History - Camogie

Camogie in Carrig has been a challenge over many generations. Generations have passed without a club in the parish and when structures did occasionally materialise they never survived for much more than half a dozen years until 2007 on. With the careful minding of our underage teams and the selfless work of a committed few we have found ourselves in a more stable club today with numbers growing year on year. We have so many people to thank for their part in ensuring Camogie was played in the West End over many years. Without question there is an unrelenting passion for the sport of Camogie in our village. 

1913-1999

Our first record of camogie in the parish dates back to a cultural event staged in Carrig by the Gaelic League on July 20th, 1913.

Organised jointly by the South Parish Gaelic League and the Cork Pipers Club, these events were designed to popularise Irish song, dance, music and games. On that day there was an athletics meeting, a tug-of-war tournament and a camogie match between Carrig and Clann Emir, who hailed from the South Parish.

It was roughly 1931, however, before a camogie club was established on a firm footing. Mrs Anna O’Mahony (nee Buckley) was a prominent player at the time and instrumental in the club’s formation: “The club was formed by Doll Ahern and myself,” she says. “We got support from the Barry family, in particular Tom, Jim and Nell, who was elected president. I was secretary. The team captain was Doll, whose brother Billy Ahern was a stalwart of Carrig teams for a number of years.”

“Jim Barry encouraged us to go outside Carrig in order to get sufficient numbers to put a team together and we did. The players we had were May Walsh, her sister Bridgie and Nan Fogarty from Killeagh who all worked in Barry’s shop at the time and played with us from the start. (May married Willie Cummins and three of her sons, Ray, Brendan and Kevin, won All Irelands with Cork). Bridie Galvin, another employee of Barry’s, and her sister Rosie were also involved from the beginning.”

“We also had May Cashman and her sister Nan from Gurranes, along with Nan and Neshie Murphy from Waterrock, the McCarthy sisters, Nell and Peg, Mary Horgan (Ballyregan), Rosie Carroll, Maggie O’Brien from Castlemartyr, Lily Quirke from Killeagh. Jose Finn and Bessie Lambert also played some games.”

“The first match we had was a practice match against Ballinhassig in the Pond Field and we were well beaten. Both teams were entertained afterwards to tea and sandwiches in Lizzie Murphy’s Bakehouse. Friendly games between Carrig and St Endas were frequently played on a home and away basis.”

One of those matches was reported by the Examiner, although we have no date or context: “An interesting camogie match between St Endas, Glounthaune and Carrigtwohill was witnessed by a large crowd at the Pond Field, Carrigtwohill on Sunday last,” said the report. “Although both teams are in being a comparatively short time, a fine display was given with the home team emerging victorious on the score, 4-2 to 2-2. Among the spectators were Rev E Lawton of Glasgow, who is at present spending a holiday in his native Carrigtwohill and Rev J Callanan CC Glounthaune, a well known Gaelic enthusiast. The teams were later entertained by Fr Lawton at his residence, Rockville, Carrigtwohill.”

Apart from St Endas, Carrig regularly played matches against Midleton, Cobh, Youghal, Ballincurrig and Rathcormac. We know that they were hammered in the first round of the 1934 championship by Lee Hoisery, 9-1 to 1-1, but they were gathering experience all the time and, in the following year they were a serious force in the senior county championship.

Carrig beat Watergrasshill in the first round, Carbery in the next and then hammered Duhallow in Fermoy, 5-0 to 0-0, to reach the semi-final. For the match against Duhallow Carrig organised a bus for the team and supporters. Garret O’Keeffe and his melodeon provided the entertainment and, afterwards, the team was treated to high-tea in the town by club president Nell Barry. For the camogie club of the 1930s that day was the high water mark.

The semi-final against Cora Clionadh (St Aloysius past pupils) was played in appalling conditions at Church Road and Carrig led by a point at half time, but the weather continued to deteriorate and, in the second half, the match was abandoned. It was re-fixed for Midleton and, though there was never much between the sides, Cora Clionadh pulled away to win by 6-2 to 4-0.

Carrig: Doll Ahern (c), Bridie Galvin, May Walsh, Bridgie Walsh, Nell McCarthy, Peig McCarthy, Nan Murphy, Neshie Murphy, Nan Fogarty, Mary Horgan, Margaret O’Brien, Anna Buckley.

