Club camogie scene swings into full gear

Kilkenny Camogie preview

By Michael O'Leary

Following the exploits of the county seniors in their bid for All-Ireland glory, it's full steam ahead for all the clubs as the St. Canices Credit Union league semi-finals take place next Sunday, along with matches in the first round of the Senior and Intermediate Championship which doubles up as relegation semi-finals.

Also on the agenda is a Junior A league final, two Junior A championship quarter-finals and a Junior B quarter-final.

St. Canices Credit Union Senior Championship first round
 

St. Brigids v St. Lachtains in Tom Ryall Park,

It's a very unusual position for St. Lachtains to be involved in. Following their long standing dominance of Club Camogie between 1998 and 2009 where they won every county senior title with the exception of 2002, where co-incidentally St. Brigids defeated St. Lachtains to win the County Senior final.

The Freshford gang are in re-building transition mode, and they are relying on a number of the younger players. A number of the club stalwarts who have given trojan service for several years have now retired from the game, and the team has a new look with under-age players Lydia Fitzpatrick and Katie Doheny now stepping up to the mantle.

They lost all three games in the group stages, yet without reproducing anything like the dominant displays of years gone by, they didn't perform badly. The margin of defeats in all their games was three points or less against defending champions Mullinavat, St. Martins and Intermediate Champions Lisdowney who may prove a force to be reckoned with at Senior in the coming such is the talent of their younger players.

The experience of Anne Dalton, Deirdre Delaney Marie O'Connor and Aoife Fitzpatrick will be crucial in leading the club of a difficult situation.

Jekyll and Hide is the best way of summing up St. Brigids. A two-point defeat to Windgap was followed by a Bronagh Neary inspired 2-10 to 0-13 over Thomastown. However, they didn't do themselves justice against Ballyhale Shamrocks, and they will have been disappointed with a very poor display.

Getting the consistency right is the key for St. Brigids. A repeat of the Thomastown game performance will be required to cause an upset here. They have home advantage, and the losers know they are 60 minutes away from relegation. %3