All Ireland Semi-Final Count Down

All roads lead to Charleville on Sunday next as our senior camogie team will take on the Connacht and Galway Champions Oranmore/Maree in the all Ireland Intermediate Club Semi-Final. 

The Lismore girls were crowned the All Ireland Intermediate champions last March after two absorbing games against Ballyhale Shamrocks. Lismore needed two late points in Croke Park to rescue a draw against the Kilkenny champions on the opening weekend in March. A fortnight later the Lismore Girls made no mistake as they produced a much improved display to record a comprehensive 3-8 to 0-7 points win in the replay in Clonmel. Catriona McGlone proved to be the match winner as she netted a hat-trick of goals. The All Ireland win came a year to the day when the team started training for the 2013 season. 

Two weeks after this historical event the girls were back in camogie action again when they played in the County League "The Denny Buckley League" where they played Cappoquin, An Rinn and Butlerstown in the opening rounds of the competition where they recorded comprehensive victories in all games and were facing arch rivals St. Annes in the League Final. This match proved to be a very close affair and it was St. Anne's who had the edge over Lismore by beating them by a mere point to capture the Denny Buckley Cup. Score St. Anne's 2-08 Lismore 1-10.

The County Championship began in late June where Lismore played Gall Tír, Butlerstown and St. Anne's where the Lismore girls once again proved that they were All Ireland Champions with comprehensive victories in all matches. They were qualified for the County Final and had to await the semi-final result between Gall Tír and St. Anne's in which St. Anne's won after a tough battle. The County Final was held in Fraher Field in September in what was a nervous affair from both sides as Lismore didn't want to loose the prospect of achieving what they had achieved the year previously and St. Anne's wanting to be the team to knock the All Ireland Champions. It was the Lismore girls who won this apprehensive game on a score line of Lismore 1-07 St. Anne's 0-09.

Munster semi-Final was the next match on the agenda where they played Tipperary's Borrisoleigh in Borrisoleigh in October. Borrisoleigh proved to be a very stiff opposition on the day and put the All Ireland Champions under severe pressure, but the Lismore girls who play well under pressure came out on top to win by a three point margin Lismore 2-12 Borrisoleigh 2-09.

The Munster Final followed a fortnight later where the Cathedral town played Corks Sarsfields. This game proved to be a much easier affair and Lismore overcame them on a score line of Lismore 2-07 Sarsfields 0-05.

The girls and their mentors took a three week break off from training and began again just before Christmas where training was intense with training three times a week over the Christmas season followed by three challenge games in January along with the mid-week training. The girls are going well and will give mentors/selectors some great headaches in selecting the first fifteen for the semi-final.

All in Lismore Camogie Club and indeed the people of Lismore are proud of our girls and would wish the very best of luck in their All Ireland Quest again this year.

Panel: Tanya Morrissey, Sarah Coughlan, Shauna Prendergast, Marie Russell, Aoife Houlihan, Shauna Kiernan, Sarah Fenton, Sharon Williams, Shona Curran ( C ), Nicola Morrissey, Grainne Kenneally, Aoife Hannon, Ruth Geoghegan, Caithriona McGlone, Aisling O’Brien, Johanna Houlihan, Niamh Molumphy, Sarah Geoghegan, Ellen Curran, Alice Russell, Laura Buckley, Kate Heneghan.

Trainer/Selector: Seamus Prendergast

Selectors: Geraldine Barry, Austin Curran, James Russell

Church Gate Collection

The club's annual church gate collection was held at all masses on last weekend. A huge thank you to all who so generously supported it and thanks to all who helped with the collection.

Waterford open Ladies NFL with game against Wexford

Intermediate league opener v Wexford

Waterford Ladies intermediate football team start on their quest for National League Division 3 honours on Sunday next with a home tie against near neighbours Wexford in Fraher Field. Waterford are under a new management team this year led by Pat Sullivan who has enjoyed considerable success at under age level with both the county and his club Dungarvan. The present panel of 33 players are training well at the moment and have had a number of competitive matches under their belt in the Kennedy Cup, with victories over Limerick and UCC and a loss against University of Limerick.

