Lismore and Saint Anne’s renew rivalry for Denny Buckley Cup

For the fourth time in five years, great rivals Lismore and Saint Anne’s do battle for the Waterford Senior Camogie League Final on Saturday evening when the two meet at Stradbally Club grounds.

Lismore were the winners of the competition in its first two years when they beat this weekend’s opponents that ran out winners at Lemybrien.

Last year it was Cappoquin that were Lismore’s opponents at Tallow where Lismore won the competition for the third time.

The sides have also met in the last number of county finals in the championship and just like in the league finals in recent years some terrific battles have been fought between the two with Lismore again coming out on top in the majority of the most recent clashes in this competition.

If the last few big games between these two sides proved to be close and exciting affairs this one is likely to be no different.

Both sides go into the game with a nice sprinkling of inter county and former inter county players to choose from.

For Lismore they will be looking to the likes Shona Prendergast, Catriona McGlone Nicola Morrissey, Ruth Geoghegan and Grainne Kenneally amongst others, while Saint Annes will have Jennie Simpson, Becky Kavanagh, Claire Whyte, Charlotte, Sibeal Harney, Niamh Rockett and Zoe O’Donoghue in their ranks.

The winners of this game in addition to be County Senior Camogie League Champions will be presented with the Denny Buckley Memorial Cup presented to the Waterford County Camogie Board by Denny’s Daughter Laura in 2012.

Denny was well known in the G.A.A. who died suddenly at his home in 2009 at the age of just sixty. He was a keen supporter of both Lismore and Waterford hurling teams and also that of Lismore and Waterford Camogie teams.

During his playing days he was a goalkeeper who helped Lismore win a Western Minor championship in 1965 and two years later he was again between the posts when Lismore won a under 21 West and County double and a further two years on he helped Lismore again win an Intermediate Championship.

On retiring from playing Denny turned his had to the administrative side of the game was a Chairman of the Juvenile and Adult sections of the Lismore Club and was also one of the most co-operative grounds men that Divisional or County secretaries at Underage or Adult sections of Divisional or County Boards had to deal with when looking for a ground for games.

Denny married Brenda Mellor from Passage East but she died at the age of just 37 leaving Denny to bring up Laura then aged three on his own.

In 2003 he was a very proud father when Laura Captained Waterford to win the Under 16 B All-Ireland Camogie Final beating Armagh in the final at Portlaoise, the first time Waterford had won a underage All-Ireland in Camogie.

Lismore reached this year’s final by virtue of winning the group and last weekend Saint Anne’s qualified when they beat Cappoquin in the last round of games in the competition.

Expect this game to go right to the wire. Lismore may go into this game as champions from 2015 as the slightest of favourites, but Saint Anne’s will not make it very hard for them and it would be hardly a surprise if they were to run out winners. Could we even see the two sides requiring more than the hour of allotted time to find a winner.

One thing is certain however, Camogie in Waterford is on the up and the game and those that travel to Stradbally on Saturday evening for a 4-30pm throw in will be the biggest winner as they are likely to see some of the most skilful players in the county do battle.