18 All-Ireland titles - UCD student is now GAA's most successful star

Victory for Cork. They are the All-Ireland senior camogie champions (opens in a new window)#RTEgaa (opens in a new window)pic.twitter.com/vFySHQndEG

— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) (opens in a new window)September 10, 2017

Posted September 13, 2017

• Rena Buckley now has more All-Ireland medals than any other player in GAA history
• She is the first player to captain All-Ireland winning teams in two codes

UCD student and Cork GAA veteran Rena Buckley has become the most decorated player in All-Ireland history after (opens in a new window)winning the 2017 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship.

The (opens in a new window)2015 UCD Alumni Award winner now has 18 All-Ireland medals.

Buckley is currently studying for a master’s in sports physiotherapy in the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science. She completed her BSc in Physiotherapy at University College Dublin in 2009.

(opens in a new window)A post shared by Pundit Arena (@punditarena) on Sep 10, 2017 at 9:52am PDT

The Inniscarra native captained Cork in their 0-10 to 0-09 victory over Kilkenny at Croke Park. It was the seventh time Buckley has been part of an O’Duffy Cup winning team. She also has 11 All-Ireland football titles with the Rebel County.

At their homecoming, Cork manager Paudie Murray described Buckley as a “warrior” and said he thought she deserved to take her place among Cork’s heroes.

Homepage photo credit: RTÉ

“To our captain, Rena – what can I say about her – what a warrior. You know, I drive around the city here a lot and I see the Christy Ring Bridge and the Jack Lynch Tunnel and I think maybe it’s time we name something after her,” Murray said, (opens in a new window)according to the Irish Times.

In 2015, Buckley won the (opens in a new window)Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year together with teammate Briege Corkery. She was also nominated for RTÉ Sports Person of the Year in the same year.

Buckley captained Cork’s football team to All-Ireland success in 2015 and 2012. She is now the only player to lead a county to All-Ireland victory across two codes.

By: Jonny Baxter, digital journalist, UCD University Relations