President’s Oct/Nov Blog

Well, the glamorous side of Camogie is definitely to the fore after Saturday night’s very successful All Stars.  In association with O’Neill’s Irish International Sports, almost 750 people participated in the gala event at the City West Hotel, Dublin.

With guests Mary Hanafin, Minister for Social and Family Affairs and Paul Brady, three times World Handball title holder, we saluted:

ò the All Star nominees and winners
ò the inaugural Soaring Star winners
ò the Young Players of the Year and
ò Ireland’s successful Camogie/Shinty team.

Congratulations to all and thanks for the enjoyment you provided this season with your skill and artistry on the playing field.

The week before the All Stars, it was a pleasure to be part of a wonderful trip to Inverness as part of the Camogie/Hurling/Shinty International v Scotland.  Ireland was led the management team of Eddie Brady (Cavan), Ger Moran (Roscommon), Mary Connors (Louth) and team captain Caroline Connaughton (Roscommon). One of the features of the game was the prohibition on catching the ball. On the face of it this could have been quite a challenge for us Camogie people.  It required the Camogie side to play more ground striking that is common nowadays and to lift and strike the ball more frequently than usual. Congratulations to player of the match Colette McSorley (Armagh) who gave a great exhibition of ball control and striking ability.

Off the field, at central level, we are currently working on the 2010 Fixtures Programme. Our Competitions Management Committee is working to put in place the schedule so that Provincial Councils and County Boards have the details well in advance of their own planning. At national level we have already held a consultative workshop with counties. We are meeting our colleagues in Ladies Football and will take account of the GAA schedule. Hopefully this will help ensure that all games programmes are accommodating of each other as far as possible.

We have also just published our new magazine On the Ball. Watch out for the PDF version on our website over the next week or so.

Two more All Ireland titles remain at stake still – the All Ireland Junior and Senior Club Championships. The prize is the greatest so good luck to all the semi-finalists.

Joan O’Flynn
Uachtaran
8th November 2009

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