Kennedy and Quirke to skipper Tipp

By Shane Brophy

The Tipperary senior camogie team will be jointly captained by Karen Kennedy and Clodagh Quirke in 2023.

The experienced duo didn’t feature for most of the 2022 campaign through injury, with Thurles Sarsfields Kennedy missing it all with a shoulder injury, while Clonoulty/Rossmore’s Quirke featured towards the end after recovering from a cruciate knee injury picked up the previous year.

New Tipperary manager Denis Kelly and his panel have a focus for the New Year after the national fixtures schedule for 2023.

The Very National League will begin on the weekend of 18-19 February with the league reformatted with the top six teams including Tipperary, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, and Kilkenny drawn in division 1A with team getting five matches, with the top two playing in the final on 15-16 April. The team that finishes bottom in the group will be relegated to division 1B.

The knockout Munster Senior Championship is scheduled to start on 29-30 April and is to be brought to a conclusion by 20-21 May, before the All-Ireland Senior Championship begins on 3-4 June. The twelve teams (Tipperary, Antrim, Clare, Cork, Down, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Offaly, Waterford & Wexford) will be divided into three groups of four, with two of the group winners to be drawn straight to the semi-finals with the remaining group winner plus three group runners-up playing in two quarter finals. The All-Ireland Senior Camogie final is scheduled for Sunday, 6th August.

JUNIOR

The Tipperary junior team, managed by David Sullivan, have been placed in Division 2B of the Very National League along with other division 1 second teams, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, and Wexford. Their league campaign won’t begin until 25-26 February. There is no promotion for the winners but the team that finishes bottom will be relegated to Division 2B.

Their Munster Junior Championship campaign also begins on 29-30 April and will conclude four weeks later, before Tipp head into the All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship made of twelve teams (Tipperary, Armagh, Cavan, Clare, Down, Louth, Limerick, Mayo Offaly, Roscommon, Tyrone, and Wicklow.

The format is similar to the senior championship with the teams divided into three groups of four with two of the group winners being drawn straight to the semi-finals with the remaining group winner plus three group runners-up playing in two quarter finals. The All-Ireland Junior Camogie final is scheduled for Sunday, 6th August.

Minor & Under 16

The Tesco Minor ‘A’ Championship involving Tipperary, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, and Waterford will begin on 11-12 March with all teams playing each other in a round-robin format with the top-four teams playing in semi-finals on 22-23 April with the All-Ireland Minor final scheduled for 6-7 May. The Tipperary team will be managed by John Ryan of Slieve Felim Rapparees who moves up from being under 16 manager in 2022.

Former senior and minor manager Bill Mullaney brings his experience back to underage level when he takes charge of the under 16’s who will be a six team All-Ireland Championship along with Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Wexford, which begins on 6-7 May with the All-Ireland final scheduled for 29-30 July, because of a break for the junior cert exams.