2019 was another exciting and entertaining year for Camogie with great change both on and off the pitch as many new faces lifted the all-important pieces of silverware along the way.
January saw an early start to the intercounty season as the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie Leagues began with 10 counties getting Division 1 underway in mid-January.
January
January also saw the Semi-Finals of the AIB All-Ireland Senior and Intermediate Club Championships take place with crucial places in March’s Finals at stake. In the end Derry’s Slaughtneil and St. Martin’s of Wexford reached the Senior Final with victories over Ardrahan of Galway and Inniscarra of Cork respectively. Down’s Clonduff and Gailltír of Waterford made the Intermediate Final by defeating Craughwell of Galway and Offaly’s St. Rynagh’s respectively.
February
In February, the Third Level Ashbourne Finals took place with UL lifting the Ashbourne Cup for an incredible fourth year in-a-row after beating UCC in the Final! Maynooth University dethroned NUIG to win the Purcell Cup Final, Athlone IT beat Trinity College to claim the Fr. Meachair Cup and MIC Thurles won the Ó Maolagáin Cup with victory over Sligo IT.
The 2018 Camogie Association Volunteer & Media Awards also took place in February to honour the contibution of a wide range of volunteers and the media who contribute so greatly to the game and its promotion.
March
In March, Slaughtneil claimed the AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Championship title to complete a staggering three-in-a-row with victory over St. Martin’s in the Final in Croke Park. On the same day Clonduff won their very first All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship title as they saw off Gailltír.
March also saw the Semi-Finals in Division 1 of the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie Leagues take place as Galway and Kilkenny andvanced to the Final with wins over Limerick and Cork respectively.
The Masita All-Ireland Post-Primary Schools Finals also took place as St. Angela’s Ursuline of Waterford claimed the Senior A All-Ireland title.
On the last day of the month Croke Park was the setting for Galway and Kilkenny to do battle in the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie League Division 1 Final as part of a triple-header with the GAA on a momentous day in the home of Gaelic Games. It was the Tribeswomen who prevailed in a breakthrough result for them as they stopped the Cats from claiming four league titles on the bounce as they collected their first League title since 2015 with a two-point victory. It would prove to be the first of three epic tussles between the sides in 2019.
April
The Association’s Annual Congress also took place in April in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway where many motions relating to the Association’s official guide were considered. Most significantly a motion to allow Trial Playing Rules to be introduced in future was passed which paved the way for much progress in this area as the year went on.
The AIB Camogie Provincial Players of the Year Awards also took place in April with a team of 15 as well as four provincial award winners acknowledged for their outstanding performances in the 2018/19 season.
April saw Tipperary win Division 2 of the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie Leagues with victory over Kilkenny whilst Kildare beat Limerick to claim the Division 3 honours.
April also saw Cork claim back-to-back All-Ireland Minor A Championship titles with Laois collecting the Minor B title, Tyrone claiming the Minor C title and Down winning the Minor B Shield.
The annual Camán to Croker development event also took place in April as the hallowed turf of Croke Park played host to over 1,200 girls from all over Ireland for an unforgettable experience!
May
May began with the standout performers in the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie Leagues being honoured for their performances in 2019 at the Player of the League Awards. Galway’s Aoife Donohue collected the Division 1 award, Niamh Treacy of Tipperary won the Division 2 award and Limerick’s Rebecca Noonan claimed the Division 3 honours.
May also saw Ulster win their Junior Interprovincial title with a victory over Munster in the Final.
