Seven days ago, after a victory over Offaly secured Clare a return to Croke Park for a second consecutive Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie quarter-final, star forward, Róisín Begley put context on the feat.
“It’s a good day when a Clare camogie team is playing in Croke Park,” Begley said after her 10-point contribution earned player-of-the-match honours.
“As a young girl I probably didn’t think it would happen so to be doing it two years in a row is huge.”
Begley has also played in an All-Ireland senior club final at the headquarters of Gaelic games, when Truagh-Clonlara had to give best to the Sarsfields juggernaut in December 2024.
That said, it is the county’s hurlers that have always held a higher profile, naturally, given the All-Irelands garnered at senior level by the men of 1995, 1997, 2013 and 2024.
Now though, as the Banner camogs bring about a level of consistency that has them in the country’s top six at least over two consecutive campaigns, and next year, will be playing in the top tier of the Centra League after winning the Division 1B title, the names Begley, Hehir, Walsh and O’Loughlin share a stage with Kelly, O’Donnell, Rodgers and McInerney.
Eugene Foudy, who is in his first season as manager of the camogie squad, having served as coach while the Banner progressed under John Carmody, and anticipating a double-header involving the Clare hurlers taking on Limerick, issued a call to arms directly after last Sunday’s win in Birr, for the county to empty in support of both teams.
Last year, there was a Tipperary-Kilkenny double-header. Tomorrow, the Premier’s camogie panel will not have the benefit of a bulked up support. There will be more saffron and blue than blue and gold.
In the week that the Camogie Association president, Brian Molloy confidently affirmed that integration was on track for 2027, it is fitting that the one jersey will cover Clare supporters, with Pat O’Donnell sponsoring both sides. It is just a glimpse of the positivity around a one-unit Gaelic games association.
Foudy has continued the upward arc he was part of and it is notable that his team possesses the type of swashbuckling half-backs in joint captains Clare Hehir and Abby Walsh that might remind you of Anthony Daly, Seanie McMahon, Liam Doyle, John Conlon and David McInerney, and attacking will-o-the-wisps such as Begley and Ziyan Spillane that bring the likes of Tony Kelly, Shane O’Donnell and Ger O’Loughlin to mind.
Who the camogs don’t have, however, is Lorna McNamara, who has been their scoring talisman this year.
A cruciate ligament tear ruled her out during the round-robin series and Begley has stepped into the free-taking role, successfully so far.
Attack is an area Clare are strong in too, however. Last year’s skipper, Áine O’Loughlin has been kept as a sub this year, and she had a big impact in the League final. This remember, is a player that drove Truagh-Clonlara to that aforementioned club final alongside Begley, and was a goal-scoring machine in last year’s championship. She also bagged a couple of goals in the first half against Waterford when they had the Déise in trouble for a period.
O’Loughlin and Ellen Casey form a Twin Towers threat when deployed together, often off the bench, and Clare will aim to be in touch when that chance comes.
Tipperary had the safety net of being among the seeded Group 1 teams that would have at least a quarter-final berth, and they come into this game having failed to register any victory, although they were competitive in two of the three games.
They were only beaten by three points by Waterford and Cork, suggesting they have what it takes to be at the very sharp end of the competition, however, but the concession of three goals, two of them early, put the kibosh on any prospect of claiming Galway’s scalp last Sunday.
Clare will certainly be hoping that momentum will prove the difference-maker today. And Foudy won’t be using McNamara’s absence as an excuse. Instead, he is focusing on the positives of the occasion and the opportunity it brings.
“There’s lots of teams have quality players out,” the Inagh-Kilnamona clubman said. You can’t down tools. The rest of the girls have huge work done through the year and delighted they can show their skills on the biggest stage of all.
“To have both teams there, especially for the girls, it’s a huge reward for the work they’ve put in this year.”
By Ed Donnelly Sun 5th Jul
