For the first time since 1945, Waterford will contest a Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie final when they face Cork at Croke Park, a battle the side are relishing, says captain Keeley Corbett-Barry.
In recent seasons, the Déise have been contesting the All-Ireland phase and last year got to a semi-final where this Sunday's opponents got the better of them by five points. A year on and the penultimate hurdle was jumped as Tipperary, who dictated affairs early on were eventually reeled in, with Seán Power's side eventually winning by the bare minimum.
Ahead of the Glen Dimplex finals at GAA HQ, Corbett-Barry was keen to stress the hard work that has been put in. Speaking to RTÉ Sport, she said: "It's a massive boost for the county. Just for ourselves alone, we've worked so hard for it and that is a credit to ourselves and to the the sacrifices that we have made along the way. In seeing the emotion from family and friends after the semi-final, well they've made a lot of sacrifices too.
"We've been pushing around the quarter-final stages for a while and then we finally broke through last year into the semi-final. We were unlucky on the day, came away with a loss but we took so much learning from it. We focused on ourselves this year, drove on, and it has paid off. We are in an All-Ireland final now."
Waterford are still to register their name on the O'Duffy Cup roll of honour list, just making that one final appearance some 78 years ago.
Sunday's finale will see the Déise go in as underdogs, though based on recent clashes between the Munster pair a close encounter is in the offing. That's what Corbett-Barry is expecting, a testament to the improvement shown by Waterford since last year's championship.
"We have 34 leaders on the panel; we are a resilient bunch. If you look at the semi-final against Tipp we were down 1-07 to 0-03 and we never dropped the heads, we kept going, focused on our game-plan and hard work. There is no substitute for hard work.
"We'll also take heart from the semi-final last year and then from the Munster quarter-final. It's going to be a battle, no matter what. It will be like going to war. We need a performance from everyone all over the field, working together as a team, getting used to each other, playing with each other.
"We've come a long way since the semi-final last year.
"I'm looking forward to it, there will be some bit of nerves but nerves are good. It can bring the best out of you on the day."
Corbett-Barry's counterpart Amy O'Connor, when asked whether Waterford's hunger for a first title will make them an even more dangerous opponent, replied that Cork are just as hungry to end what is now a five-year wait to win title no 29.
"I wouldn't say that they have an advantage in terms of hunger, we haven't been All-Ireland champions in [five] years and we are really hungry, that's a long, long time in Cork," she outlined to RTÉ Sport.
"In terms of experience, we've been there and we've done it and hopefully that will stand to us. I think we've only one member of our panel who hasn't experienced All-Ireland final day.
"Over the last few years we've really built a squad and a panel so now do we not only have a strong 15, we also have a strong 20 to 25. That's something we pride ourselves in."
Expanding more on the strength of the Rebels' squad, O'Connor added: "We've leaders all over the pitch, young and old. I think of the obvious ones - Laura Treacy, Ashling Thompson, but also Olivia McAllen, who has come back from a serious cruciate injury, she is a real leader and I can't wait for the camogie world to see what she can do in time."
Cork have had to contend with dual player issues over the course of the summer
Hannah Looney, Libby Coppinger, Orlaith Cahalane and Aoife Healy have at times been forced to choose between camogie and football on account of overlapping schedules. On 18 June, Coppinger lined out for the camogie side against Down in Páirc Uí Chaoimh before then travelling to Galway to take on the westerners in the TG4 championship.
"It's been very challenging," was O'Connor response when asked about the choices players should not have to make.
"It's no secret we had our issues off the pitch with the dual players and clashes but thankfully we are on the other side of that, I hope.
"It's all guns blazing now for next Sunday."
Watch the All-Ireland Camogie Championship finals on Sunday from 12.40pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, including the senior final of Cork v Waterford (5pm), follow a live blog on RTE.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live updates on RTÉ Radio 1
