by Daragh Ó Conchúir
Pamela Mackey is one of the legends of camogie, still among the cream of the crop 15 years after making her senior debut.
When the four-time All-Star took a year out in 2022, there were some who thought the Douglas defender was retiring. The thought never even entered her head. This was about refuelling. And the appetite remains unsated, despite adding a sixth Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie title last year.
“I’m a competitive person and every year, I like to be challenging myself,” says Mackey of her enduring motivation. “And I love winning. I’m there to win All-Irelands. And I find training enjoyable and that’s down to the trainers and management, that there’s variability from year to year.
“And then seeing new players come onto the panel. That’s something that drives myself and Katrina. You want to be the best player you can be and when you see the younger players raising the standards, that makes you work harder ‘cos you say, ‘I want to be the best player on the field.’
“That’s what motivates me. I like winning but I love that competitive side of it as well.”
Katrina is her identical twin, who is on an unbroken run of 16 consecutive seasons of championship camogie having made the breakthrough alongside her sister.
There was a time when they were inseparable and people thought they would never do anything different. After secondary school, they did the same degree at UCC (BSc in chemistry with forensic science – Pamela graduated top of her class with a first-class degree) and even the same PhD.
“When we were young we did everything together. After school we studied the same course, had the same supervisor for our PhD but it was good to have that separation a bit when we went out into the working world! I moved towards the engineering side.”
Pamela works with Janssen Pharmaceuticals on Little Island. One other difference between her and Katrina that she is a back, compared to her high-scoring sibling. And it has ever been thus.
“I suppose from U16 up, it was nearly my challenge in every game to mark one of the best players in the other team. Then when you progress to the highest level, to play with the Cork senior team, you learned to take it as a compliment in terms of the management thinking you were able to do that job. And obviously the more you do it, the more experience you get.
“It’s a challenge. When I was younger, playing for Paudie Murray, I would have been a bit more apprehensive and wanting to play in other positions. But I think I appreciate a bit more now that I’ve marked the best players in the country. You’re obviously under pressure during the match but I enjoy that as well. I think it’s good for me.”
It is interesting, given she has gone toe-to-toe with the cream of the crop for a decade and a half, to hear who she considers among her toughest opponents.
“If you look at the 2017 and 2018 All-Irelands, I marked Katie Power (Kilkenny). She was a really good player. For those games, it was just me and her inside, 1 v 1. It was a huge challenge. Katie was always a skilful, intelligent and physically strong player.
“And then when you go back to 2012, 2013, Ursula Jacob and Katrina Parrock were unbelievably strong, skilful players.
“The game has changed a good bit now and every player is different but I think Katie Power stands out the most. We had so many battles down through the years.”
The preparations have changed along with the games from when it was “practically non-contact,” and far more pedestrian in pace in her early days. With Cork, it was Murray who made strength and conditioning a pillar of their training to improve their power and speed. He was in the vanguard too in the tactical evolution of the game.
“In the backs years ago when you got the ball you just belted it as far as you could. Now the emphasis is on keeping position and working it forward through the field.”
The year off in 2022 was a reward for years of focussed hard work and achievement, on the pitch and in the lecture hall, or in her case, the chemistry lab. She had planned to go after the PhD but the Pandemic scuppered that. It wasn’t an ideal time for job seeking either.
“I thought, ‘It’s my time now to do some travelling and have some time for myself.’ I had a good break and it re-energised and restimulated me as well.”
She spent a lot of time on the west coast of America, around California and Arizona, and then back to Europe, to Switzerland and France among other places.
“It’s good to get different perspectives and different environments.”
But…
“When I was watching the 2022 All-Ireland final that they lost to Kilkenny and Katrina was playing obviously, that was very tough to watch. I wasn’t playing! And that drives you on and after my break, I was ready to go back and challenge myself again.”
The return was marked by another climb up the Hogan Stand steps. It was one of the sweetest for countless reasons. And on these days, she always thinks back to St Columba’s, to Douglas Camogie Club and the people that helped her and Katrina on their way.
“My mum would have brought us down to the Street Leagues playing with the boys in Douglas. That was a huge advantage when you progressed. Then we would have been training at school with the likes of Eddie Murphy. We won two Sciath na Scols.
“I always think back to one person in particular. Pat Peate trained us underage and he actually got gym membership for myself and Katrina when we were 17. I always remember that, that he got us going to the gym and we’ve been going ever since. You think of people like that that had an influence on you early in your career.
“When we came back to Cork last year, the likes of Pat, Mick O’Regan, Jimmy O’Mahony and others from Douglas were in town. I hadn’t seen some of them in years. But that link will always be there.”
She may be one of the elder members of the squad taking on Dublin in today’s All-Ireland semi-final at UPMC Nowlan Park (1.15pm, live on RTÉ One) – the twins were 32 in March – but the hunger remains voracious, the why as strong as ever.
“The training is at such a high level. The attitude is just really good last year and this year. We’re all motivated to be there and want to get the best out of ourselves. We know we can perform because we’re doing the work in training. The younger players are rising the standards in everything and it motivates the most experienced players then to keep on top of their game.”
A winning formula.
