A bit of celtic sporting history will be made at Ballachulish in the highlands of Scotland this Saturday when the Tir Conaill Harps camogie team will swap the caman for a shinty stick to take the field in the Scottish Womens Camanachd final.  A key player in the Harps march to the final has been Kircubbin native and Down county star, Catherine McGrourty, who despite teaching full time in Glasgow regularly returns home to play for the Ballycran camogie team.  Training with the Harps camogie team and playing ladies shinty has helped Catherine keep match fit.    The Harps are a predominantly football club but started a camogie team in 1995. Lack of local competition has meant it is a constant struggle to survive due to relying on teams visiting or going on tour to maintain the interest.  Therefore, when the opportunity came a few years ago to compete in the womens camanachd league and cup they jumped at the chance.    After a few years finding their feet the club have now become a major force in the game.  They currently sit top of the league and take their place in the final with a team made up mainly of Irish born players.    The Irish girls have adapted to our version of the ancient celtic sport very quickly explained team manager George Hay The ground skills are similar as are the team formats. The most important skill the Camogie players bring is the ability to tackle their opponents aggressively, the tackling skills of blocking and hooking are very similar in both codes and the Irish girls we have seem to be very adept at them. As the Coach of  the Scottish University team I had the opportunity to work with the best players the University teams had, many of whom were Irish. Several of these Irish players, from Derry, Galway and Cork were keen to play at a higher level and be associated with Tir Conaill Harps. The difference these girls have made has been remarkable; their presence has energised our own Irish & Scots girls and increased the competitive edge within the team.  The women in the Harps club are now coming in to their busiest period of the year.  Hot on the heels of their shinty final appearance will be the Glasgow Womens Celtic Sports Festival, which runs over the weekend of 3rd-5th October.  This event will include a ladies football and camogie competition, coaching courses and primary schools tournaments.  The festival is now entering its third year with 10 teams from Ireland travelling over to take part. The highlight this year will be a compromise rules game between Ireland and Scotland, with no fewer than five harps players, all of whom are Irish born, being picked for the Scotland panel.  Further details about the club can be found on their website www.conaill.fsnet.co.uk Tweet

Most Read Stories