The Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship kicks off this weekend with 13 games taking place on Saturday 25th May. Read our previews below as we look forward to another exciting Camogie Championship season. Who will reign supreme in this year’s Premier Junior, Intermediate and Senior grades?
Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship
SATURDAY, MAY 25
GROUP 1
Antrim v Derry, Ruairí Óg CLG Cushendall, 2pm
Referee: Ray Kelly (Kildare)
Derry’s ascension as All-Ireland intermediate champions brings the Ulster representation at senior level to three and they kick off their campaign with a northern derby.
Antrim have been competitive since making the step up themselves, returning to the fold after a lengthy absence in 2022. And this is despite having to compete without Maeve Kelly in that time due to injury. Her return is a huge plus and it will be interesting to see her dovetail with Róisín McCormick at this grade.
They endured a tough League but the wheels were back on the wagon for the second half of the campaign and their attack is something to be reckoned with.
To that end, Derry’s experienced defence, led by the likes of Aoife Ní Chaiside will have to be at their best, while Áine Barton is a handful for anyone at the other end of the field.
The Oak Leafers had a positive League outing, but conceded four goals in a four-point defeat in the Division 2A final. They will have worked on that and we can expect a ding-dong battle in Cushendall.
Limerick v Kilkenny, Mick Neville Park Rathkeale, 4pm
Referee: Cathal McAllister (Cork)
With Peter Cleere taking over from two-time All-Ireland winning manager Brian Dowling, and the likes of Denise Gaule and Claire Phelan unavailable this year, Kilkenny used the League to give more game time to less experienced players and managed to be competitive in doing that.
They went on to beat Dublin in the Leinster final and had the Walsh cousins, Grace and Miriam back in the fold after injury. Miriam was the reigning player of the year when she suffered a cruciate injury at the start of last year’s League, while Grace is a steadying figure in defence.
Limerick had a solid League but the inability to reach the Division 1B final was a disappointment. Sarah Carey has come back to the fold having retired a number of years ago and Rebecca Delee is recovered from a cruciate knee ligament. Caoimhe Costelloe and Marian Quaid are among the experienced regulars. Joe Quaid’s crew will be hoping to make home advantage count.
Tipperary v Waterford, The Ragg, 4.30pm
Referee: Liz Dempsey (Kilkenny)
Live on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkhRswgmA5A (Official Camogie YouTube channel)
All of the established senior camogie teams are very familiar with one another, given the open draw nature of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championships, the National League and the provincial campaigns. But it feels like these two are meeting every second week.
For a long time, Tipperary represented a major stumbling block, particularly at around the quarter-final stages of the All-Ireland series. That ended in last year’s semi-final and Waterford repeated the trick in the opening round of the League. But of course, Tipp went on to become champions, winning their first national title since sealing a League and Championship double 20 years ago.
Karen Kennedy, Eimear McGrath, Mairéad Eviston and Nicole Walsh are just some of Tipp’s go-to operators, while Beth Carton, Lorraine Bray, Niamh Rockett and Brianna O’Regan are recognisable figures in the white and blue. There has never been much between them and there is no reason to expect anything different this time.
GROUP 2
Clare v Down, Cusack Park, 1pm
Referee: Andy Larkin (Cork)
Clare were relegated from Division 1A of the League but their competitiveness improved throughout the campaign, which would have delighted John Carmody as he began the process of blooding a large number of players in what is clearly the beginning of a transitional phase.
Áine O’Loughlin was a goal threat against the very best however, while the four Daly sisters established themselves too.
It has been a tough couple of years for Down and having lost Sorcha McCartan to Cork a couple of years ago, are now without the services of one of the best forwards of the modern era in Niamh Mallon, who has transferred to Galway and have had to endure the retirements of some of their greatest players such as Sara-Louise Graffin.
They only avoided relegation from Division 1B of the League by virtue of a superior score difference to Kerry, the draw with the Kingdom giving them their only point of the campaign. They are a proud bunch, however, and can be expected to fight all the way to the final whistle.
Cork v Wexford, Páirc Uí Rinn, 2pm
Referee: Aaron Hogg (Clare)
Cork begin the defence of their All-Ireland title on home turf and fresh from winning the Munster Championship for a 60th time. The heart of their defence has been impacted with hamstring injuries to full-back Libby Coppinger, whose surgery will keep her out for a minimum of two months, and centre-back Laura Treacy.
They have a very strong squad however, something that was illustrated at the latter end of last year’s championship and again, in last Sunday’s Munster final defeat of Waterford when they got four points off the bench.
