Croke Park will be hopping on Sunday for about the 20th weekend in a row when the ladies of Cork and Dublin do battle for the Brendan Martin Cup (remember that name – it will be a Christmas quiz question).

How good are the female Rebels? Probably the best of all time, as it turns out. How many teams have a book written about their feats? This Cork team do, fittingly titled Relentless and put together by Leeside local Mary White, who expertly chronicles their achievements.

The great Kerry side of the 1980s won nine All-Irelands in a row but this Cork team have won 10 out of the last 11 titles – 2010 the only year they failed to collect. Who picked up the trophy that year? None other than Dublin, of course.

The Dubs know all about Sunday’s opposition at this time of the year too, having lost the finals of 2009, 2014 and 2015 to the bulk of this Cork team. The losses were all tight as well. In 2009, it finished 1-9 to 0-11 before 21,000 spectators.

Two years ago they lost by a single point too, 2-13 to 2-12 in a thriller before a healthy 27,000 fans. That game is remembered for Cork’s epic comeback as they were dead and buried with 15 minutes to go, trailing by 10 points, 0-6 to 2-10. They came back because great sides do and that merited its own chapter in Relentless.

Last September, the gap had stretched again to two points, Cork winning 0-12 to 0-10 with the audience increasing to 31,000 – a record attendance for such a final and with some semblance of a marketing push on this year, that record could be in jeopardy.

So, the Dubs have a few scores to settle. Their sole All-Ireland at this grade came six years ago as they comprehensively beat a Tyrone team that had shocked Cork in the quarter-finals, the last time they have tasted such defeat. Dublin’s march to this year’s final has been impressive as they have been unbeaten to date, unlike Cork. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

The Dubs waltzed through Leinster, winning their four games by an average of 20 points. Since then they did enough to get past Donegal and Connacht champions Mayo by three points each to reach Sunday’s final – their third decider appearance in three years.

In the other corner, Cork dropped a group game in the Munster championship to Kerry before restoring oder and beating the Kingdom in the Munster final.

Getting the rules right

Ladies’ football has a couple of useful initiatives that the male brethren could learn from. Apart from the pick off the ground and the use of the hooter, the provincial championships are separate to the All-Ireland championships (well, kind of).

Anyway, Cork duly annexed their Munster title and breezed past Cavan before having to tough it out against Ulster champions Monaghan. This legendary and perennial team do, however, have a history of only getting over the line, having won a number of finals and semi-finals by the proverbial kick of the ball. Since they began this incredible run, winning their first ever crown in 2005, they have captured 10 national league titles in 12 campaigns too. So nothing can be read into the strains of mortality they have shown this season, because a team as great as this simply do not lose the ones that matter.

If there is something different about the Cork makeup this year, then it can be found on the sideline as the Brian Cody of ladies’ football, Eamon Ryan, stepped down as manager of this team earlier this year to take up a role with the male equivalents. Into his place came Ephie Fitzgerald and so far so good: the league title reclaimed, an All-Ireland final place secured.

That place came when they delivered a typical gutsy and at times lucky win over Monaghan, the northerners having shot 14 wides in that game, only going down by three points. Player of that game, the one player who hauled her team out of trouble time and time again, was the resolute Briege Corkery.

This superstar of GAA, along with her teammate Rena Buckley, seeks her 17th All-Ireland senior medal on Sunday, making them both the most successful players of all time. They were there in 2005 when Cork won their first and they will be there in 2016, along with Deirdre O’Reilly and Brid Stack – the fantastic four, as it were. (They would probably be five but for a cruciate injury that has stalled Geraldine O’Flynn.)

The four are vital to Cork’s chances, as is captain Ciara O’Sullivan and Orla Finn, but in truth this team is the most decorated to ever take the field.

It was Sinead Aherne who led Dublin into Sunday’s final – she scored 2-6 of her team’s 2-10 against Mayo and landed the last-gasp free to see them back in a final; Cork will clearly need a plan for her. A sub in that semi-final, Nicole Owens might start on Sunday and she too looked lively in that time, while Cork will have to see the whites of Ciara Trant’s eyes before shooting for goal.

The hurt is with Dublin and strange as it sounds, I suspect that Corkery and Buckley will have to wait another year for medal No 17. The Dubs to win one All-Ireland football title this year anyway.

You’d know all this too if you watched enough of TG4, the national broadcaster that does so much to shine a light on GAA competitions that wouldn’t usually see the small screen. I’ll be glued to Sunday’s triple-header, particularly as my own Clare are involved in the intermediate final at 1.45pm when we take on Kildare. I’m backing the Banner.

The junior final sees Antrim and Longford and the spread of the six counties taking part should ensure a crowd in excess of the 30,000 barrier. There may even be room for a couple of senators if they want in.