Big weekend of Senior Camogie
CAMOGIE: FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Championship Quarter Finals and Relegation Semi-Finals Preview
By Joe Scully
SENIOR QUARTER FINALS
We are down to the final six in the Tipperary Senior Camogie Championship with two quarter finals this weekend to see who joins holders Thurles Sarsfields and 2024 champions Clonoulty/Rossmore in the semi-finals.
Moycarkey/Borris v Drom & Inch at the Camogie Grounds, The Ragg on Saturday, 26th September at 11.00am
Last year’s Intermediate champions Moycarkey finished second in group 1, thanks to two wins in their final two games, a very impressive twenty point victory over Moneygall, and then a three point win over Burgess/Duharra in their final game.
However, they are coming up against a Drom & Inch team who seem to be finding their best form once again after a disappointing couple of years where they were beaten in the semi-finals.
The former five in-a-row champions up to 2023 finished third in group 2 but only on points difference as all three teams who qualified finished level on six points with three wins and one loss, with Drom’s loss coming against Eire Óg Annacarty/Donohill but they had an impressive over Clonoulty/Rossmore in their final game.
Moycarkey have acquitted themselves very well up from Intermediate last year and despite a 15-point loss to Thurles in their opening fixture have looked very impressive since then and have played some great camogie and will fancy their chances against Drom on Saturday.
They have shown throughout the championship they are capable of running up big scores and have several players capable of finding the target, with the likes of Kate Ralph, Ciara Shelly, Emma O’Sullivan, Alisha Kearney, Sophie O’Callaghan and Sarah Corcoran to the fore and they have been very sound defensively too.
But they will have their work cut out against a Drom & Inch side who seem to be hell bent on retaining the county championship they last won in 2023, and with the likes of Mairead Eviston, Ciara Cahill, Aoife McGrath, Mary Bourke, Niamh Treacy, Miriam Campion, and with Eimear McGrath back fully fit this year after missing all of last year, they will be hard stopped in their quest for a sixth county title.
While Moycarkey have shown there more than capable of mixing it at senior level it might be just a little too soon for them to take down one of the superpowers of Tipperary camogie, but if they can bring the level of performance they did against Moneygall they will give Drom a proper game.
One ace they have up their sleeve is Ray Ralph as manager at the helm, anything is possible, but he will also know that the performance levels will have to be raised if they are to succeed.
Drom, under the guidance of Kieran Young, despite the setback of losing to Eire Óg have looked impressive and will be favourites coming into the game and will be full of confidence especially after beating their nemesis of the last two semi-finals Clonoulty in their final group game.
One hopes for a great game of camogie on Saturday, and it promises to be one with Moycarkey more than capable of pulling off an upset and won’t fear the Drom challenge, but one excepts the former queen-pins of Tipp camogie to just have too much on the day, but only just. Verdict: Drom & Inch
Eire Og Annacarty/Donohill v Cashel King Cormacs at The Camogie Grounds, The Ragg on Sunday, 27th September at 1.30pm
Sunday will see the second quarter final as West rivals Eire Og Annacarty/Donohill take on Cashel King Cormacs for the final coveted semi-final spot.
Both teams come into the game with momentum behind them, with Eire Og off the back of a good group stage finishing second in Group 2 with three wins and one loss, that coming at the hands of Clonoulty/Rossmore.
Cashel have momentum from a final day victory over reigning county champions Thurles Sarsfields, a game they had to win and duly did so thanks to a late show. They finished the group stage with two wins, one draw, and a defeat, but as the only side to inflict defeat on Thurles.
The red & greens are a more than capable outfit but have been very up and down in recent years. Two years ago, they were very unlucky not to make the county final after being beaten in a classic semi-final, after extra time, by Thurles Sarsfields, while last year they ended up in the relegation final.
There is plenty of talent in their squad with the likes of Lily & Anna Fahie, Grace Moloney, Nicole Shelly, Emma Bonner and county star Karin Blair although she missed the win over Thurles and they will be hoping shed is available.
It will be a big challenge for Cashel on Sunday against an Eire Og team who have been making great progress the last two years, having lost at the quarter final stage last year, after extra time, to Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickham after an epic of a game, and this year they seemed to have kicked on and with the Jean Kelly leading the charge along with her fellow county team-mates, the two Danielle’s Butler & Ryan, as well as the likes of Caoimhe Brady, Ciannait Walsh, Eva O’Dwyer, and Lucy & Leah Heffernan they will be confident of not just making the semi-finals but of going on to win a first ever senior county championship.
Cashel have shown with that win over Thurles that they are a more than capable outfit though and if they can bring the same level of performance, a 16th county title, and first since 2009, might be in the offing, which is far too long for a club of Cashel’s stature and one they will be hoping to correct in the very near future.
