Former Donegal captain Nadine Doherty feels the loss of three stalwarts to retirement is a "disappointing" setback for Cork but that it will spur the county's senior women's football team to cultivate new leaders.
Eight-time All-Ireland winner Ciara O'Sullivan and her sister Doireann - a five-time champion with the Rebels - have called time on their inter-county careers, as has another five-time All-Ireland winner in Roisin Phelan.
The retirements come at a time when Cork are struggling at the bottom of Lidl National Football League Division 1 after just one win from five and a points difference of minus-22.
Speaking on RTÉ's Game On, Doherty said losing the trio of players was a blow.
"I suppose timing is everything and it's more of a blow from the outside to us looking in when Cork are bottom of the league," she said.
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"Ciara O'Sullivan, Doireann O'Sullivan her sister and Roisin Phelan, three players, three legends of Cork football who announced their retirement this week, we've been used to them coming into the Cork panel for the championship.
"It's really disappointing for Cork. They're still young - I think Ciara O'Sullivan is 33. You would have felt that they all have a huge amount of football left to play but with Ciara I think she has suffered with injuries over the last number of years and decided to call it a day.
"And Doireann also, I think she had hamstring trouble over the year but Roisin Phelan has been really a constant and a real presence for Cork and probably a very understated player at times.
"She'd always slot in there at full back or corner back. Over the years she did really good one-on-one marking roles on the top stars of the game. But it's very disappointing for Cork."
While losing experienced players is a setback, Doherty added that the Rebel county could look at it in another way, by looking to find continuity from league to the championship as well as trying to incentivize a new set of leaders.
"In another sense in the long-term they might be looking at it in a sense that Cork now know that their squad for the league is going to be the same for the championship and they're not going to be left in a position whereby we see them playing completely different football for the league," she said.
"It changes to completely format for the championship because they are accomodating these players coming back, so it's time for them to build, definitely, and time for them to really look to the future and they need new leaders coming through because they are struggling.
"But there are leaders in Cork. When you have that tradition that they have, there are definitely leaders there somewhere and they're just really going to have to step up now."
