*Aisling Corbett and Ciara Doyle celebrating Scariff/Ogonnelloe’s Munster final win over Drom & Inch last year. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
According to Scariff/Ogonnelloe player Ciara Doyle there is no shortage of hunger for success amongst the players and management.
“We have had our ups and downs over the last few years but we have a great club behind us. There are great structures set up, there are great people involved and they all have the same objective, they all want to win. We also want to enjoy ourselves, do our club and our families proud”, she told The Clare Echo ahead of this week’s final.
Bringing young players through is very important for the club according to Ciara. “All the younger girls are pushing the older girls as everyone wants to be on the team. Everyone wants to be in the starting fifteen and if they are not they want to be coming off the bench. Everyone has a role to play from number one to number thirty. It’s a credit to the club with the structures they have set up and the support they give us. Whatever we want they provide and it’s a credit to them”.
Ciara, on behalf of the panel, paid tribute to outgoing manager David Sullivan and his team. “We commend them for everything they did for us. It was a professional set up and David did his job. He recently got married and we wish him and his wife Ciara all the best. Thankfully Alphie (Rodgers) stepped in. He has experience behind him with Pat Minogue and Sarah Skelly and all the rest involved. We are so grateful to them for stepping in and taking over the job”.
Ciara believes that “the Clare club championship is probably one of the best in the country with players of exceptional calibre on show. Every club is pushing to be in the final stage of the competition. It’s a credit to the club set up in the county. It’s brilliant for Clare camogie to see such a competitive competition at all levels”.
For the second year in a row they will face Truagh/Clonlara in the decider, an outfit she described as “serious opponents. Their players are exceptional. Roisin Begley is a player that would probably make any club team in the country and they have her back this year. They have multiple players from the county team. They have an exceptional management team which includes John Conlon. They will be coming with a vengeance. They probably felt last year that they were unlucky not to get over us the first day and they will be coming to take the cup. They have really been the form team this year, they have shown their class in all of their matches. They will be seriously tough opponents. When you get to this stage and in any match in Clare you are going to be up against serious opponents. It will come down to who wants it more”.
“Anyone that plays at this level wants to keep winning for your club, your parish and your families. Everyone gives up a lot to play at this level and they all want to win and the motivation is there far all who play”, Ciara added.
Representing Clare in the provincial campaign “hasn’t even crossed my mind. We take every match as it comes. We know that we have a huge battle ahead of us against Truagh/Clonlara on Saturday and that’s as far as we are looking”.
Ciara is delighted that the final will be taking place in Cusack Park “It’s phenomenal. It’s a credit to Clare GAA that they have got their ducks in order and that they have allowed us in there. We are looking forward to getting in there”, she concluded.
