Camogie Association supports Hope Foundation Charity match

The occasion will be a unique event, a challenge game between the reigning Gala All-Ireland senior champions Cork and the Camogie Allstars, to be played at the Blackrock Hurling Club grounds in Church Road (1 p.m.).

Cork have been very much to the fore at senior level over the last decade and their 0-15 to 0-7 victory over Kilkenny last September marked their eighth consecutive appearance in the final. Retaining the trophy in style, six of their players were chosen on the Allstars team, including goalkeeper Aoife Murray and leading scorer Rachel Moloney.

Utility player Gemma O’Connor won an unprecedented sixth Allstar, while dual star Mary O’Connor led the Cork Ladies Football team to a fifth All-Ireland title in a row two weeks later.

As part of their fund-raising venture, the Hope Foundation promoted a competition in which they invited camogie clubs all over the country to guess the result  – the prize for which is a set of jerseys for the unit whose entry is nearest to the eventual score.

Hope Foundation Manager Madeleine Cummins is hopeful of a good response, stressing that all funds raised will go directly to projects for street and slum children and their families in Calcutta. She has also appealed for club members and followers to attend the game to show their support for camogie and the Hope charity.

Camogie President Joan O’Flynn, who is from Ladysbridge in East Cork expressed her delight that some of the best camogie stars in the country are supporting the venture, commenting that while Ireland is going through tough times at the moment, the population is æstill relatively privileged compared to other parts of the world.’

“”Supporting the charity Camogie challenge in Blackrock on April 17th is a way of making sure that the Hope Foundation’s projects will enable young children in Calcutta to live with dignity and to enjoy a better life. It is good that sport reaches out beyond itself to other causes and I admire the initiative and sense of social responsibility that has made the Camogie challenge possible.I hope the event is a great success and that the displays of Camogie craft and skill will result in extra resources for the Hope Foundation’s excellent work.””

*The Hope Foundation was set-up in 1999 to raise funds for one girls’ home for children rescued from the streets of Calcutta. Today HOPE funds over 60 projects in education, healthcare, shelter, vocational training, child protection and drug rehabilitation.

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