Gaelic Games

Camogie finals previews: Déise go in as underdogs against Cork

Meath take on Derry and Clare take on Tipperary at Croke Park

Waterford's Beth Carton. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Waterford's Beth Carton. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Daragh Ó Conchúir
Sat Aug 05 2023 - 05:00

Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Final: Cork v Waterford, Sunday, 5pm

There will be a new energy about the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior final in 2023 with a unique pairing of neighbours and keen rivals that have crossed swords on plenty of occasions in recent years since Waterford’s ascension to the elite ranks after their 2015 intermediate success.

The teams have never met in an All-Ireland senior decider, however, with Waterford’s only previous appearance, in 1945, coming in defeat to Antrim. This is also the first time since Wexford completed their famous three-in-a-row in 2012, that a team other than Cork, Galway and Kilkenny has appeared in camogie’s blue riband.

The Déise go in as underdogs perhaps but after securing their first triumph over Cork since returning to the top grade in the Munster Championship this year, they will not be cowed.

Perhaps even more significant is their performance against their vaunted opponents in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park. Many feared that Cork would be too strong for them in that game but Waterford led entering the final quarter before fading down the stretch. They had fielded that day with speedster Abby Flynn nursing a hamstring injury and industrious scoring threat Mairéad O’Brien – scorer of three goals to date in this year’s competition – suffering from what was subsequently revealed to be a chipped shinbone.

READ MORE

Seán Power has come in as manager this year. He is a man with a considerable track record in hurling, having led Waterford to rare All-Ireland success at U21 and minor level. Statues may well be built in his honour if he were to add a maiden senior camogie title for the Suirsiders.

Dublin footballers have shown that operating in the second tier of the National League is not an impediment to the ultimate glory and Waterford won the Very League Division 1B crown with a degree of ease. Their progress through the group stages of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship was similarly without fuss but their All-Ireland semi-final defeat of Tipperary made up for the lack of drama up to that point.

Natural defender Mairead Power was pushed up to follow Karen Kennedy wherever the Tipp co-captain went and did an excellent job but also found time to score the goal that kick-started the Déise fightback after falling seven points behind in the first half. They went in trailing by just one and at the final whistle were one up.

Brianna O’Regan has been one of the country’s top goalies for a number of years now and she scored a whopping point from a free on her own 65 in the semi-final. Vikki Faulkner, Lorraine Bray, O’Brien and Beth Carton were others to provide huge performances, the latter scoring eight points, half from play. That return saw the De La Salle genius overhaul Down’s Niamh Mallon as leading scorer according to stats compiled by Matthew Hurley aka Gaelic Statsman with 3-41. That she is the fourth highest scorer form play with 1-17 illustrates her all-round contribution and her work rate without the ball is first class too.

Meanwhile, captain Niamh Rockett is aiming to join rare if not exclusive company by adding a senior medal to premier junior and intermediate mementoes won in 2011 and 2015. To do so as skipper would be a further bonus in a season in which the 29-year-old has already coached an All-Ireland-winning, having steered St Declan’s of Kilmacthomas, where she teaches, to a second schools’ title, bridging a gap of 12 years from the inaugural one, when the St Anne’s sharpshooter herself played.

Cork represent serious opposition though and have undoubtedly come through a more rigorous path. Notably, having lost a number of tight games in recent years, in particular the last two All-Ireland finals as well as a pair of League deciders, they came out on top against champions Kilkenny by a point in the quarter-final, and League victors Galway by three in the semi-final.

They were better full value for those wins despite the narrowness of those margins, an increased physicality around the one-percenters and breaking ball being very notable against Galway especially. The celebrations after that game matched Waterford’s subsequently, which told of the monkey they felt had been removed off their backs having lost eight straight League and Championship games to the Westerners going back to the 2019 All-Ireland semi-final.

The return from injury of Ashling Thompson, Orla Cronin, Laura Hayes and Orlaith Cahalane at almost the same time as the knockout stages of the Championship got under way has suddenly given Matthew Twomey real depth, with Cliona Healy also having a big impact off the bench.

While free-taking has been an issue, skipper Amy O’Connor has been doing well of late and is the third leading scorer overall with 3-30, 3-7 from play. Katrina Mackey, who has maintained her record of never not making at least the semi-finals in her 15th season at this level and will be chasing a sixth triumph in her 10th final appearance in that time, has recovered from a bruised lung and bruised ribs that kept her out of all bar the first 20 minutes of the League, and with 3-13, is only four points shy of the Championship’s leading scorer from play, Tipperary’s Cáit Devane on 6-8.

Amy Lee has made the goalkeeper’s jersey her own while Libby Coppinger, Laura Treacy and Pamela Mackey are tremendous defenders. It is the running power of Saoirse McCarthy, Fiona Keating and Heather Looney that is among Cork’s greatest weapons however, and they will look to break the opposition defensive lines to create an overload – either an overlap or underlap – as often as possible.

