Season's Greetings

Christmas Greetings from Waterford Camogie

After the eventful season of camogie that we completed in 2014, we are all looking forward with anticipation to 2015. The fixtures that were released last week means that some of the county teams will be back training as soon as 2015 starts and we wish them well in their respective competitions.

The Camogie County executive would like to take this opportunity to thank all clubs, members, coaches and player's families for all their help during the season and to wish them our best wises during this festive period.

Seasons Greetings

 

Seasons Greetings

On behalf of the County Board, I would like to wish everybody connected with Ladies Football in the county, a Happy Christmas and a successful New Year.Thanks to our generous sponsors who helped us financially during the last year. Many thanks to our friends in the media for all their help and co-operation in 2014.

League and Championship Fixtures announced.

The fixtures for the 2015 season were issued this past week.  Some teams are back in action from February so lots of preparation required between now and then. The following are the fixtures:

 

Irish Daily Star National League

The Waterford team will play in Division 2 of the Irish Daily Star National league and will be playing against Down, Kilkenny, Cork, Meath and Tipperary.

Dates of Waterford games are as follows:

Round 1 on Sunday 22^nd February    Home to Tipperary

Round 2 on Sunday 8^th March           Away to Cork

Round 3 on Sunday 15^th March         Away to Meath

Round 4 Sunday 22^nd March             Home to Kilkenny

Round 5 Sunday 5^th April                   Away to Down (Easter Sunday)

Semi-final on 19^th April

Final on 3^rd May

 

All Ireland Minor A Championship

After the success in 2014 of winning the ‘B’ All Ireland, this year’s team are playing in the ‘A’ Division and will play against Limerick, Offaly, Galway and Dublin.

Dates of Waterford games are as follows:

Round 1 Weekend of 21^st/22^nd Feb      Away to Offaly

Round 2 Saturday 28^th February           Away to Galway

Round 3 Saturday 21^st March                Home to Limerick

Round 4 Saturday 29^th March                Bye

Round 5 Saturday 4^th April                     Home to Dublin

Semi-final on 18^th April

Final on 25^th April

  

Liberty Insurance All Ireland Intermediate Championship

After having featured in the last three All Ireland Intermediate semi-finals and being beaten by the eventual winners on the last two, we are hopeful that the team can excel this year.

The 2015 All Ireland championship sees Waterford in a Group with Tipperary, Kilkenny, Kildare and Antrim.

The fixtures for the 2015 All Ireland championship are as follows:

Round 1 Saturday 4^th July          Home to Antrim

Round 2 Saturday 11^th July       Bye

Round 3 Saturday 18^th July        Away to Tipperary

Round 4 Saturday 25^th July        Home to Kilkenny

Round 5 Saturday 2^nd August    Away to Kildare

Semi-finals 22^nd/23^rd August

Final    13^th September

 

U16  All Ireland Championship

Continuing to show the rise of popularity in Waterford of camogie, we are in a position to enter two teams at the U16 Grade due to playing numbers. One team will compete in the B section while the other will compete in the C section.

 

This B section team are in a Group with Cork, Antrim and Dublin.

Saturday 19^th July                               Home v Dublin

Saturday 26^th July                              v Antrim (halfway venue)

Sunday 2^nd August                             Away to Cork

 

This C section team are in a Group with Cavan, Donegal, Carlow, Roscommon and Kildare

Round 1 on Saturday 4^th July            Away to Roscommon

Round 2 on Saturday 11^th July          v Donegal (halfway venue)

Round 3 on Saturday 18^th July          Home v Kildare

Round 4 on Saturday 25^th July          Away v Carlow

Round 5 on Saturday 1^st August       Home v Cavan

 

Best wishes to all player and management of these teams and hopefully 2015 will be as rewarding to Waterford camogie as 2014 has been.

Waterford's Camogie Year reviewed.

2014 - A remarkable Year for Waterford Camogie

Looking back at 2014 and the activities and titles that Waterford Camogie were involved with can only be described as remarkable. When preparing this article, individuals, club teams and the various County teams won a combined total of seven All Ireland titles, as well as one Munster title. This success can be attributed to dedication of clubs, mentors and players at the different grades and one which we will hopefully build on into the 2015 season. There is no doubt of the optimism for the future of camogie in Waterford and the standard that Waterford teams can achieve. There is certainly no shortage of material to write after an action packed year.

