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.
16th March 2014
Waterford 0-10
v 3-08
Meath
Venue: Walsh Park
23rd March
2014 Kildare
0-15
v 2-08
Waterford Venue:
Johnstownbridge
6th 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.
21st June
2014
Meath 1-07
v 1-09 Waterford
Venue: Rathmoylon, Co. Meath
28th June
2014 Waterford
4-13
v 2-08
Cork
Venue: Carriganore
5th July
2014
Kilkenny
2-09
v 1-06 Kilkenny
Venue: John Lockes Park, Callan
12th 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 16th 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.