The squad consists of a mix of players who are experienced at this level, a number of players who are making a welcome return to the inter-county scene and a sizable contingent of the present county minors. In last year’s Tesco Homegrown league Waterford had a reasonably good season winning five of their seven league matches to qualify for the knockout stages where after defeating Leitrim in the semi finals they were narrowly beaten by the division favourites Armagh in the National league final in May.

Waterford are ably led on the field this year by their captain Linda Wall and the Ballymac club are well represented with eight players on the panel. In all, eleven clubs are represented in the squad and manager Pat Sullivan is well pleased with the way the new players have blended in and also how the more experienced players have adapted to new positions and roles in the team.

In the cor responding game last season played in Grantstown Waterford came out on top with a convincing win over a Wexford team that were in transition on a score line of 5-15 to 1-9 with Michelle Ryan and Margaret Revins being the top scorers with 1-6 and 2-2 respectively. The score line on the day did not do Wexford justice and they consequently re-grouped and won a number of matches and had a great draw away to Longford to ensure that their division 3 status was preserved. In the championship Wexford had a fairy tale year ending up as All Ireland junior champions last September beating a very strong New York team in the final.

Wexford have a well balanced team with a number of outstanding players in their ranks, Mary Rose Kelly is an excellent goalkeeper and deservedly won Junior player of the year last season. Last years captain Clara Donnelly forms a strong midfield pairing with Roisin Murphy while up front Ellen O Brien, Fiona Bennett and local Dungarvan based PE teacher Fiona Rochford will cause plenty of headaches for the Waterford defence. Waterford will have a fresh new look about them with Ballyduff’s Katie Hannon in goal, Mary Kate Morrissey and Maria Delahunty all impressing in the early games. The Ryan and the Wall sisters form a backbone to this team and with the experience of Elaine Power and Michelle and Karen Mc Grath should have too much firepower for the Wexford girls but it will be close.

Throw In is in Fraher Field is on Sunday next February 1^st at 2:00 with Niall Mc Cormack in charge of proceedings. Following on from the wonderful attendance we got at our county senior final last season it would be great to see a bumper crowd in the field next Sunday. Half time exhibition games will involve girls from the Dungarvan, Stradbally, Ballymacarbry, Ballysaggart, St Anne’s and Comeragh Rangers clubs.

The other fixtures in the division on Sunday next are

Leitrim v Roscommon, Sligo v Longford and Fermanagh v Tipperary.

Waterford under age teams

The various under age teams at minor, under 16 and under 14 levels are busily preparing for their upcoming encounters in the Munster championships, first in action will be our under 14’s who are defending their Munster title with a home game on 28^th February against Clare with the match fixed for Stradbally. Our under 16’s have a tough opener against Limerick away on March 14^th while our minors team are away to Cork on 28^th March.

Kennedy Cup Play Off

Our intermediate team have a Kennedy Cup play off game against U.L. in Dungarvan this Wednesday night with throw in at 8:00

Code of Ethics/Child Welfare

John Frewen our Child Welfare officer wishes to remind all clubs that  a number of courses will be run in the county in the upcoming weeks. All details will be made available to the club secretaries

Deise Day in Punchestown

Clear the diary and make Saturday May 2^nd a free date in your calendar for “Deise Day “ in conjunction with the Men’s County Board. More details later.

Count Down is on for All Ireland Semi-Final for Lismore

Count Down is on for All Ireland Semi-Final

Preparations are well underway in the west Waterford Club of Lismore who are preparing for the All Ireland Club Semi Final takes place in Charleville Co. Cork at 2.30pm on Sunday, February 1^st.  Lismore are up again very tough opposition in Oranmore/Maree Camogie Club of Galway.

Lismore created history last year in capturing the All Ireland Intermediate Club Camogie final and are now are attempting to achieve back to back All Ireland titles.  A two in a row All Ireland is a very difficult feat.

