Player of the Year Denise Gaule credits manager Brian Dowling for instilling belief into the Kilkenny squad that led to their capturing of the All-Ireland senior camogie title last year.

Victory over holders Galway in the final at Croke Park washed away years of heartbreak as the Cats had lost six finals since 2009, including a three-in-a-row from 2017-2019.

Gaule cited the fightback from an early six-point deficit against Cork in the semi-final two weeks' previous.

"Going into that [Cork] game we didn’t really know where we were at and in the first few minutes we could have gone the other way," Gaule told RTÉ Sport after being crowned the WGPA Players' Player of the Year for 2020.

"We started so bad. I just remember thinking, ‘Oh here we go again'."

She continued: "After the beating they gave us in the league, people had every right to write us off. But once we got to half-time and we were still in it, it was anyone’s game.

"That’s one thing Brian has done. He’s brought a lot of belief into the squad whereas maybe before we might have had a mental block in that situation. Thankfully we pulled it back.

"It was weird. There was something so emotional about that game. I was emotional out of the pitch. It was just such a relief."

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