With little fanfare, Shauna Healy’s name was included on Galway’s extended panel for their All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny. Less than four months after giving birth to her second child, the five-time All Star was again back juggling baby bibs with training bibs. Two-year-old Billy was in Croke Park last August when Healy helped Galway beat Cork in the All-Ireland senior camogie final. And now baby Pippa – who will be four months old on Thursday – is set for a trip to the capital this weekend for the 2026 decider, which is a repeat of last year’s clash.“I’m back around seven or eight weeks, so it’s great to be in amongst the camp and in with the girls again, I’m really enjoying it,” says Healy.“What other way would you have it? I mean, why not? You’re long enough sitting down and being retired so when the body is able, we’ll give it another go. “To be honest, I’m more there now to help and encourage the younger girls. If I can offer something to them, then happy days. If I can offer something on the training field and put a bit of pressure on someone to make them better, then that’s my job done.”Galway manager Cathal Murray had kept in touch with Healy and didn’t hesitate to invite the three-time All-Ireland winner to rejoin the squad.“He’s so supportive of us all and that’s the main thing. It was a big thing for him to ask me to go back again. He’s just a great fit and he manages everything so well. He’s very organised and he’s got a great group around him as well,” says Healy.If Healy’s inclusion at number 35 on the squad list for the All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny in Thurles came as a surprise to some, it was always the defender’s intention to be tangled up in maroon and white this summer.[ Camogie Association president urges major turnout for Sunday’s All-Ireland finalsOpens in new window ]“Yeah, I suppose so,” says the Ardrahan club player. “The door was never closed on me.“What else would I be doing? It’s like anything, when you’re so used to it and when you’re so used to being in a routine, it’s really hard to kind of be at home all the time.“When the opportunity arose, I was like, ‘sure, why not?’ I have good support around me, so when I got the backing of them at home, I said I’d go for it.”But having two young children at home does bring its logistical challenges. Her husband, Darragh Burke, plays with St Thomas’ in Galway so training schedules must be closely monitored. “Yeah, we were going grand there for a couple of weeks,” says Healy. “We were training opposite evenings so one of us was home all the time, but it’s changed now. “We’re training Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as the lads. So the grandparents have been roped in, we’re lucky to have them.”Last year’s All-Ireland senior camogie final was a barnstorming affair with Galway and Cork serving up one of the best deciders in years. Sunday’s showdown will be the third part of the trilogy as the Rebels beat Galway in the 2024 final.“There’s always a huge physicality there, like always,” says Healy. “I don’t think either team expects anything less. Look, it’s great to be lining out in another All-Ireland final. Galway's Shauna Healy is a role model for younger team-mates. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho “The girls drive the standards there within the group and they keep it going. The senior players in particular are great, Carrie Dolan is a great captain and she keeps driving standards.“But it’s everybody’s job to keep driving those standards. I suppose that’s why we’re back here.“And the freshness of the younger players helps too. They’re brilliant. I see it there with training, they bring us on as well. They’re so fast and they’re fit and their skill level is outrageous so we’ve no other choice but to get up to their standard so it kind of balances out, everyone is learning off everyone.”Healy hopes Galway fans – who have already watched their senior hurlers and senior women’s footballers contest All-Ireland finals over the last month – will again make the trip east to support the camogie team on Sunday.“You’d be hoping there’d be a huge Galway contingent. They’re always is, we have a great support, so I’d be hoping people will come out in their droves and drive it on.“I’d say that’s what got us over the line last year – the Galway crowd really got behind us. When you hear that, it’s lovely to know that people have taken their day and come up here to support us. When they get behind you, you’re kind of like, let’s give them something.”