This should be a close game and hopefully the crowd will be treated to some high-quality camogie as both teams battle it out for the coveted final semi-final spot and a step closer to county glory. While it is a hard game to call, one feels Eire Og Annacarty/Donohill will just have enough to come through and will use the pain of last year to get them over the line. Verdict: Eire Og Annacarty
SENIOR RELEGATION SEMI-FINALS
Silvermines v Burgess/Duharra at MacDonagh Park, Nenagh on Saturday, 26th September at 12.30pm
Nenagh is the venue on Saturday for the first of the County Senior Camogie relegation playoffs as Silvermines take on Burgess/Duharra.
It promises to be a cracking encounter with both sides fighting for survival in the senior ranks, with the loser still having one more chance to save their status at the top table for 2027.
Silvermines, after a promising enough year in 2025 which saw them make the quarter finals, will be disappointed to be in the relegation mix, but having lost three of their four games and picking up just the one win which was against fellow relegation candidates Knockavilla.
Burgess/Duharra, who dominated Tipperary camogie throughout the 2010’s winning seven championships in-a-row, their last one coming in 2018, come into the game having lost all their games in group 1 but have shown signs of improvement as the championship has progressed and will be slightly confident especially if they can bring the same level of performance they brought to the table in their last outing against Moycarkey/Borris, but their end product let them down at times.
Both sides will fancy their chances as, on paper, there is very little separating the teams, and both have some very talented young players coming through. Burgess with the likes of Lucy Slattery, Malwina Dziewiatka, Katie Grace, Tara Kennedy, Danielle Nealon and Caoilfhionn Maher who have all been in great form the last two games, while also they will be looking to Jenny Grace who was part of Tipperary’s junior team that won All-Ireland glory in 2024, and is one of the best free-takers in the county to lead them with her experience and know how, especially in the continued absence of Tipperary senior star Caoimhe Maher who is a long term absentee with an ACL injury picked up on Tipperary duty earlier in the year and is a huge loss for them.
Silvermines, who after a poor start, have been slowly improving also and have giving their best two performances in their last two outings, firstly giving Clonoulty/Rossmore a good game before picking up their only win last time out against Knockavilla so will be full of confidence coming into Saturday’s game.
They will be looking to the Cunneen’s Ellen, Niamh & Maeve, and Sarah Madden along with captain Ciara Ryan and Aisling Carey and Katie & Miriam Murphy to lead the way as they look to end their year on a high.
It is a hard game to call this one and it could well require extra time to separate the sides and maybe even a 45 shootout before we know who’s safe and who has one more game to play to try and save their status as a senior outfit for another year. Verdict: Burgess/Duharra
Moneygall v Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams in Dolla on Sunday, 27th September at 12.00pm
Sunday sees the second relegation playoff semi-final with two teams coming into the game in very contrasting situations and form so far this year.
Moneygall will be wondering just how they find themselves in this situation after a brilliant start to the championship where they won their opening two games and ran defending champions Thurles very close. However, it was their final fixture against Moycarkey/Borris where it all went wrong, as they ended up on the wrong side of a twenty point defeat which ultimately cost them a quarter final place.
For Kickhams, the curse of being in a semi-final the previous year has struck them in 2026 as it did Borris-Ileigh and Cashel in previous years to find themselves in the relegation mix the following year, having lost all four group games, and by heavy margins.
They haven’t been helped by a massive injury crisis which has seen them only barely have fifteen players available in their last outing against Eire Og who they beat in last year’s quarter final, but this time suffered a massive 23-point loss showing just how far they have fallen in the space of twelve months.
A lot will depend on just how many players Kickhams will have back available to them for Sunday’s game, as to whether they can challenge a Moneygall side who have shown in the first three games of the championship that they are a very good outfit capable of putting it up to almost any team in the county.
In Mairead Teehan, they have one of the best players in not just the county but in the country currently and has been in scintillating form so far hitting hat-tricks in consecutive games in the space of five days in the group stage. One problem Moneygall have however, is that they seem to be over-reliant on the Offaly star, and as Moycarkey showed if you can put the shackles on her Moneygall struggle to score.
They do have other good players in the form of Grace Teehan, Edwina King, Bronagh Kenneally, Caithlyn Treacy and former Tipp stalwart Mary Ryan who has also been in great form so far.
Kickhams do have some good players themselves but with their long injury list it is hard to know who will be available but Eimear Heffernan will be a key player for them and they will be hoping to have the likes of Tipperary captain Caoimhe McCarthy, Ereena Fryday and Sinead Furlong back available if they are to have any chance of winning.
Moneygall come into the game as favourites and if they can get back to the form they showed in their opening three games they should win, especially against an injury ravaged Knockavilla side who will be low on confidence as it is and will need to come up with a plan to keep Mairead Teehan quiet if they are to get the win to keep their senior status at the first time of asking. Verdict: Moneygall