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.