Last weekend was a good one
for Camogie in Waterford.
On Saturday, the counties
Intermediate team travelled to Meath for the first round of this year’s
All-Ireland Championship.
When the sides clashed in
the league earlier in the year at Walsh Park an understrength Waterford team
had to settle for second best on the day.
While Waterford were short
the services of the Lismore players on the day of the league game in Walsh Park
as they were otherwise engaged in their All-Ireland Intermediate Club Final
replay in Clonmel, Waterford would have known travelling to Meath for the game
that they were going to be in for a hard afternoon’s work as when they
travelled to the Royal County over 12 months earlier in the league, the sides
had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Waterford last weekend began
well, and raced into a 1-7 to 0-2 lead at the break, the Waterford goal coming
from Karen Kelly mid way through the half.
But the home side came out a
much different side for the second half as they hit 1-2 inside the first five
minutes of the second half to move to within three of Waterford.
The remainder of the half
proved to be a even enough encounter. Meath continued to mount plenty of
pressure on the Waterford goal and at one stage moved to within one point of
Waterford but two late points by Trish Jackman ensured that Waterford came out
on top with two points to spare.
Last weekend was also a good
one for two Waterford Clubs when it came to Camogie.
Both De La Salle and
Gaultier travelled to Féile which this year was held across Ulster.
The two sides in action had
represented the county with some pride in the two previous years.
De La Salle represented the
county in 2012 and reached a final, but on the day had to settle for second
best.
Gaultier were Waterford’s
representatives in 2013 in Limerick and they reached the division two final
which they won with a young team, recording Waterford’s best ever finish in the
competitions forty-two year history.
De La Salle competed in
Division three. They began the competition well beating Derry side Greenlough
on a 4-9 to 0-0 score line.
The Gracedieu outfit however
lost their other two groups games against Glen Maghera from Derry and Drumraney
from Westmeath.
In previous years, this
would mean that De La Salle would be out of the competition, but a change in
the way that things were done this year meant De La Salle were well and truly
still involved.
This year in all groups the
top two teams in the groups would contest the cup quarter finals while the
bottom two teams would contest the shield quarter finals.
In the quarter finals of the
shield competition, De La Salle were pitted with Castledawson from Derry and
recorded a very comfortable 7-6 to 0-1 win.
In the last four of the
shield, De La Salle were bitted with Na Brid Óga from Mayo. This proved to be a
much tighter game than the quarter finals but again De La Salle came out on top
winning 2-3 to 1-4.
In the final, De La Salle
were paired with Eaglais from Tyrone.
In the group stages of the
competition, the Northern side lost all three of their games, loosing to Na
Brid Óga, Clonokill and Clonduff.
However despite these
losses, they regrouped for the plate quarter finals and they recorded a handsome
4-1 to 0-1 over Saint Mary’s. In the semi finals, they again recorded another
good win 3-1 to 0-1 over Kilrea from Derry which set up a final with De La
Salle.
In that final, De La Salle
proved to match for the Tyrone side as the Gracedieu side powered to a 5-5 to
0-2 win.
While De La Salle did extremely
well to win the shield final in Division three, I am sure that they will be the
first to agree that the performances of Gailltír were the highlight of the
weekend.
The Barony girls went into the game in a very
confident mood. They recently won the County Féile Final and more recently beat
Dungarvan in the County Under 14 Final.
They travelled north with
much of the team that played in last years competition and would be confident
of repeating what they did this time twelve months ago.
They began the competition
with a forty point win over St John’s from Antrim on Friday afternoon and
followed it up with wins over Ballinascreen of Derry, winning by forty-seven
points. There final group game later on Saturday morning saw them beat Kinnity
of Offaly by twenty-seven points.
Spurred on to play three big
wins Gailltír beat Ballycastle from Antrim in the quarter finals of the cup
competition and followed it up with a win over Camross from Laois in the semi
final and in the final they proved too strong for Tullamore from Offaly.
The wins last weekend,
coupled with the performances of the likes of Gailltír and De La Salle in the
last three years, shows that underage camogie in Waterford is heading in the
right direction and all involved in its promotion at schools, Club and county level
have to be congratulated and more importantly encouraged to keep at what they
are doing.
This weekend the action
turns to the inter-county scene.
On Saturday afternoon,
Waterford takes on Cork at the WIT Campus in Carriganore, the game having a
2-30pm throw-in.
Last weekend as already
pointed out, Waterford had two points to spare over Meath at Rathmoylon, while
in Carrigaline Kilkenny beat Cork 1-10 to 0-12.
The score-lines last weekend
could suggest that we are in for a close game this weekend.
The sides met twice last
year. In the Munster Intermediate Championship, Waterford were easy winners
when the sides clashed at Tallow but in the All-Ireland Championship things
were much tighter in Cork where Waterford again ran out winners again, this
time with just two points to spare.
In regards of this game, one
question springs to mind. Maybe there is a good answer to the question. I don’t
know if there is, as I have not asked anyone. Why could this game not be played
as a curtain raiser to the Waterford and Laois game in Walsh Park?
With the past two years, one
sponsor connects the Camogie and Hurling Championship – Liberty Insurance.
In other counties, over the
past year or two we have seen Camogie Championship or League games played as
curtain raisers to Hurling Championship or League games. But it does not happen
in Waterford, and especially when games are played in Walsh Park.
With many years now, going
back to my Bord na nÓg games and even in the years before it, I have always
said that games be played before big games.
When the re-developed Fraher
Field was re-opened almost twenty years ago, by the then president of the GAA
Jack Boothman, he said that when he goes around to grounds he did not want to
see them as a green carpet. He said he wanted to see that field are used.
Sometimes here in Waterford,
I feel that we like to see out main fields as green carpets, i.e. we like to
have our county grounds in as good as possible condition for Inter county
games, and do it by not playing curtain raisers to these games.
However, come a few weeks
time when the senior hurling and football championships resume, we will over
use our county grounds playing maybe three, four or five games a weekend on
them as the evenings become shorter and the weather begins to turn for the
worse.
If other county games can
play Camogie and Ladies Football games and even underage hurling and football
games as curtain raisers major games then why cant we here in Waterford. As I have
said, I am sure there is a good reason.
OK, rant over for now.
On Sunday, another Waterford
Camogie Team are in action. This time it is the turn of the County under 16
team to take on Cork in Walsh Park in the All-Ireland ‘B’ Championship.
The two sides met four times
last year, and things could not have been much more even.
Waterford won the Munster Final
at the Gold Coast Grounds near Ballinacourty. When they met in the group stages
of the championship in Cork, the sides had to settle for a draw. The two had to
replay to see which topped the group for the semi final draw. Cork came out on
top in that game and when they met again in the All-Ireland Final, Cork again
came out on top.
The sides have met already
once this year. Some weeks back the sides met in the Munster Final at Cashel
and Waterford retained the title won twelve months earlier, which may make them
the slightest of favourites going into this weekends game.
With games to play against
Tipperary, Derry and Antrim in the coming weeks in the championship and with
just two of the five teams in the group advancing to the knockout stages of the
championship, it is vital that Waterford get the weekend off to a good start.