All Ireland Title No. 1

Lismore Camogie Club won the first All Ireland title of the year when they beat Ballyhale Shamrocks in the All Ireland Intermediate Club Championship after a replay. Lismore had to come from behind in the first match played in Croke Park in early March to eventually win the re-match on a score of 3-08 to 0-07 when the match was played at the Clonmel Sportsfield.

All Ireland Title No. 2

Our Minor team won the All Ireland ‘B’ title when they beat Derry at the end of April by 4-06 to 0-02 having previously lost to Derry in the Group stages.

All Ireland No. 3

The Waterford U16 team won the All Ireland ‘B’ title. After finishing runners-up to Cork last year, the team went one step further this year when they beat Derry in the final on a score of 6-17 to 3-05.

All Ireland Title No. 4

Patricia Jackman has excelled at the Poc Fada held each year in the Cooley mountains and 2014 saw Patricia win her sixth consecutive title at this event.

All Ireland Titles No. 5 and 6

Gailltir camogie club won the ‘B’ section of Feile for the second year running while De la Salle won the Feile Plate in the ‘C’ section.

All Ireland No. 7

The Waterford U14 team completed the seventh title when they won the U14 All Ireland blitz held in Dublin in September.

Munster Title

The U16 team retained their Munster ‘B’ title when they beat Cork in March.

Adult County Team – A  Review

The 2014 season saw the appointment of a new manager of the adult team. The person tasked with guiding the team through the 2014 campaign was Niall O’Donnell, the former Ballygunner player who won three Senior County titles and a Munster Senior title with his adopted club and had won inter-county titles at Minor, Intermediate and U21 with Cork. The previous two seasons had seen the Waterford Intermediate team reach two All Ireland semi-finals but were beaten narrowly on both occasions and the team were eager to take one step further at least this year. Before the championship there was the matter of the league to compete in.

League Campaign

Waterford competed in Division 2 of the Irish Daily Star sponsored league and played against Cork, Meath and Kildare. This league was always going to be a difficult campaign due to the involvement of so many regular players with the Lismore camogie team who were contesting the All Ireland Intermediate Club championship. And so it proved, with the team losing all three matches but the performance of the available players and especially the younger players was promising.

16^th March 2014         Waterford 0-10          v          3-08 Meath                 Venue: Walsh Park

23^rd March 2014         Kildare 0-15                v          2-08 Waterford          Venue: Johnstownbridge

6^th April 2014              Waterford 1-06          v          1-13 Cork                    Venue: Bushy Park

Munster Senior Cup

After winning the Munster Intermediate Cup in 2013, Waterford entered the Munster Senior Cup for the 2014 season. On the Bank holiday Monday in May, the team travelled to ‘The Ragg’ (outside Thurles) to face the Tipperary Senior team. At the midpoint interval Waterford were trailing by two points by 0-07 to 1-02. Unfortunately, Waterford could not narrow the gap and the match ended up Tipperary 1-12 to Waterford’s 2-07 with Waterford Scorers on the day were Trish Jackman (1-02), Karen Kelly (0-03), Lorraine Bray (1-0), Nicola Morrissey and Shona Curran 1 pt each.

A great display by the team when facing a Senior graded team showing the skill level and player potential of this team.

2014 All Ireland Championship

The 2014 Liberty Insurance sponsored All Ireland Intermediate Championship saw Waterford in a group with Meath, Cork, Kilkenny and Wexford with the matches played in June and July.

21^st June 2014             Meath 1-07                 v          1-09 Waterford          Venue: Rathmoylon, Co. Meath

28^th June 2014            Waterford 4-13          v          2-08 Cork                    Venue: Carriganore

5^th July 2014                Kilkenny 2-09              v          1-06 Kilkenny              Venue: John Lockes Park, Callan

12^th July 2014              Waterford 1-13          v          0-04 Wexford             Venue: Fraher Field

The Waterford team had a solid performance through the championship eventually finishing runners-up to Kilkenny. The Waterford performances over the entire Championship had ensured that the team progressed to the All Ireland Intermediate semi-final against Limerick who topped the other Group.

