Cork 0-12 Tipperary 0-11
Cork won their third consecutive Munster senior camogie championship title after a hard-fought victory over a battling Tipperary side at Cashel on Saturday reports Therese O'Callaghan. Orla Cotter scored a magnificent 10 points as the Rebels took the lead for the first time in the 54th minute, that point from corner forward Katrina Mackey proving to be the decisive score.
With the All Ireland championship due to get underway next month, defending champions Cork lined out with just eight of their 2014 winning team.
Manager Paudie Murray says the newcomers will have learned a great deal from the game. "We have seven girls now who have experienced a Munster final and they will take an awful lot from that, and any day you do three-in-a-row you'd have to be happy.
But I think we have work to do to get to the required level. We will have the two girls back (Rena Buckley and Briege Corkery) but it will be a massive test for us to go to Galway (opening round of the All Ireland round-robin championship)."
For Tipperary, the dream of a first provincial title in five years was on as they deservedly held a wind-assisted interval lead of 0-10 to 0-3. Captain Cáit Devane was inspirational with six different scorers registering. Their defence was tight, excellently marshalled by Ann Eviston and Niamh McGrath. However, Cork – minus Buckley, Corkery and Julia White (exams) – still used all of their know-how to grind out the result. In the hectic closing stages, Amy O'Connor, Hannah Looney and Orla Cronin drew vital fouls that Cotter brilliantly converted, while Aoife Murray, Laura Treacy, Eimear O'Sullivan, Ashling Thompson and Gemma O'Connor stood
up to the challenge. Tipperary boss Brian Boyle says the attention will switch now to Derry and the championship.
"At the start of the year we would have taken getting to a Munster finalbut when you get there you want to win it. The girls absolutely left everything on the field and it showed them what it is like to be involved in top level camogie again. The important thing now is this has to be a building block and not the height of our ambitions for the year. The oldest player we had starting today was 22 and we have three or four players due back into the squad."
Scorers for Cork: O Cotter (0-10, nine frees), J Casey and K Mackey (0-1 each).
Scorers for Tipperary: C Devane (0-6, four frees), S Quirke, M Ryan, S Fryday, G Grace and E Fryday (0-1 each).
Cork: A Murray; L O'Sullivan, L Treacy, P Mackey; E O'Sullivan, G O'Connor, M Cahalane; F Neville, A Thompson (Capt); O Cotter, H Looney, O Cronin; A O'Connor, J Casey, K Mackey.
Subs: K Hickey for F Neville (38).
Tipperary: O McEniry; L McGloughlin, A Eviston, C Walsh; A McGrath, T Ryan, B Quinn; C Maher, E Fryday; G Grace, C Devane (Capt), M Teehan; S Quirke, M Ryan, S Fryday.
Subs: R Howard for S Quirke (35), R Cahill for M Teehan (42), A Fogarty for G Grace (51).
Referee: John Dolan (Clare).
