The year is almost over and season’s almost out.
A Game of our Own: Camogie’s Story
December is a special month as we publish the first national history of Camogie. It’s an incredible narrative.
From the start of the 20th century, Irish women, many of whom were actively involved in the nationalist movement, were also sporting pioneers. They were amongst the first in the world to organise, administer and play a female team sport.
In the intervening years, church and state and social conservatism had its say on whether women should be involved in sport at all. But we survived and today we thrive!
In A Game of our Own, Camogie’s Story, many photos are published for the first time. They vividly capture how the skill and athleticism of Camogie has changed and progressed over a couple of generations. The book connects our powerful past to the emergence of the modern game that is dynamic, continuously evolving and expanding at home and abroad.
Publishing the book is a little bit of history in itself. Make sure you order your copy via our website!
Congrats to Inagh; Croke Park beckons
For Inagh Camogie, being the first club team from the county to win an All Ireland title in any code is really special. Congratulations on a history making achievement and also to London’s Tara. They are the first British based club side to get to a Camogie All Ireland club final and had a memorable year on their 25th anniversary.
All eyes are now on 4th March in Croke Park. Eight teams are still in contention for the Senior and Intermediate Club titles. Galway’s Killimor and Derry’s Eoghan Rua have done well so far to defend their titles. Watch out for the national semis on 5th February.
Medal presentations galore
An All Ireland medal is the ultimate benchmark in Camogie. It’s what every player dreams of and works towards. Armagh Camogie marked their All Ireland achievements in great style a couple of weeks ago and it was a most enjoyable occasion; Wexford’s historic All Ireland double was marked at their presentation night; Tipperary marked their double at a Templemore function while Waterford and Monaghan are waiting until January for their All Ireland presentations. I’m looking forward to both of these in Dungarvan and Monaghan town.
Looking back/looking forward
Conventions and AGMs bring a very successful year to a close. For administrators, I acknowledge that working with the new rule book was certainly a year of transition and learning for all of us. On balance, the new governance procedures bring a lot more transparency to proceedings. There are definitely some small improvements we can make and we’ll look at them in context of 2012 and beyond.
Recommendations on revised playing rules will be considered at National Congress in Cork on 30/31 March and they are out for consultation at the moment with counties and provinces.
Work is progressing on finalising the æone club model’ as a way of facilitating clubs to be administered as a single unit across all codes. In the new year, we expect to have a little more to tell you about this initiative.
Season’s greetings
Every good wish to you and your family for Christmas and the New Year. Sincere thanks for your involvement in the promotion and development of Camogie over the past 12 months. You do a great job and it is very much appreciated. Enjoy the break!
Joan O’Flynn