At the end of 1936 the club lapsed out of existence. The numbers were always tight and, when the panel was depleted by marriage and emigration, there weren’t enough players to keep the team afloat. One of those players Nell McCarthy passed the civil service exam and took up a post in Dublin. She was no more than 17 years of age when she left Carrig in the mid-1930s and Dublin was where she would spend the rest of her life. In that lifetime, however, Nell became a colossus of Dublin camogie, both as an administrator and coach.

Nell‘s uncle was Jimmy Kennedy, the great Carrig full forward who captained Cork to the 1919 All-Ireland title. Her brothers Dan and Mickey played senior for Carrig in the 1920s and 30s so Nell‘s impulse to play was no surprise. In the Carrig camogie team of the 1930s she found her place in goal.

“I suppose I was put in there because they had nobody else to go in. I turned out to be quite a big girl but in those days I was a small miserable little thing and it was only a miracle if I made a save – the ball would have to hit off me. I was lucky to have Anna Buckley playing in front of me at full back. She was as sound as a Youghal jug. You couldn’t get past her – and it wasn’t physique, it was the nifty way she did things. I coached a lot of great players with Dublin but Anna was as good as I saw. Doll Aherne was another brilliant player and May Walsh was very good too. She was Ray Cummins’ mother – a lovely, stylish hurler she was.”

When Nell moved to Dublin she fell in with Celtic, the oldest club in the city, and almost immediately she was sucked into administration. In1936 the Dublin Junior Board was established and Nell became its first secretary. “That job didn’t carry any ribbons or medals. You had up to 50 junior teams – in five different grades at one time – and only the one pitch in the Phoenix Park to play all the matches. The senior board had one pitch and we had the other one. The matches would start at 11 o’clock in the morning and go on until dark – one match every hour.”

Nell went on to chair the junior board until in 1952 she became chair person of the senior board, a position she held continuously from 1952 until 1970. Despite the demands of administration Nell continued to be deeply involved in coaching. In 1964 she coached Celtic to win what was a precursor of the modern club All-Ireland and, amazingly, she was a Dublin selector at some point in every decade from the 1930s to the 1970s. But her greatest achievement was as coach to the Dublin team that won 10 All-Irelands in a row between 1957 and 1966.

“I suppose I was a tough trainer in a way – they used say to me that I was a fierce disciplinarian. But to my mind discipline is 99% of training. I was a disciplinarian but I was soft at the back of it all. I let them away with a lot too.”

In 1971 she achieved the highest office in camogie when she was elected president but, after her two year term, she returned to coaching, her first love: “Even when I was president I was still going around the country, permanently coaching and it’s what I enjoyed doing most. I felt I was of more benefit to the ordinary player in that way.”

In 1970 she started the national camogie coaching courses at Gormanstown College in Co. Meath but that was just the tip of her work: “She travelled all over the country to help anybody and everybody,” says Pat Raferty, the current president of the camogie association. “I remember in the early 1970s, when Kilkenny still hadn’t won their first All Ireland, they invited her down and she helped them. She helped out fledgling clubs all over Dublin and was heavily involved in the Dublin colleges scene for thirty years. Her energy and enthusiasm were extraordinary.”

As Nell scaled down her commitments she gave the last years of active camogie involvement to the Celtic club and she remains close to many of those players: “A Celtic player said to me not so long ago, ‘you know, Nell, you were great because your training gave us character.‘ When you give up coaching you wonder if you left anything behind and it’s great to be reassured that you did.”

In the pantheon of Carrig sports people, Nell stands among the greats.

After the 1930s team it would be nearly 40 years before the camogie club was re-formed, but in the meantime some Carrig players made their names elsewhere. Kathleen and Maureen Browne played for Glen Rovers and Cork during the 1960s. The Glen won seven counties in a row during their time and Maureen went on to win a Gael Linn medal playing for Munster.

Kay Spillane and Kay Finn played for Churchtown in the early 1970s and they both went on to win counties with Imokilly at a time when they were the dominant team in the senior championship. Kay Spillane played in all of Imokilly’s five in a row between 1971 and 1975 and was captain for the last victory; Kay Finn won her medal in 1974 and the coach for all five wins was Mick Spillane, brother of Kay. She also won a Munster junior championship with Cork.

For the last two of Imokilly’s five in a row Spillane and Finn were back in the Carrig colours. The club was resurrected in 1974 with Kathleen Browne in the chair, Marion Cummins as secretary, Noreen Spillane as treasurer and was under the presidency of Fr Sheehan. Mick Spillane was the coach and, in their first season, they won a tournament in Mayfield, beating Na Piarsaigh in the final.

