Difficult but Winnable Start for Gailltir in Munster Club Championship

Battles within the GAA between sides from Waterford and Cork are nothing new. Down the years in the world of hurling the two counties have built up a terrific rivalry and you don’t have to go back too far in your memory to think of some terrific battles between the two sides.

On Sunday afternoon another fantastic battle between two sides one from Waterford the other from Cork is set to take place when Gailltir Camogie Club make the 200 mile plus round trip deep into the South West of Cork for this year’s Munster Intermediate Club semi final.

Twelve months ago the girls from the Barony won this competition and went on to play in the All-Ireland Final at Croke Park only to have finished second best on the day. Had they won that day it would have been a fairy tale end to a year where they were celebrating the 60^th Anniversary of their formation back in 1958.

But the disappointment of that feeling in Croke Park, the stage where every G.A.A. member dreams of playing at, at least once in their in their playing career can be a very lonely one and there can be no doubt that since that day the players involved will one day want to experience the opposite feeling and would want to do it as quickly as possible.

There can be no doubt that it would have played on their minds along the way in the County Championship one which they played well beating Cappoquin and Dungarvan in the group stages of the competition and then recording wins over An Rinn and Saint Anne’s in the quarter and semi finals respectfully before recording an excellent 2-17 to 0-4 win over Cappoquin in the County Final recently at the WIT Arena in Carriganore in front of arguably the biggest attendance to witness a Camogie Game in the Déise County in the history of the game.

But before Gailltir can think about experiencing what it is like to win on All-Ireland Final Day at Croke Park there is a few more hurdles to overcome before they head into the final straight, the first coming this Sunday when they take on the Cork Intermediate Champions Newcestown to play the Cork Club on their own patch.

They come into this game on the back of a narrow 2-9 to 2-8 win over their near neighbours Enniskeane in the Cork Intermediate County Final recently at the Cork County Camogie Grounds at Castle Road in Cork.

In that game they had a Player of the Match performance from Ciara O’Sullivan, a two time All-Ireland winning Cork minor who shot 1-5 in that victory and is clearly a player that the Gailltir defenders will have to keep a close eye on.

Newcestown twelve months ago reached the semi finals of the Intermediate Championship in the Rebel County and clearly built on that loss this year. And against their neighbours in the County Final they did not have it easy as they fell behind to an Orla Cronin goal inside the opening minute of the game.

But they refused to let their heads drop after the disappointing start and the way they went on to win the game shows how good a side that they are and the treat they pose to Gailltir.

After such an exciting win in the County Final, Newcestown selectors would be expected to give a vote of confidence to the team that started that day.

This should mean that Orla Dineen will start in goal, with Mary McSweeney, Aoife O’Sullivan who scored 1-1 in that win and Siobhan Kelleher in the half back line. Grace Ryan and Aisling O’Donovan would be expected to start either side of Meabh Lynch in the half back line with Emma Tarrant and Lauren Whelan in the middle of the field.

There could be a lot of danger to the Gailltir backs in the way the Cork club line out in the half forwards and in their county final Ciara O’Sullivan despite being named at full forward played in between Suzanne Deasy and Meabh O’Donovan in the half forward line while the inside forward line could well consist of Evelyn Crowley, Maria Kenneally and Aoife O’Sullivan.

If Newcestown were to be expected to give a vote of confidence to the side that won the County Final on Cork, the same could well be said of Gailltir after the way they beat Cappoquin in the Waterford final recently.

Right throughout the Gailltir side there is ability in abundance from number one to number fifteen and even in reserve they have players that have won All-Ireland Medals at different levels.

Ciara Jackman will start between the posts. The Gailltir net minder is one of the best in the business and in another county she would be the number one when it comes to the inter county scene but she is up against Brianna O’Regan who is equally as good as the Gailltir number one.

Áine O’Keeffe, Margo Heffernan and Claire Dunne would be expected to again start in the full back line, with Clodagh Carroll, Emma Hannon and Trish Jackman in front of them in what is an outstanding half back line.

In the middle of the field Kate Lynch and Shauna Fitzgerald are two young players with a great future ahead of them, while in attack the ladies from the Barony are extremely strong.

Ciara O’Sullivan, Anne Corcoran and Annie Fitzgerald who shared seven points in the county final win over Cappoquin would once more be expected to start in the half forward line with Aoife Fitzgerald, Áine Lyng and Emer Walsh who hit 2-3 between them against Cappoquin would be expected to continue closest to the Newcestown goal for Gailltir.

Gailltir will be expecting a much closer game here than which they did against Cappoquin in the County Final, the Corner Stone Club deserving great credit to get to the final, while Newcestown will be expecting a game in line with what they had in their county final win.

There can only be one winner, and here you can’t but think that the experience that Gailltir have picked up along the way over the past few years will help them to come out on top and advance to this year’s Munster Final.