This match was played on 16^th August in Carlow and in a tight encounter, the Limerick side were eventual winners on a score of 0-09 to 0-08. Limerick went on to win the All Ireland beating Kilkenny in the final.

Since Waterford won the All Ireland Junior title in 2011 and being promoted to Intermediate grade we have contested three successive All Ireland semi-finals losing to the eventual winners in the previous two years. Consistent results such as these can only be achieved by a committed group of players, mentors and backroom staff that want the camogie standard in Waterford to improve. 

The results achieved in 2014 for all our teams shows that the talent and commitment is there and with this belief we look forward to the 2015 season.

Over the next couple of weeks we shall continue the 2014 review of camogie in Waterford at underage and adult level.

Waterford Camogie Fundraiser

A major fundraiser for Waterford County teams into 2015 is being organised for January 2015. We are hosting a race night in Kilcohan Greyhound Stadium on January 31st and the we are seeking sponsorship for the match program. Any assistance from businesses or individuals would be much appreciated and all funds raised from this event will be used directly to prepare the various county teams. Please contact Waterford Camogie Treasurer John Flood on 087-6684474 for further details. There will be further information on this important upcoming event over the coming weeks.

Hannon's free-taking inspires Lismore to Munster semi-final victory

On Sunday last October 25th Borrisoleigh GAA Grounds was the venue for the Munster Intermediate Club Camogie Semi-final where Lismore senior Camogie team took on hosts Borrisoleigh. Lismore were seeded favourites going into this game as they were the defending Munster and All Ireland champions, where Borrisoleigh were new-comers into this Munster Championship.

Throw-in for this game was set for 2 o'clock and it was Borris who won the toss and chose to play against the very strong breeze in the first half. Lismore had to get a good lead in the first half with the aid of the breeze to try to be in with a chance of victory, but Borris who came quickly out of the blocks from the throw-in scored their first point in the first minute followed shortly by a goal. This kick-started the Lismore attack and began to find their way in the game five minutes in when Aoife Hannon converted her free. Lismore were defending tightly and were on the attack for the next fifteen minutes where Aoife Hannon punished the Borrisoleigh discipline by converting 3 more frees while Grainne Kenneally and Ruth Geoghegan scored 0-1 each in this time frame, leaving the score with twenty minutes gone Borris 1-01 Lismore 0-6.

Borrisoleigh came back into the attack with a Nicole Walsh free on the 21st minute followed by an Aoife Hannon free a minute later it was tit-for-tat at this stage with both sides exchanging frees for the next 3 minutes with Hannon and Curran converting for Lismore and Walsh for Borrisoleigh. Very tough and determined camogie was being played and a long range shot from Grainne Kenneally on the 26th minute hit the back of the Borris net but was dually counter-acted by a goal on the other end. But it was Lismore who kept the scoring ticking over for the remainder of the half a point from Nicola Morrissey and on the last play of the half a 21m free Aoife Hannon which she hit hard and low and landed the sliotar to the back of the Borris net, ending the half Lismore 2-10 Borrisoleigh 2-3.

The second half began with Borrisoleigh once more on the attack with the ever accurate Nicole Walsh for Borris scoring two more frees before Lismore’s Aoife Hannon scoring their first score of the half on the seventh minute from a free. This half was a very low scoring half but did not reflect the intensity of camogie that was being played . Both sides played with great determination and was a delight for the large crowd that came to support both teams. Caithriona McGlone was Lismore’s only other scorer of the half while Borrisoleigh’s Nicole Walsh kept her sides scoring ticking over. The final whistle was blown with four minutes into injury time leaving the score Lismore 2-12 Borrisoleigh 2-09.

Lismore are now qualified for their fourth Munster final in five years and will play Sarsfields(Cork) on November 8th at a time and venue TBC.

