Drom and Clonoulty to kickstart open senior camogie championship

CAMOGIE: FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Camogie Championship Preview

By Thomas Conway

As the flagship event in the Tipperary club camogie calendar, the county senior championship will almost certainly attract the gaze of Gaelic games enthusiasts across the county and beyond.

Whether you’re an ardent camogie supporter, a curious sporting spectator, or just a member of the parish, the county championship always has a special allure. It can also serve as a touchstone of current playing standards within the county and given that the Tipperary senior side seem to be on an upward trajectory - gaining ground on the top-three every year - the contest at club-level should be particularly interesting to observe.

This year’s County Senior Championship pits nine of the elites against each other, with the clubs separated into two groups of five and four respectively.

Group A: Drom & Inch, Clonoulty/Rossmore, Thurles Sarsfields, Éire Óg Annacarty, Toomevara.

The composition of Group A is particularly interesting. Opening events next Saturday is a repeat of the 2020 final, with champions Drom & Inch beginning their pursuit of a third consecutive county-title against last year’s challengers Clonoulty/Rossmore.

It might as well be an in-house game between members of the Tipperary senior panel, such is the extent to which both sides are populated by inter-county players. Sharp-shooters Eimear McGrath, Joanne Ryan, and Miriam Campion are likely to lead a clinical Drom & Inch full-forward line, while Niamh Treacy conducts the orchestra further out the field, her efforts supported by the defensive stealth of Mairéad Eviston in behind. Clonoulty’s attack will revolve around Cáit Devane, who has proven she only requires half a hurley to slot over scores, and while she might be the protagonist, the influence of Eimear Loughman in midfield is not to be underestimated. Add in Clodagh Quirke at full-back, as well as Sarah Fryday up front, and you have a powerful and balanced outfit, well capable of dethroning the current county champions.

Thurles Sarsfields’ league form has been rife with inconsistency this season, although that claim could probably be applied to most teams in the competition. This particular Sarsfields side has the potential to cause an upset, but they’ll find themselves seriously up against it when they take on Éire-Óg Annacarty this Saturday.

Annacarty might rely on the searing pace and attacking flair of Jean Kelly and Eibhlís McDonald, but the club has also been developing excellent underage structures in recent years, which should start to bear some fruit in the near future.

Toomevara, will be gunning to atone for last year’s comprehensive quarter-final defeat to Drom & Inch, in which they suffered a thirteen-point deficit. Unfortunately, Toome will have to wait another seven days for their opening fixture, but expect them to be highly motivated, with an improved defensive structure and an obvious point to prove. Tipperary panellist Shauna Quirke is likely to operate at midfield, and although Toome tended haemorrhage scores at the back last season, they also lacked some killer instinct in front of the posts. Hence, corner-forwards Mary Flaherty and Jill Anne Quirke will have to be firing off all cylinders if the Greyhounds are to trouble Annacarty in Round 2.

Group B: Nenagh Éire Óg, Silvermines, Burgess/Duharra, Cashel

While most would anticipate Drom & Inch and Clonoulty/Rossmore to progress from Group A, Group B is a far more open affair. Three North Tipperary sides - Nenagh Éire-Óg, Silvermines, and Burgess/Duharra - will battle it out alongside Cashel for a spot in the knock-out stages.

Burgess/Duharra may not be the invincible force that they were some years ago, but the hue of that golden era hasn’t entirely faded, and there may also be a silver lining to the more subdued expectations surrounding the current crop of players.

Nobody disputes the level of class which Duharra have within their ranks, but the senior team is now in the middle of a transitional phase, and as younger talent emerges from underage, the emphasis can be placed on developing a new side with a new brand of camogie and a game-plan which maximises their strengths.

Unless you’re an underage prodigy or a fully-formed specialist in a particular position (corner-back for example), it can be difficult to break into a side which is experiencing such incredible success. That weight is no longer on Burgess’ shoulders, allowing them to give opportunities to other players, take risks, and experiment. They should still emerge as Group winners, but their limits will be tested in their first-round clash against Cashel.

Twelve years on from their historic All-Ireland Senior Club title - their second in three years - the west Tipperary club are experiencing another wave of talent. Whether it will equate to the previous era remains to be seen, but in Orla O’Dwyer and Karin Blair they have two highly effective athletes of contrasting styles. O’Dwyer’s dynamism with the ball in-hand is extraordinary, enabling her to practically gallop through defences, while Blair’s link-up play and shot execution is unerringly precise.

County intermediate players Ciara Dwan and Meadbh Ellie Ryan are two more obvious assets, with the former likely to sit at centre-back while the latter floats around the full-forward line. When you combine that quartet with upcoming Tipperary minors such as Anna and Lilly Fahey, amongst various others, it becomes clear that Cashel are building some serious momentum. The present senior team is still in an embryonic phase, and although 2021 might be that bit too soon, there are big things coming further down the line.

Silvermines also have plenty of nascent potential, with some talented young players now starting to emerge into the senior set-up. Miriam Murphy is one of those, having held her own at centre-back for the Tipperary minors despite a disappointing 2021 campaign. Sisters Niamh and Ellen Cunneen also featured in that minor panel. Both have proven themselves versatile and quick-to-adapt, suggesting that they could be deployed anywhere around the middle-third, as well as areas in which the team might be struggling.

The ‘Mines walloped Toomevara in the group stages last year - their best performance of the campaign - but subsequently lost out to Clonoulty in the county quarter-final, having also suffered defeats to Burgess/Duharra and Cashel. Turning the tide on either of those two sides will require an almost flawless display, but their prospects will definitely be brighter when facing the other team in the group - Nenagh Éire-Óg. Whether it relates to their senior hurlers or their senior camogie side, there is always a slight sense that Nenagh are serial underachievers at the top level. Really and truly, this isn't quite fair, given that the hurlers have claimed several North titles in recent years and consistently feature at the business end of the county championship. Yet, the Dan Breen Cup has continued to elude them.

As far as the camogie team is concerned, the metric is a little different. They have yet to reach the level of their male counterparts, but with growing participation numbers and on-field leaders such as Grace O'Brien, a breakthrough is coming somewhere down tracks.

Recent form

If recent form is anything to go, Saturday’s encounter between Drom & Inch and Clonoulty/Rossmore could well act as a dry run for another, more consequential meeting later in the Autumn. That isn’t a foregone conclusion though.

Cashel are about to blossom into a brilliant side and should definitely be contenders in the years to come. They’ll pose a threat and could be considered dark horses. Éire-Óg Annacarty are another team to watch. They should be a well-drilled collective unit which prioritises effectiveness over anything spectacular.

Write off Burgess/Duharra at your peril, but also keep an eye out for Silvermines. They may not be title-challengers, but this year could mark their arrival as a genuinely competitive force. All things considered; this county championship could reveal an awful lot. Some players will fade, others will emerge, and the eyes of the Tipperary senior management will be watching every bit of the action as it unfolds.