Lismore were pushed to the limit to get out of Waterford this year, when they met St Anne’s  in the Senior Camogie County Final, 21st September in Fraher field.   St Anne’s really pushed Lismore to the pin of their collar but the experience of 2014 really stood to Lismore in the dying minutes and they managed to edge out a win by the narrowest of margins – final score was Lismore 1-07 St. Anne's 0-09. 

And so the journey began again…….

Munster Semi Final - Next up was the Munster Intermediate Club Semi-Final, this took place on 26^th October and their opponents were Borrisoleigh of Tipperary whom had home advantage.  Borrisoleigh had made club history earlier that month by winning their first ever intermediate club championship hence Lismore again held the tag of favourites. Borrisoleigh were well up for this game scoring 1-1 within the first couple of minutes, Lismore held their nerve though and Aoife Hannon was very much on song with her free taking and with 20 minutes to go Lismore edged ahead.Half time score saw Lismore ahead by 7.  If anyone thought the game was over, they were grossly wrong. The Borrisoleigh camogs came back out in the second half and made sure that had to dig deep to get the win – the final score was Borrisoleigh 2-09 to Lismore 2-12.  Lismore had qualified for the Munster Final, the dream to win back to back All Ireland titles was still alive….

Munster Final - The Munster Final saw Lismore up against Sarsfields of Cork - Lismore who were going for their fourth Munster Title and as defending All Ireland Champions were going into this game as favourites 

From the throw in of the ball the Lismore girls were on the attack and were threatening the Sarsfields back line and it only took 5 minutes before Cathriona McGlone had the Sarsfield net rattling, which she followed up with another point only two minutes later – Lismore were on form. Although Sarsfields did regain their composure however there was never any real doubt about the end result and when Ruth Geoghan scored the 2^nd goal half way through the 2^nd half – it was game over. Final Score - Lismore 2-7   Sarsfields(Cork) 0-5

The "Trixie Toomey" Cup was presented to the Lismore Captain Shona Curran for it's fourth year. Prior to this presentation the Player of the match was announced which was presented to Centre Back Shauna Kiernan.  Indeed, the same Shauna Kiernan could have a big role to play on Sunday against Oranmore/Maree.

 Player Profile – Shona Curran – Lismore Captain

Name:         Shona Curran

Club:           Lismore
Position:     Midfield

Sporting Achievements:  4 senior county titles, 4 Munster club titles, 1 club all-Ireland. I've been lucky enough to represent my county in Camogie and Ladies Football for the last few years!

Most memorable moment: Definitely winning the all Ireland with my club - extra special as we have all played together for so many years and had been knocking on the door for a while.

Favourite GAA Player: Very tough one!  Tony Browne - great hurler and the service he gave to his club and county for so many years while not getting the success he deserved.

Advice to Young Players: You only get out what you put into it. Whether it's Camogie, school or work, it's all about the effort you put in yourself!

Influence of Camogie on your life: Cliche as it sounds, Camogie has been a huge part of my life and has opened so many doors for me! I've made some of my best friends, from club, county and college through Camogie. It's a great social outlet and can be a brilliant break from work or study

Ashbourne Cup – Camogie News

The Third-level camogie competitions got underway in earnest yesterday as the opening rounds of the Ashbourne and Purcell Cups took place with Waterford players in action in both competitions.

In the Ashbourne Cup, UCC and WIT played out a draw, 3.5 to 1.11 in the Mardyke. Although WIT started the better, two goals within a minute in the middle of the first-half saw the home side surge ahead and take a 2.2 to 0.7 lead at the break. A similar trend continued in the second half as WIT raised the white flags, but a third UCC goal arrived to tighten the margin. The sides continued to exchange points and although WIT held a one-point lead with time almost up, a free in the last puck of the game resulted in a share of the spoils.

Niamh Rockett operated in the half-forward for the home side and struck over an excellent point in the first-half from distance. Rockett drifted into space on a number of occasions with her aerial prowess and ability to distribute possession to the inside-line catching the eye. The skill and focus of  Patricia Jackman was on show again, she converted 3 free’s for the WIT side. 

