 Cork players Briege Corkery and Rena Buckley also played for the Cork senior ladies' football team that won the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship.Two Women's Irish Hockey League players played in the championship, Naomi Carroll of Clare and of Emer Lucey of Dublin.The new structure threw up several surprises not least being Offaly’s progression to the semi-final despite finishing joint bottom of the group stages.