(From Left to Right, Liam O’Neill GAA President, Karina Jones, Denis O’Callaghan AIB)
Roscommon & Tulsk's Karina Jones was honoured at last Friday's GAA President's Awards which took place in Croke Park Stadium. The awards, organised with the support of club championship sponsors AIB, are staged annually by the GAA and provide the GAA President with an opportunity to acknowledge outstanding commitment and long service across the club and county network from people whose highly valued contribution is seldom recognised nationally.
Karina has been involved in Camogie at club clevel for over 30 years. Karina is currently the chairperson of Tulsk Camogie club which she established over 7 years ago. She is the clubs driving force, coaching teams at U-12, U-14 and U-16 and in 2015 the club will enter its first Minor competition.
Karina began playing camogie with her native club St. Brigid’s in Kiltoom in the 1980s and continued to do so until the 1990s before moving to to Tulsk from where she continued to make the 70 mile round trip to Kiltoom to coach teams and play for her club. In the late 1990s St Brigid's disbanded and Karina joined Four Roads, a neighbouring club to St Brigid’s. Karina continued to play with Four Roads until the 2000s, and she coached teams in Four Roads for over 10 years making the 70 mile round trip three evenings a week.
Karina enjoyed on-field playing success including 2 Ashbourne Cup medals, 3 higher education medals and 2 combined universities medals. Karina was captain of Roscommon when they were defeated by Limerick in the Junior All-Ireland Final in 1995.