Vikki Falconer (Butlerstown) captains WIT this season and gave an accomplished display at corner-back, picking up Cork's Katrina Mackey for the majority of the encounter. With the sides finishing level, the group is very much wide-open, and both sides will face DCU in the coming fortnight, with two teams advancing to the championship weekend. WIT will host DCU at 7pm in the WIT Sports Campus next Tuesday, January 27th.

Purcell Cup

Meanwhile, in the Purcell Cup, Mary Immaculate College had a comprehensive victory over NUI Maynooth yesterday in Limerick. Having held a comfortable lead at the break (1.7 to 1.2), the Limerick side extended their advantage to run out 2.14 to 1.5 winners. Fiona Morrissey (An Rinn) captained the side from centre-back, with Jenny McCarthy (Cappoquin) also lining out at in the Mary I rearguard. With an influx of talent this season, Mary Immaculate College are expected to challenge strongly for honours at the Ashbourne/Purcell weekend, a weekend which will also see a celebration of the the 100th Ashbourne Cup Competition.

Waterford County Camogie Board need your financial support.

Waterford Camogie Fundraiser

 On Saturday 31st January the Waterford Camogie County Board are holding a fundraiser at Kilcohan greyhound track which we hope that all clubs will support. Waterford camogie had an extremely successful year in 2014 but funding the various County squads is expensive and we need the support of players, their families and local business to help us continue the excellent work that is occurring.

Clubs will be issued the tickets at the next county board meeting.

Why not make this event a club social event so that players, coaches and Waterford supporters can get together and celebrate what camogie in Waterford achieved in 2014 while helping us prepare for the playing season ahead. Advertisements in the program are still accepted and cost €40 for a quarter page, €60 for a half page and €100 for a full page.

 

Lismore Camogie Team

Best wishes to Lismore Camogie team that are preparing to defend their All Ireland Intermediate Club title. They play Oranmore/Maree from Galway in the semi-final on February 1st. .

 

Mercy Secondary Camogie Team

Congratulations to the Mercy Secondary School camogie team that won the Munster Junior D title last Saturday in blustery conditions at Passage GAA grounds against Loretta from Fermoy. Although trailing at halftime the team went onto win the title by 2-03 to 1-02.

 

Level 1 Coaching Course

A Level 1 Camán Get Hooked Coaching Course will take place on February 6^th, 7^th and 14^th at a West Waterford venue.

The course is open to all coaches who have completed a foundation course over 12 months ago and are involved with underage club teams.

The course runs from 6pm-10pm on Friday February 6^th, 9.30am-5pm on Saturday February 7^th and 9.30-5pm on Saturday February 14^th.

The cost is €40 per persons in 2014.

Waterford Intermediate Ladies Football team kick off the new season.

The holidays are over and it’s back to the grindstone for the Waterford Intermediate ladies football team who open their campaign with a home match in the Kennedy Cup against Limerick, the team they beat in this year’s Munster final. This will also be the first match for the ladies under the new manager Pat Sullivan. It is a very early start in the year for the team but with the new league campaign just around the corner the girls will relish getting in some match practice before they face last year’s All Ireland Junior champions Wexford in the first round of the league in early February.

Limerick in the Kennedy Cup, will be a good test and both management teams will use the game to experiment and try out some new players and these two teams invariably provide a close contest for each other .They met twice in last year’s championship with Waterford prevailing on both occasions. In the Munster final we saw an exhibition of sharp shooting in the first half by the Déise girls when fifteen scoring chances resulted in fifteen points. This however is a new season and both counties will be out to improve on the disappointments of last year. Limerick will be buoyed by the success of the Murroe Boher club who won the All Ireland Junior club championship in emphatic fashion early in December.

This match is a hard one to call and much will depend on the various line outs put out by both management teams. Throw In for the match which will be Waterford’s only home game in the Kennedy Cup competition takes place at 7:15 pm on Wednesday night 7^th January in the Dungarvan GAA grounds at 7:15

Waterford’s other Kennedy Cup fixtures are as follows:

Wednesday 14th Jan UCC V Waterford at 8pm in UCC

Friday 16th Jan UL V Waterford at 7:30 in UL

Sunday 25th Jan Mary Immaculate College V Waterford at 1pm in Mary I