All-Ireland winner and All-Star Kayleigh Cronin has opened up about her surprisingly difficult year with Kerry, describing it as one of her ‘least enjoyable years’ with the Kingdom.
The full-back collected her second All-Star award and, along with Armagh’s Lauren McConville and Galway’s Nicola Ward, was nominated for Player of the Year.
Ward collected that individual honour last weekend but Cronin was many people’s choice given her standout performances in the All-Ireland semi-final and final, against Armagh and Galway.
Despite that strong end of season form, full-back Cronin said the reality was that she was struggling for traction for much of the season and left the field with ‘tears in my eyes’ on one occasion.
Speaking at an event to promote the AIB sponsored GOAL Mile, Cronin recalled that difficult day for her personally back in March, when Kerry beat Galway to clinch a Division One league final place in Killarney before losing to Armagh in the decider.
“I actually nearly ran off the pitch with Mags O’Dononghue, one of the selectors, and sports psychologist Claire Thornton,” said Cronin, who will come up against the Orchard county in the first round of Lidl National League fixtures on January 25.
“They were both either side of me and I said, ‘I have to get off this pitch before any kids or parents or whoever come on here’. I had tears in my eyes. I was like, ‘I can’t do this any more’.
“I just felt so bad about how I was playing and how I was contributing to the group. So I did a lot of work with Claire and had a good few chats with the lads and stuff as well, just to find form and find different bits and bobs that I was doing to feel positive about.
“It was up to me as well to be honest, to try to turn it around and to say, ‘It’s not about you girl. Like, who cares once you are winning?’ And just to try to find a way to help the group. That’s be to God I did that in the tail end of the year.”
Kerry joint managers Darragh Long and Declan Quill experimented with Cronin in the half-back line, something she felt just didn’t work out.
“To be honest, there were a lot of games at three where I wasn’t happy as well,” she said, leading to some ‘tough conversations’ with management.
“Funnily enough, if you were to ask me, I’d say that this year was probably one of my most least enjoyable years, in terms of playing with Kerry. I was fairly low for a while. I was coming out of every single game hammering myself, saying, like...I just couldn’t find form basically.”
Part of her analysis of the season is perhaps rooted in her acknowledgement that ‘I’d be typically a glass half empty kind of person - something I’m trying to change because it does no good for nobody’.
It’s also down to the high standards she demands of herself having previously excelled as a discus thrower before focusing fully on football.
She similarly refused to cut herself any slack when assessing Kerry’s performance in the 2023 final when they lost to Dublin. A terrible first-half undermined their challenge while Meath beat Kerry in the 2022 final.
“I think it’s as low as I’ve felt full stop, in relation to football or not,” said the Dr Crokes player.
“Jesus, like, I literally don’t really have the words to tell you how heartbroken I was. To be honest, I don’t think it’s gone away and I don’t think it ever will.
“It felt like we had obviously let ourselves down but let everybody else down as well and a good word for it is probably we were ashamed, of how we performed on the day.
“Myself in particular, 100 per cent. I certainly felt ashamed in how I played.”
Cronin said that winning the All-Ireland, Kerry’s first since 1993, was an intoxicating feeling and she wants more.
“It’s probably a selfish thing to say as well but after winning one, it’s not enough,” she said.
“Literally I want that feeling 10 more times.”
It’s been reported locally that Tralee man Mark Bourke, who managed the Milltown/Castlemaine men’s team to county intermediate success in 2023, will replace joint Kerry managers Declan Quill and Darragh Long.
