan's winning free in 2025. “It suited us down to the ground. All the talk was about Cork. It felt like we were just coming up to show up and they were going to be handed the trophy.”
That indignation, that quiet fire, is what makes O'Reilly one of the most respected figures in the game. She is the only player to have started all four of Galway's camogie final triumphs in the modern era — 2013, 2019, 2021, and 2025. A fifth medal would make her the county's most decorated Gaelic games player of all time, alongside Annmarie Starr and the legendary Mattie McDonagh. But she will not let herself think about that.
“Again, that wouldn't ever be something I think of until you guys bring it up,” she says, with a wry smile. “All I wanted was Galway to be back in Croke Park. Whatever stats exist after that, we'll deal with it then.”
It is a groundedness that comes from years of evolution. Once a goal-scoring forward, O'Reilly has moved further out as her pace has lessened, battling hamstring tendonitis and a recent flare-up in her Achilles. Her manager, Cathal Murray, gave her until the end of the league to return. She was playing basketball for Claregalway, a sport that keeps her mind fresh without aggravating her body.
“Her game is different, which is probably a sign of her brain,” Murray says. “She's really good at getting on the break. She's really good at using the ball. Your role evolves in time but she has huge honesty. She's really a big-day player.”
But there is something deeper driving O'Reilly this year. Her grandmother, Mary O'Reilly, who was at every game from Under-16 until Covid, passed away in May, just after O'Reilly rejoined the panel. “My granny would have been a big part of the reason I played,” she says, her eyes welling up. “For me, it's her. Hopefully she's been looking down on us. I can still see her sitting up in that stand in Kenny Park. She was a huge part of it.”
She gets married in October and will consider next year then. For now, the focus is narrow. “If there is one good performance in me, I'll take it.” Given her track record, you would not bet against it.
Watch the All-Ireland Camogie finals on Sunday from 11.45am on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, including the senior final of Cork v Galway at 4.15pm. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app.