*Doireann Murphy. Photograph: Burren Eye Photography
CLARE NETMINDER Doireann Murphy feels bringing a high level of intensity will be hugely important if they want to come out on the right side of the Division 1B camogie league final against Dublin.
Clare’s senior camogie side will travel to Nowlan Park for Sunday’s Division 1B final unbeaten, having topped the second-tier table with four wins and a draw. “It’s been a tough enough league campaign. We drew the first game against Dublin, it was a very tough game that could’ve gone either way and we got a lucky enough break against Limerick, but we’ve drove on a bit sense then. It’s been great to have been able to build that bit of momentum and get a few wins on the board”.
Similar to Clare’s hurlers, the camogie side also faced Dublin in the first round of the league before meeting them again in the final. “The first day out when we played Dublin it was the opening round of the league and it’s very hard to know where you stand going into it, but it didn’t take us long to find out that the physicality they have is unreal, they’re an awful physical team. They’re very fit, and very well drilled so we’ll have to be well tuned in from the start, and we’ll have to bring our own high level of intensity from the first whistle and take it from there,” the 2022 Munster Camogie Player of the Year said.
Promotion was secured by Eugene Foudy’s side with two games to go, this allowed the full side to be utilised for their final games in the round robin series. “There’s fierce depth in the panel this year, even in training there’s lots of girls pushing really hard and every day you turn up to training because you know that there’s someone there behind you that’s looking for your jersey. I suppose that has been seen in the last two or three games, a lot of girls have got minutes on the pitch, they’ve all done really well and any girl that comes off and is replaced the next girl is in and is trying to hold on to that jersey then for the next day so it’s great. It’s driving everyone on in training and matches, it’s bringing a really positive atmosphere”.
Clarecastive native Doireann opted out of the county squad for the early part of 2025 before rejoining the panel ahead of the provincial series. She told The Clare Echo it didn’t take fresh face new manager Foudy much convincing to get her to commit for 2026. “It was always at the back of my head to go back in, sometimes you don’t really realise what you’re missing until you’re gone, even just to have your routine with training and stuff like that. Last year you could see there was a really good setup there and it’s the same again this year. It’s been really well setup for the last two years and with the panel of players there at the moment everything is going really well, the management is putting so much time into it as well so it’s great”.
With games coming thick and fast, Clare will be back in action just six days after the quest for silverware, with their attention quickly shifting towards a Munster championship quarter-final. “We’ve the league final next Sunday and then I think it’s the Saturday after we have the first round of the Munster Championship, then it’s only a few weeks to the All-Ireland which is starting nearer to the end of May. We probably have all the tough training done but it’s only coming down to the really important part of the season now I suppose you can say. Obviously the league final, win or lose you’re all finished with the league, if we can get a win in the Munster championship we’re into a semi-final, if we lose that’s finished and then you’re straight into the All-Ireland. It’s probably the time now when we need to knuckle down the most and get the small things right and keep pushing on in training”.
