2014 - A remarkable Year for Waterford Camogie

Looking back at 2014 and the activities and titles that Waterford Camogie were involved with can only be described as remarkable. When preparing this article, individuals, club teams and the various County teams won a combined total of seven All Ireland titles, as well as one Munster title. This success can be attributed to dedication of clubs, mentors and players at the different grades and one which we will hopefully build on into the 2015 season. There is no doubt of the optimism for the future of camogie in Waterford and the standard that Waterford teams can achieve. There is certainly no shortage of material to write after an action packed year.

All Ireland Title No. 1

Lismore Camogie Club won the first All Ireland title of the year when they beat Ballyhale Shamrocks in the All Ireland Intermediate Club Championship after a replay. Lismore had to come from behind in the first match played in Croke Park in early March to eventually win the re-match on a score of 3-08 to 0-07 when the match was played at the Clonmel Sportsfield.

All Ireland Title No. 2

Our Minor team won the All Ireland 'B' title when they beat Derry at the end of April by 4-06 to 0-02 having previously lost to Derry in the Group stages.

All Ireland No. 3

The Waterford U16 team won the All Ireland 'B' title. After finishing runners-up to Cork last year, the team went one step further this year when they beat Derry in the final on a score of 6-17 to 3-05.

All Ireland Title No. 4

Patricia Jackman has excelled at the Poc Fada held each year in the Cooley mountains and 2014 saw Patricia win her sixth consecutive title at this event.

All Ireland Titles No. 5 and 6

Gailltir camogie club won the 'B' section of Feile for the second year running while De la Salle won the Feile Plate in the 'C' section.

All Ireland No. 7

The Waterford U14 team completed the seventh title when they won the U14 All Ireland blitz held in Dublin in September.

Munster Title

The U16 team retained their Munster 'B' title when they beat Cork in March.

Adult County Team - A  Review

The 2014 season saw the appointment of a new manager of the adult team. The person tasked with guiding the team through the 2014 campaign was Niall O'Donnell, the former Ballygunner player who won three Senior County titles and a Munster Senior title with his adopted club and had won inter-county titles at Minor, Intermediate and U21 with Cork. The previous two seasons had seen the Waterford Intermediate team reach two All Ireland semi-finals but were beaten narrowly on both occasions and the team were eager to take one step further at least this year. Before the championship there was the matter of the league to compete in.

League Campaign

Waterford competed in Division 2 of the Irish Daily Star sponsored league and played against Cork, Meath and Kildare. This league was always going to be a difficult campaign due to the involvement of so many regular players with the Lismore camogie team who were contesting the All Ireland Intermediate Club championship. And so it proved, with the team losing all three matches but the performance of the available players and especially the younger players was promising.

16th March 2014         Waterford 0-10          v          3-08 Meath                 Venue: Walsh Park

23rd March 2014         Kildare 0-15                v          2-08 Waterford          Venue: Johnstownbridge

6th April 2014              Waterford 1-06          v          1-13 Cork                    Venue: Bushy Park

Munster Senior Cup

After winning the Munster Intermediate Cup in 2013, Waterford entered the Munster Senior Cup for the 2014 season. On the Bank holiday Monday in May, the team travelled to 'The Ragg' (outside Thurles) to face the Tipperary Senior team. At the midpoint interval Waterford were trailing by two points by 0-07 to 1-02. Unfortunately, Waterford could not narrow the gap and the match ended up Tipperary 1-12 to Waterford's 2-07 with Waterford Scorers on the day were Trish Jackman (1-02), Karen Kelly (0-03), Lorraine Bray (1-0), Nicola Morrissey and Shona Curran 1 pt each.

A great display by the team when facing a Senior graded team showing the skill level and player potential of this team.

2014 All Ireland Championship

The 2014 Liberty Insurance sponsored All Ireland Intermediate Championship saw Waterford in a group with Meath, Cork, Kilkenny and Wexford with the matches played in June and July.

21st June 2014             Meath 1-07                 v          1-09 Waterford          Venue: Rathmoylon, Co. Meath

28th June 2014            Waterford 4-13          v          2-08 Cork                    Venue: Carriganore

5th July 2014                Kilkenny 2-09              v          1-06 Kilkenny              Venue: John Lockes Park, Callan

12th July 2014              Waterford 1-13          v          0-04 Wexford             Venue: Fraher Field

The Waterford team had a solid performance through the championship eventually finishing runners-up to Kilkenny. The Waterford performances over the entire Championship had ensured that the team progressed to the All Ireland Intermediate semi-final against Limerick who topped the other Group.

This match was played on 16th August in Carlow and in a tight encounter, the Limerick side were eventual winners on a score of 0-09 to 0-08. Limerick went on to win the All Ireland beating Kilkenny in the final.

Since Waterford won the All Ireland Junior title in 2011 and being promoted to Intermediate grade we have contested three successive All Ireland semi-finals losing to the eventual winners in the previous two years. Consistent results such as these can only be achieved by a committed group of players, mentors and backroom staff that want the camogie standard in Waterford to improve.

The results achieved in 2014 for all our teams shows that the talent and commitment is there and with this belief we look forward to the 2015 season.

Over the next couple of weeks we shall continue the 2014 review of camogie in Waterford at underage and adult level.

Waterford Camogie Fundraiser

A major fundraiser for Waterford County teams into 2015 is being organised for January 2015. We are hosting a race night in Kilcohan Greyhound Stadium on January 31st and the we are seeking sponsorship for the match program. Any assistance from businesses or individuals would be much appreciated and all funds raised from this event will be used directly to prepare the various county teams. Please contact Waterford Camogie Treasurer John Flood on 087-6684474 for further details. There will be further information on this important upcoming event over the coming weeks.

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