Lismore Panel; Tanya Morrissey, Sarah Coughlan, Shauna Prendergast, Niamh Molumphy, Aoife Houlihan, Shauna Kiernan, Marie Russell, Grainne Kenneally(1-1), Shona Curran (0-1), Laura Buckley, Nicola Morrissey (0-1), Aoife Hannon(1-7f), Ruth Geoghegan(0-1).,Caithriona McGlone(0-1), Johanna Houlihan, Aisling O'Brien, Kate Heneghan, Sarah Geoghegan, Sharon Williams, Ellen Curran, Alice Russell, Sarah Fenton

Trainer/Selector; Seamus Prendergast; Selectors; Geraldine Barry, Austin Curran, James Russell

Hurley Carriers; Jack Prendergast and Becky McGlone

Water Carriers; Jane Russell, Chloe Landers, Sophie Landers

First Aid; Mary Russell and Una Walsh Physio; Colin Walsh

De La Salle are crowned County Champions

Under 16A Final

This year's U16 A final was played between De la Salle and Gailltir in Walsh Park on Sunday 12th October. De la Salle were beaten in last year's final and most of the girls involved in that match were once again available this year while Gailltir had members of their Feile winning teams from the past two years available to them. Both clubs had multiple players involved in this year's All Ireland U16 winning teams so the standard of camogie was expected to be high.

De la Salle were not to be denied and went on to win the match on a score of 6-07 to 3-09 and some great camogie was played during the match. Congratulations to De la Salle and Gailltir will surely be back again in the years ahead to contest this age group.

 

110 Year Camogie Association Celebration

Saturday 11th October saw Waterford host an U13 blitz in Fraher field to mark the 110 year anniversary of the Camogie Association and a big thank you to all clubs that took part and especially to Jojo Tobin for organising the event on the day.

 

Best Wishes

Best wishes to St. Anne's and Roanmore U12 camogie teams that travel to Croke Park next Saturday to take part in blitz to celebrate the 110 year anniversary of the Camogie Association. These clubs will be playing teams from all over Ireland so we hope that the girls involved enjoy the whole experience.

All Ireland Champions recognised

All Ireland Winners Recognition

Waterford camogie has had a tremendous playing year and it is only right to acknowledge these achievements to the wider GAA community. This year Waterford Camogie can celebrate All Ireland titles in the following events: Lismore as Intermediate Club champions, U18 B, U16 B and U14. In addition, Trish Jackman won the Poc Fada and Gailltir won Feile in division 2 and De la Salle in the division 3 shield. Some of the trophies won during the year were on show at halftime in the Senior final between Ballygunner and Mount Sion on Sunday. Congratulations to all involved and 2015 will be a challenging year to continue the good work being completed throughout the county.

 

U16B County Champions 

Sunday 5th October saw the final of the U18B played between Lismore and Ferrybank in Fraher field. Ferrybank won last year's U18 'B' championship are were hoping to retain their title. Lismore on the other hand were hoping to add another county title to their club's haul this year having already won the Senior and U16B championships. On this occasion it was the West Waterford team that triumphed to add the title to their clubs list of accomplishments this year.

 

Munster Junior Club Championship

After winning the 2014 Intermediate title this year, Cappoquin's next opponent were Clanmaurice from Kerry on Saturday 4th October. With a home draw, Cappoquin were hoping to win and progress in the Munster Club competition. At halftime, Cappoquin were trailing by 5 points on a score of Cappoquin 2-03 to Clanmaurice's 3-05. Although reducing the deficit in the second half, Cappoquin could not get back into the game eventually losing on a score of Cappoquin 2-06 to Clanmaurice 3-06. Although beaten in this match, the Cappoquin have a lot to celebrate this year and will surely be competitive when they play Senior next year. 

 

U16A County Finalists decided

This weekend also saw the finalists for the last County title to be won this past weekend when both semi-finals for the U16 A championship were played. Gailltir had home advantage on Saturday 4th October against Brickey Rangers and won the encounter. Sunday 5th October saw Cappoquin team travel to De la Salle to play, the Waterford City side won the encounter. The finals is set for the coming weekend and clubs will be notified of the exact details during the week as to date and venue.