Derry keen to hold on to their title
Derry’s senior camogs are in no mood to relinquish their Ulster senior title, which they have held for the last two years. Though the ultimate target over recent seasons was to gain promotion to camogie’s elite rank and to establish themselves in the top flight, the provincial championship is a separate competition and one that Derry take very seriously.
“It is said that all politics is local, and Gaelic games are no
different,” says Derry co-manager, Susan Uí Mhianáin. “The All-Ireland stage
may well be top priority, but their is a lot of pride at stake in local derbies
and the Ulster championship has been very competitive over the years. This is
also the only competition in which Derry will be facing Ulster opposition this
year, so this is our sole opportunity to pitch ourselves against our neighbours
with something at stake.”
Derry’s progress from last season’s All-Ireland Junior success has not
been as smooth as would have been expected. On Sunday, Derry will be missing no
less than eleven of the panel they had in Croke Park. This, however, is not something
the Derry management are dwelling upon.
“Traditionally, there is a huge turnover of players in county camogie,
even when counties taste success,” says Pádraig Ó Mianáin, the other half of
Derry’s management. “The same thing happened the last time Derry won the Junior
All-Ireland, when a significant number of players failed to re-appear the
following year. While we have a few unavoidable absentees, the rest departed at
their own volition and you have to respect their decision, as competing at this
level requires huge sacrifices in terms of effort and time.”
The Derry camp are far from pessimistic about the enforced changes in
personnel. “We’re in a fortunate situation that a number of players are
available to us this year who were not last year, and the infusion of new blood
keeps everybody on their toes,” says Uí Mhianáin. “For Sunday’s match, we will
be focusing on our own performance, and any comparison with past teams is
purely academic. The current team know that if they perform on Sunday, they are
good enough to compete with anyone in the province.”
On paper, Antrim would seem to have the advantage of form going into
this match. Under the guidance of a new management setup, they are undefeated
in competitive matches, and disposed easily of Offaly in the National League
Division 3 final the same day that Derry lost out to Clare in the Division 2
final. Both counties are now entering the round-robin stages of their respective
national championships, and Sunday’s match will be an opportunity to assess
each team’s credentials for All-Ireland glory in the autumn.
“We’re under no illusions about the challenge facing us on Sunday,” says
Ó Mianáin. “Antrim are on a roll, they’ve already won silverware this season,
and they will be hot favourites playing in front of their home crowd. Form
counts for nothing in finals, though, and Derry are well capable of matching
Antrim if we perform on the day.”
Derry U12 Go Games
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