Last Sunday Croke Park witnessed the most personal and enduring rivalry of Gaelic football when Kerry took on Cork for the All-Ireland title.

This Sunday it will witness the other extreme when Cork and Mayo contest the All-Ireland women's final, their rivalry based purely on recent meetings between the two counties - though no less intense as a result.

For most of the past decade Mayo had established themselves at the leading force in women's football, contesting five straight All-Ireland finals between 1999 and 2003, and winning all but one - the 2001 decider, which they lost by a point to Laois.

Then suddenly Cork emerged as the leading force, beating Mayo in the quarter-final two years ago, and again in last year's semi-final - and in both cases going on to win the title outright.

Now the teams meet in the final for the first time, and while Cork remain marginal favourites in their quest for a third straight title, Mayo have already announced their intentions by beating them in the league semi-final earlier in the year, a game that marked Cork's first defeat in 31 games. In fact it was Mayo who had also last beaten them before that, in the 2004 league final.

For Mayo captain Christina Heffernan, the county's three-time All Star who incredibly made her senior debut back in 1991, the chance to regain the top spot provides extra motivation.

"We've been a long time trying to get back, since 2003 really," she says. "Losing to Cork for the past two years was a big, big blow, and maybe Sunday is our chance for a little bit of revenge.

"We were there for five years, only lost one final. That will get to you at some stage, and you go through a bad period . . .

"Cork are still an excellent team, and have a great underage structure coming through. But we have proven they are beatable, getting the better of them in that league semi-final. That gave us confidence for the year."

Heffernan is still a key member of the Mayo team, and almost 17 years service to the county hasn't dampened her enthusiasm. "I just love playing the game, and always have since I started in national school. We've had a great year again. Out new manager this year Frank Browne, and a new backroom team, has also given it a fresh structure."

Mayo star Cora Staunton has been in superb scoring form all summer and could have a big say in tomorrow's outcome. "She's still such a fantastic player that any side would love to have her," says Heffernan.

Cork made no excuses after losing to Mayo earlier in the year, but a training holiday in Spain helped galvanise their effort and after some thorough preparation in recent weeks they still appear the team to beat.