If the weather co-operates, this could be a high-scoring tussle, though with so many good defenders on view, the matchups will be hugely interesting.

Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Intermediate Final: Meath v Derry, Sunday, 2.45pm

These are two teams with very similar profiles, having had a brief period at senior level after All-Ireland intermediate success in 2012 and 2017 respectively and then enduring a rebuilding phase upon their relegations. Derry had two years at the highest grade before making the drop but the rules had been changed surrounding newcomers being given a year’s grace by the time Meath made the step up and they fell through the trapdoor at the end of their only season at senior.

In the meantime, they have both endured plenty of semi-final heartbreak in recent seasons in their bid to return to Croke Park. So there is some redemption in finally getting over that hurdle but only one of them will enjoy the ultimate satisfaction of getting their hands on the Jack McGrath Cup and celebrating a return to senior competition next year.

This is only Meath’s second ever appearance in an intermediate final, while it is Derry’s third, Antrim proving too strong for the Oak Leafers in their maiden appearance in 2001. It is a very difficult game to call with so much experience in both squads, even though a number of legendary figures are no longer involved.

Áine McAllister and Aoife Ní Chaiside are among the survivors from Derry’s last triumph 11 years ago, while Meath can call on Aoife Minogue, Claire Coffey, Ellen Burke and Amy Gaffney.

Both teams competed in Division 2A of the Very League and Meath’s two-point victory over Derry in the final round earned the Royals a berth in the final at the expense of the Ulster side. They came away from Croke Park without the silverware however, Kerry prevailing by the odd point in 27 in a tremendous game.

Derry came through the group stages of the Glen Dimplex Championship without any bother but looked to be in for more semi-final heartbreak when 12 months after conceding three of the last four points to lose by the minimum in injury time to Cork, they trailed late on once more. This time though, Aoife Shaw converted a free to bring them level with Kilkenny and with McAllister in inspirational form – she finished with eight points and Shaw with six – they made the most of extra time with six consecutive points to secure the verdict.

Meath lost to Westmeath in the group stages and had to play an All-Ireland quarter-final but that may have been a blessing, as they conceded only four points in the second half to win by six. That set up a rematch with their Lakeside neighbours and this time, it was the Greens that took the spoils, a goal from Gaffney on the hour ensuring qualification after a tense and fiercely-fought battle.

The teams know each other well, having been operating in the same tiers of League and Championship over the past six seasons and there has rarely been much between them. There is no reason to expect anything different with silverware at stake at Headquarters.

Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Final: Clare v Tipperary, Sunday, 12.50pm

The day’s proceedings begin with the first of two all-Munster pairings as the second teams of Clare and Tipperary do battle for the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior honours.

Tipperary were operating in Division 2B of the Very League, the top tier for second-string teams, and held their own, defeating intermediate units, Wexford and Galway to finish mid-table. That preparation of playing at a higher level showed as they had far too much firepower for Wicklow and Cavan in the round-robin stages of the competition, scoring 8-31 in those two outings to advance to the semi-final.

Jean Kelly, Claire Stakelum and Jenny Grace have exhibited all their ability and experience to get to this juncture with Kelly in particular, in outstanding form, scoring 2-7 as Tipp overcame Roscommon to clear that penultimate hurdle. Amazingly, the former senior forward is responsible for all 10 of her side’s goals in the Championship and snuffing out her threat will surely be a priority for the Banner.

It wasn’t all about the attack though, as Ciara McKeogh’s nullifying of Roscommon danger-woman Shauna Fallon was a key ingredient of the triumph. It will be interesting what her role will be when it’s the Banner in the opposite corner.

Clare were denied by a point at the end of two periods of extra time in last year’s semi-final by eventual champions Antrim and after winning the Very League Division 3B crown – the second tier for second-string teams – by the same margin as it happens, they made short work of their group opposition to return to the knockout stages.

The Saffron and Blues have had the look of a group on a mission all season and Sarah Loughnane scored two goals in the quarter-final defeat of Cavan which brought them back to the penultimate stages. Once more, they were involved in a nail-biting affair. They would have known all about the Armagh threat, with the Orchard’s finest having been runners-up the last two seasons and supporters must have feared the worst as they trailed by five points at the three-quarter mark.

Clare found another gear however and some fabulous point-scoring from Loughnane and Grace Carmody saw them advance by the minimum at the end of a pulsating tie, with the defence also putting the clamps on the troublesome Armagh forwards in that period.

Caoimhe Lally and the vastly experienced Laura McMahon form a formidable defensive spine, while Carmody, Loughnane and Olivia Phelan are considerable offensive threats and Clare have clearly learned to close out very close games. They are sure to be optimistic about scaling the peak but so will Tipperary, given the proven artillery they possess also. Something will have to give and it promises to be a hugely entertaining opening to the day’s carnival of camogie.