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By Daragh Ë Conch·ir
Waterford ace Trish Jackman captured a third successive M Donnelly All-Ireland Poc Fada title in the 50th anniversary of the event on a splendid occasion in the Annaverna Mountains.
Jackman became the first player to win the competition three times but had to pull out all the stops to hold off young Galway debutant Rachel Monaghan, and former two-time winner Lyndsay Condell from Carlow.
At the transition stage Jackman had covered 45m in 18 pocs, with Monaghan taking 19 pocs to cover 37m and Condell just a further metre behind with 19 pocs.
Indeed, so competitive was the camogie section at this point, that the highest number of pocs over the course was 21.
Jackman was up to the task though and held off the stern opposition to finish the course in 28 pocs, with Monaghan completing on 31 and Condell on 32.
Gaultier clubwoman Jackman was competing for the sixth time and is a heavily experienced campaigner who is accustomed to winning at the highest level. Apart from claiming her three-in-a-row in the Poc Fada extravaganza,
Jackman was a member of the Waterford team that won this year’s Irish Daily Star Division 2 league final. She has also won two Ashbourne Cups and an All-Ireland FÚile nan Gael Skills medal.
Monaghan produced a sensational effort in her first experience of the unique demands of the Poc Fada competition. The Mullagh girl has won U16 and minor county medals, as well as a Connacht schools memento this year and a Pan Celtic medal in 2009. She is certain to be a major contender for years to come.
Condell won the M Donnelly All-Ireland camogie title in 2007 and 2008. The Naomh BrÝd clubwoman in Carlow has won the Kilmacud Poc Fada on three occasions and will be back to challenge once again next year.
The field was completed by Louth representative Voureen Quigley, Armagh’s Christina Heaney, Derry player Kathleen Taggart and Sara Murphy from Kerry, who plays her club camogie with Limerick outfit Newcastlewest.
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