Camogie Club Championship coverage proudly sponsored by Clare Credit Unions
*Eoin Powell. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
DRIVEN on by the hurt of losing out in their bid to capture three senior titles in a row, Truagh/Clonlara are back in the Clare Credit Unions senior camogie final and determined not to leave empty handed.
A 2-14 1-14 defeat following extra time to Inagh/Kilnamona last October saw Truagh/Clonlara lose their grip as Clare and Munster champions in one full swoop.
Coming up short in the county final has been the main motivation for Truagh/Clonlara to return back to the biggest day in the camogie calendar in Clare, coach Eoin Powell outlined. “Last year really hurt us when we didn’t win the county final, Inagh/Kilnamona were deserving winners on the day but it stung so all eyes are on Saturday, whatever happens on Saturday we’ll take it as it comes”.
An unanswered rally of 1-5 saw Inagh/Kilnamona take the spoils in extra time and it brought with it the learnings for Truagh/Clonlara that they needed to be fitter to return to the summit. “One of the things we’ve really worked on this year is our fitness, we died on our feet going into extra time, it is something we’ve really worked on, we’ve brought in Mike O’Brien who is a sprinting coach and he has done wonders with the girls. Back in January, we had twenty five girls running the hill in Doonass, it is nuts for back then, every single one of them did incredible work, Mike has been brilliant and it’s really been something that we pointed to in the second half of the semi-final, when it came down to it and we came back level it showed that our fitness really came to the fore”.
They produced a special comeback in the semi-final, coming from eight points down at half time to dethrone Inagh/Kilnamona on a score of 4-12 2-10. “Looking back it was a mad match, we went down eight points and all that is going through your head is how you can limit the damage going into the second half but in fairness Denis (Barry) who is involved with us this year has been brilliant and going back a few years ago we’d be going in tearing down the whole dressing room and roaring, the main thing was to get the points across to them, to stay calm, in fairness they came out for the second half, put the shoulder to the wheel, score by score and eventually we found ourselves back in the match,” Eoin recalled.
Behind by eight at half time, the dressing room remained a calm environment, he explained. “It was pure calm. We gave them about five or ten minutes before we went in, we had our own discussion about what we needed to do, we got that message across, in fairness they took in on board. You can go in roaring and shouting but the main thing that the message gets across and that the players understand what they have to do, that is what happened in the second half”.
On and off the field, their belief never waned in their ability to mount a successful comeback. “The main thing is you have to keep believing and let the girls know you are still believing and that they keep the faith. The experience in the dressing room is there, we know we have the talent, they know we have done it before and it is about getting the workrate up”.
Defeated by Scariff/Ogonnelloe in the second round in August, the loss was put to the back burner straight away. “We played Scariff/Ogonnelloe in the group last year and came out of it by the skin of our teeth, when you look at it they were probably the better team on the day and we managed to come away with it, looking back on it this year we probably thought we did more of the hurling but they came out with the result and you have games like that, at the following training session the girls just put it to one side and got straight back to work, it was about the next match and trying to build momentum”.
Owen Fitzgerald who has since moved on as coach of Truagh/Clonlara was responsible for bringing Broadford native Powell into the fold. “It was something I wasn’t even thinking about, then with them winning the county final in 2023 it was really hard to say no, it was one of the best decisions I made to stay involved with them”.
Former Parteen/Meelick manager Denis Barry has joined the fold as coach this season. On his own coaching philosophy, Eoin explained, “It is about building the ball, use of possession, trying to make sure that we are playing through the lines, the way camogie and hurling is gone now possession is nine tenths of the law, a missed puckout or a misplaced pass can really do damage so the use of possession and how we get it into our inside forwards to cause damage is really important”.
Eoin’s sister Niamh is part of the team with cousins Michelle and Roisin also involved in the side. Prior to the senior role, he was coach of the Broadford minor hurlers which won the B championship in 2023, Mikey Vaughan, Cormac Gunning and Jack Lovett among some of their key players.
Working in manufacturing with Regeneron, Powell noted that his charges are very familiar with what accompanies county final days. “They were there long enough before they got to their own final, every other club would love to be in this situation, we will take it for what it is”.
This familiarity gives them the favourites tag against Kilmaley in Cusack Park on Saturday and they are able to call on a fully fit squad. “If you were looking at all the matches this year we were probably carrying that tag, there is no point looking at it now, Kilmaley had a brilliant semi-final, they have plenty experience and have girls that have three or four county medals in their own back pocket, Kilmaley know exactly what they are facing into, we lost to Scariff/Ogonnelloe, they beat Scariff/Ogonnelloe, we beat Inagh/Kilnamona and they marginally lost to Inagh/Kilnamona, there will be nothing in this final, it is about bringing it to the fore and matching their workrate”.
