Two important figures in the growth of Camogie internationally will be honoured this week at the GAA World Games being held in Waterford, as two cups will be named after them.
The Camogie Irish Cup will be re-named as the Etty Kelly Cup and the Camogie Native Cup will be re-named as the Mary Gavin Cup.
The Final of the Irish Cup takes place at 10.10am on Friday morning with the Final of the Native Cup taking place at 1.30pm on Friday also.
Etty Kelly
The late Etty Kelly was the President of Camogie Board Britain, and the London Camogie Board before that, for several decades and in the mid-1980s, Etty, along with several others was instrumental in the revival of Camogie in London after a 30-year hiatus.
Born in Dublin, Etty moved to London from Ashbourne in Meath in 1956 and initially played with the Sarsfields club before moving to Newham Gaels before finally moving again to Croydon Camogie Club in South London.
Her hometown club in Meath was Donaghmore Ashbourne, and when Camogie celebrated its 110-year anniversary in 2014, Etty was inducted in the club’s Hall of Fame along with her sister Aily and sister Maureen.
Etty passed away in March 2018 at the age of 88 having played a crucial role in not only the revival of Camogie in London but in its continued growth in Britain to this day.
Mary Gavin
Mary Gavin is a much loved and respected stalwart of the Irish community not just in The Hague but throughout the Netherlands and across Europe. A Galway woman, Mary still remains deeply connected to the Mountbellew-Moylough club almost 40 years after moving to the Netherlands.
Having co-founded Den Haag GAA Club, one of the oldest in Europe almost 30 years ago, she has held virtually every position on the club executive and is currently its long serving club Secretary.
Mary has organised countless tournaments welcoming teams, referees and GAA officials from all over Europe, Ireland and the UK.
Not content with her club activities, Mary was also instrumental in the establishment the European GAA Board in 1999, rarely misses a Gaelic Games Europe annual convention and has organised and managed representative teams traveling to Ireland. She was the recipient of a GAA Presidents Award in 2013 and can still be found cheering on her club teams at tournaments across the length and breadth of Europe every month.
