The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswoman Award for September: Anna Geary Camogie & Briege Corkery Gaelic Football

The way both finals progressed, the odds on Cork winning an All-Ireland single, never mind a double, looked slim enough back in September, the camogie team trailing Kilkenny by five points at one stage, the footballers facing an even higher mountain to climb when they fell 10 points behind Dublin with just 15 minutes to go.

And here we are, with a joint Cork award for September: winning captains Anna Geary and Briege Corkery who, somehow, led their teams to all but impossible victories.

For the camogie side, it ended what, in Cork terms, amounted to a drought, 2009 the last time they had lifted the trophy, having won four in the previous five years. But a Wexford three-in-a-row, followed by Galway's triumph last year, left them impatient for another successful trip to Croke Park, and thanks to their 2-12 to 1-9 victory, 'normal' service was resumed.

A heartbreaker for Kilkenny, whose last senior title dates back to 1994, their league success this year giving then renewed hope of ending that barren run. And they looked well on course when they took that five point lead, but Cork then outscored them by 2-8 to 0-3 in the second half. Class, composure and experience, then, won out in the end, 11 of Cork's starting line-up already with winners' medals to their names. So, they were never going to panic.

Among them were the trio of Corkery, Angela Walsh and Rena Buckley, all of whom turned up in Croke Park a fortnight later to attempt to complete another double.

That 10 point deficit, though, made a ninth All-Ireland title in 10 years seem but a distant dream. Until they got down to work in those final 15 minutes and left Dublin feeling like they'd been lifted out of the stadium by a hurricane.

The extraordinary comeback featured goals from substitutes Rhona Nي Bhuachalla and Eimear Scally, just to prove the strength in depth of Cork's panel, with player of the match Valerie Mulcahy contributing six points in all to the tally, Geraldine O'Flynn getting the winning score two minutes from time.

Once again, we've opted to take the captains' route in choosing our award winners, as representatives of teams that looked destined to leave Croke Park defeated, but found it in them to come back from the brink and win their county another double.

Corkery was our Sportswoman of the Year in the dim and distant past of 2005, when she also won the double with Cork. A veteran now? Well, yes, if you consider 27 old. It gives you an idea of how young she was when she began amassing medals.

She, then, along with her camogie captain Geary are our Sportswomen of the Month for September, having led their teams to produce yet another magical month for their county.

Previous monthly winner (awards run from December 2013 to November 2014, inclusive).

December: Madeline Perry (Squash). The Banbridge squash professional won her 14th national title with a straight games victory over international colleague Laura Mylotte, capping a year that saw her rise again in the world rankings, reaching seventh in the list.

January: Grلinne Dwyer (Basketball). Named 'Most Valuable Player' for her performance for Team Montenotte in an outstanding Superleague National Cup final in which they beat the University of Limerick's Huskies, who were seeking a three-in-a-row, after overtime.

February: Niamh Briggs (Rugby). The Waterford woman was prolific as ever in Ireland's Six Nations' campaign, carrying her form in to the summer's World Cup - and she earned herself a place on the shortlist for the World Player of the Year award.

March: Sarah Greene (Hockey). Greene captained the UCD hockey team to a near perfect season, winning their third successive Leinster division one title, their second Irish Senior Cup in three years, and, for the first time, the big one: the Irish Hockey League.

April: Savannah McCarthy (Soccer). The Listowel teenager, who was the FAI's 2013 Under-17 International Player of the Year, played a starring role in the Republic of Ireland's first ever qualification for the Under-19 European Championships. And she went on to star again in July's finals where the team reached the semi-finals.

May: Sanita Puspure (Rowing). The Cork resident ended Ireland's eight year wait for a medal in an Olympic event at a major rowing Championships when she took bronze in the single sculls at the European Championships in Serbia.

June: Katie Taylor (Boxing) and Stephanie Meadow (Golf). Taylor won a record-breaking sixth European title in Bucharest, making her European, World and Olympic champion all at the same time, while Meadow made a spectacular start to her professional career, finishing third at the US Open and European Masters.

July: Chloe Mustaki (Soccer). The Peamount United midfielder captained the Irish under-19 football team to the semi-finals of the European Championships, where they lost to eventual champions the Netherlands, beating the higher ranked Spain, England and Sweden in their group in their debut in the competition.

August: Fiona Coghlan (Rugby). Our 2013 Sportswoman of the Year captained Ireland to a memorable World Cup campaign, leading them to the semi-finals after topping their pool with three wins out of three, including that famous victory over New Zealand. Coghlan announced her retirement after the tournament after 13 years in an Irish shirt and 85 caps.