*Clare camogie joint captain, Niamh O’Dea. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLARE’S senior camogie team begin their National League bid where they face off with the reigning All-Ireland champions, Kilkenny.
Cusack Park will host Sunday’s encounter which has a 12pm start time. Clare are among the top six teams in the country which make up Division 1A of the League.
John Carmody is back as manager of the county senior side, he had been joint manager last season alongside Conor Dolan but has previously been manager on his own.
Ryan Morris who was coach of Truagh/Clonlara has joined the management team this year which also includes Eugene Foudy of Inagh/Kilnamona, Killaloe’s Brendan Foley and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield’s Anne Marie McGann. The backroom team is comprised of Alan Duggan (Video Analysis), Grainne Travers (Nutrition), Sandra Molloy (Sports Psychologist), Nicole Foley and Flan Barry (Stats) and Brid McNamara (Logistics).
“This is a great challenge and an opportunity for the girls to test themselves. We are relishing the game in the Park on Sunday and we will know then what we have to do. The top two will contest the final while the bottom team will be relegated,” Carmody outlined.
They face a busy schedule over the coming weeks with away games to Cork on Sunday week and Galway a week later. That will be followed by an away fixture to Tipperary before concluding their programme with a home tie against Dublin at the end of March.
“We will be trying to retain our status in this Division but it’s all about preparation for the Munster and All-Ireland championships,” Kilmaley clubman Carmody said.
Last year Clare were in a group with Cork, Kilkenny and Limerick. They pushed Cork all the way but the Leeside outfit hit for a couple of goals late in the game. Clare lost to Kilkenny by the minimum margin before beating Limerick to seal their status.
Clare will be without Inagh/Kilnamona’s Aoife Keane who is ruled out due to a long term injury. “The door is open for her to return when she is ready but at present she is unable to train due to a serious hand injury”, explained the manager.
Truagh/Clonlara’s Eimear Kelly will be returning the squad shortly having been out for some time due to injury while Laura McMahon from Newmarket-on-Fergus is another who will be part of the panel this year opted out last season.
Claire Hehir (Inagh/Kilnamona) and Niamh O’Dea |(Kilmaley) will jointly captain the side again this year and they are expected to fill the central defensive positions on Sunday.
Munster player of the year in 2022, Doireann Murphy will fill the goalkeeping position while amongst those battling for places in the side this week are Ciara Grogan, the Daly triplets Susan, Jennifer and Linda, Alannah Ryan, Naoise Ryan, Orlaith Duggan, Aine O’Loughlin and Chloe Morey.
The race for championship honours will begin on June 3 and Clare will be in a group of three which has yet to be drawn from which two will qualify for the knock out stage.
“We feel that the league will be beneficial to us and will allow us to introduce new players to this level of the game. We are happy with the panel we have assembled. The senior and junior squads train together which gives us fifty players at training”, the manager told the Clare Echo.
For now the focus is on Sunday and manager Carmody and his backroom team are hopeful that with the help of a big home following that they can get their campaign off to a winning start.