Carrig panel: Kay Spillane, Kay Finn, Bunty Finn, Phil Cummins, Antoinette O’Mahony, Carmel Walsh, Shelia Fitzgibbon, Deirdre Walsh, Margaret O‘Hanlon, Mary Finn, Pearl Cummins, Shelia Horgan, Claire Ahern, Marion Fouhy, Eileen Cummins, Eileen Horgan, Kathleen Browne.

Three years later they reached the final of the junior B county only to lose to Sarsfields, 6-1 to 4-1. A year later they reached the final again and this time they were successful against Killeagh. However just like in the 1930s, the club fell apart as it looked to be going somewhere.

Carrig panel: Eileen Horgan, Antoinette O’Mahony, Mary Howard, Mary Terry, Kay Spillane, Bridie Ahern, Mary Finn, Majella O’Hanlon, Helen Hegarty, Mary Fitzgibbon, Josephine Twohig, Marion Fouhy, Shelia Horgan, Doreen Goggin, Bernie McCarthy.

Marion & Eileen Cummins brother Ed coached with Carrigtwohill Camogie in the years to follow and her 2 grand nieces Ruth and Grace are currently active players within our Club at underage level. Ed recently asked his sisters what Camogie life was like in the 70s compared to today and the fondest memories they have is of the craic, singing songs on the bus, training on wet nights and on one or two occasions using an excuse to get out of training to go to a dance down in the Red Barn with hurley's in tow! One of the Cummin's sister's lost her front tooth from playing as there was no helmets back then but their fondest memory of all was wearing the Blue and Gold. 

101The club was revived briefly in the mid 1980s under the influence of Fr Coakley, Tess Whelan, Irene Horgan, Irene Roche, Margaret O’Brien and Mary O’Brien of Tibbotstown. A team was entered in the junior championship but, after two seasons, the enterprise was abandoned.

When the club was re-launched in the early 1990s a serious effort was made to put in a solid foundation. At first only an U-14 team was insured with the county board in October 1993 but, with as many as 60 players turning up for Sunday morning training sessions, the club decided to insure an U-12 and U-18 team as well. Fr Frank O’Neill was the club president with Kay O’Connell in the chair, Helen Bowen was secretary, Margaret O’Brien treasurer and Mary Horgan was the PRO.

The U-12s did remarkably well to win the East Cork championship and reach the semi final of the county in 1994 and, on the growing swell of confidence, Carrig entered a junior B team for the 1995 League and championship. The U-14s reached the semi-final of the community games where they lost by a point to Bishopstown but it was the U-12s who were the outstanding team in the club, winning all six of their county League matches. A significant step forward was made in 1996 when the U-16s reached the county final but they lost narrowly to Watergrasshill.

Carrig (not in position): Avril Buckley, Roseanne Beamish, Aoife Fouhy, Caroline Devine, Stephanie Sheehan, Marie Kennedy, Ellemarie Fitzgerald, Tracey Farmer, Emer Doyle, Alison Donnelly, Niamh Sheehan, Kay Furlong.

That momentum was carried forward to 1997. The U-12s won an East Cork title, the U-14s won five games out of six in their League and the U-16s won seven League matches before losing to Cobh in the quarter-final of the county championship. The junior Bs made good progress too, beating Youghal and Bishopstown in the championship before losing to Barryroe in the quarter-final.

By 1998, however, it was clear that the club was experiencing difficulties in fielding juvenile teams. The U-12 panel had some very young players while the U-14s were forced to withdraw from the Feile and the community games because of the unavailability of players. The U-16s did play in the championship but were beaten by Kilbrittain while the junior Bs went out to Aghabullogue.

The problems of the previous season worsened in 1999. No U-16 team was fielded and the club was forced to withdraw the U-18s from all competitions half-way through the season due to a lack of interest. The U-14s gave very little commitment either and the club was unable to field a team for the Feile.

The junior Bs gallantly kept the flag flying. After a decent run in the League they beat Sliabh Rua in the quarter-final of the championship before going out to Inniscarra in the semi-final. After two good years, though, their promise was to come to nought. Early in 2000 the club was wound up until it's relaunch in 2007. 