Colin Sunderland has continued the improvement at Wexford and in particular, managed to negotiate the return of the likes of All-Ireland winner Shelley Kehoe to the squad.
They reached the final of both the Division 1B League and the Leinster Championship, and with Ciara O’Connor a significant scoring threat and Ciara Storey such a strong defensive performer, the Yellowbellies will provide a stern examination.
Dublin v Galway, Parnell Park, 2pm
Referee: Justin Heffernan (Wexford)
This is an interesting tie, pitting the Division 1B League champions with the Division 1A runners-up. Dublin are rebuilding nicely after a period of instability and that League success was very important to them.
They followed that up by reaching the Leinster final, but they really only got going in the final quarter and though they gave Kilkenny a fright, they had given themselves too much to do. Aisling Maher remains an inspirational leader and captain, while Kerrie Finnegan and Aisling O’Neill are just two more talented performers.
Galway are undoubted challengers for the O’Duffy Cup, as they have been throughout Cathal Murray’s tenure as manager. The addition of Niamh Mallon to their ranks is a considerable boost, as is the return of Niamh Kilkenny, the former player of the year who missed last year after having a baby. Skipper Róisín Black is the fulcrum of a strong defence.
Intermediate Previews
In this weekend’s Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, the first game to take to the stage on Saturday is Kerry v Antrim in Lixnaw GAA. Last year’s Division 2A league champions Kerry will be looking to re-group ahead of this year’s championship after a disappointing 2024 league campaign which saw them relegated back to the Division 2A grade. Antrim’s second team will be looking to make an impression in this year’s Intermediate Championship having last claimed Championship silverware in the Premier Junior grade in 2022. The game kicks off at 12pm.
Kildare v Meath will be one of the most exciting fixtures of the weekend and will be played in Kildare’s GAA Centre of Excellence in Hawkfield on Saturday 25th May at 2pm. Kildare will be hoping to continue their successful 2024 season, following on from their Minor B Championship success. They will come up against a strong Meath contingent who will be looking to go one step better in this year’s Intermediate Championship having lost to last year’s eventual Intermediate Championship winners Derry after an exhilarating replay in Clones on 12th August 2023.
The final game to take place in the Intermediate grade this weekend is Kilkenny’s second team taking on Carlow in John Locke’s GAA, Kilkenny on Saturday. Carlow will be looking to make an impressive start in this year’s Championship campaign under new management as they take on 2021 Intermediate finalists Kilkenny. The Kilkenny team come into the fold with three Dicksboro club players, who claimed in the coveted AIB All-Ireland Senior Club title in December having overcome a strong Sarsfields side. This game will throw-in at 2pm.
Premier Junior Previews
This year’s Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship kicks off on Saturday 25th May with four games taking place across the division. First up is Tipperary second team against Down second team at 2pm. This game will be played as part of a double header in The Ragg ahead of the Senior Championship clash between Tipperary and Waterford at 4.30pm. Tipperary, last year’s beaten Premier Junior finalists, come into the realm under new management against a youthful Down team. This will make for an extremely exciting game in The Ragg on Saturday.
Armagh and Tyrone take to the stage this Saturday 25th May at 1pm in Ballymacnab Round Towers GAA, Armagh. Tyrone will be hoping to prolong their recent momentum following fantastic wins in this year’s Division 4 League, Minor C final and Ulster Junior Championship. They will come up against a strong Armagh side who are coming off the back of their recent Division 3A League win and who are looking to make an impression in this year’s Premier Junior Championship.
The third game up for decision in this weekend’s Premier Junior All-Ireland Championship is Limerick v Mayo which throws in at 2pm in Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale. This is the second double header of the weekend taking place before the Senior Championship first round fixture between Limerick and Kilkenny which throws in at 4pm. Limerick are coming into the Championship off the back of an overly positive League campaign having reached the Division 3B final, losing out to a strong Dublin contingent. They will face a youthful Mayo side who will be coming into the Championship with that ‘new management bounce’ and looking to improve after their Nancy Murray Cup final defeat last season.
Finally, Laois and Cavan will play the final game of the weekend in the Premier Junior All-Ireland Championship in St. Fintan’s GAA in Mountrath. Laois, having been relegated from the Intermediate grade following last year’s disappointing campaign will be looking to make their mark on the competition this year and re-gain their promotion for 2025. Cavan, much like Mayo, will come into the competition with that ‘new management bounce’ and will be aiming for improvement in this year’s campaign.
All of this weekend’s Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship fixtures and ticket links can be found on the following link – https://camogie.ie/news/2024-glen-dimplex-camogie-all-ireland-championships-round-1/
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