2007

In 2007, Amy Horgan and Robyn Jenkinson-Butler met Tracy Sheehan of Cork Camogie Board fundraising at the County Hurling Final. Following this chance encounter a meeting was set up in our local Community Hall to gauge interest and it was attended by Mary Motherway (nee O’Connor from Killeagh) who at the time held the position of Cork Camogie Public Relations Officer and local County Councillor Anthony Barry. Leaving the room that night Carrigtwohill Camogie Club had a committee led by Linda Cashman (Chairperson), Sharon O’Rourke (Secretary), Phil Sheehan (joint-treasurer), Karen Horgan (joint-treasurer) and Sheila Boland (PRO).

A fun day was organised on April 27th 2007, where eighty girls were introduced to the game by 15 coaches together with lots of help. Carrigtwohill’s own Niall McCarthy, who was a Cork Inter County player at the time, was on hand to inspire the girls to keep playing. Former Carrig player, Eoin O’Mahony secured pitch space from the GAA club for Camogie training and he helped out when training started. John Flannery and Peter Hogan also supported the new venture with Peter giving the girls their first set of jerseys. Keith Ricken also gave the coaches some training sessions to set the standard and the coaches attended some courses in CIT. The coaches even travelled as far as CIT for a training session with Brian Cody (former Kilkenny manager). Training was every Saturday 1pm to 2pm. The first coaches were all parents of the players (Bolands, Cashmans, Cotters, Daltons, Horgans, O’Connells and O’Rourkes) and they coached age groups from U6 to U12. Willie O’Brien (Butcher) became the Clubs first sponsor. “TCUP” became the word of the year where the girls wrote it on their hurleys “Think Carefully Under Pressure”, this was to encourage the girls to control their own behaviour on the pitch and remember to stay composed at all times.  2007 photos

2009

This year saw our U12 team being runners-up in their section and the club winning both the Imokilly U11B and the U14 County final in Coachford. The U13 team reached their final also but were unlucky on the day against St. Catherine’s.

The winning U11B Imokilly team were: Joint Captains of Ellen Collins and Courtney Horgan, Sarah O’Neill, Sophie Dixey, Miriam Curtin, Taylor Lane, Leah Brady, Shauna O’Mahony, Niamh O’Mahony, Caleigh Boland, Ciara Forde, Maggie O’Mahony, Anna O’Mahony, Aideen O’ Flynn, Clodagh O’ Flynn, Vanessa Cotter, Clodagh Coughlan, Susan Higgins, Coaches Ger Horgan, Jackie Bogue and Hazel Forde.

The 2009 U14 County Champions team were Sarah O’Neill, Aine O’ Flynn, Amy Horgan, Robyn Jenkinson-Butler, Shauna Dorgan, Nicola O’Sullivan, Aishling Kelleher, Ciara Dixey, Sarah Curtin, Rachel Sheehan, Danielle Holmes, Ciara Rohan, Emma Lynch, Julie Foley, Carmel Cronin, Naomi Cashman, Holly Breheny, Coaches Val Cotter, Vincent Cashman and Linda Cashman.

On November 8th 2009, after many years without a celebration, the club held its first official presentation night in the Community Centre. The event was attended by Orla Cotter, All Star Cork Camogie player who back then, always helped at our Cul Camps along with her sister Fiona who helped with training sessions. The U11’s received their medals for winning the B Category in East Cork. In the County, the U12’s were runners-up and the U14’s were the first team to bring a County Cup to the West End. There were also some other awards presented on the evening, each for different reasons as after all, sport is not all about scoring goals. These went to Courtney Horgan, Ciara Rohan, Carmel Cronin, Holly Breheny, Rachel Sheehan, Julie Foley and an extra special trophy was presented to the player of the year, Nicola O’Sullivan. The event was attended by approximately 200 people with guest speakers from the other GAA Clubs in Carrigtwohill. The Club Sponsor, Willie O’Brien (O’Brien’s Butchers) supplied all the hot food for the 200 guests.  2009 photos

2010

2010 was a very good year on the field of play for our Club with 116 registered members and some underage teams were moving up through the grades. The U16s although busy on the pitch were busy off it also - in April the girls were invited to Dingle to participate in the Pan Celtic festival. They also headed off to Avon Ri Adventure Centre in Blessington Co. Wicklow.

After winning the U11B the year before the 2010 U11’s were upgraded to the A grade and played valiantly against Bride Rovers, Killeagh, Dungourney, Fr O’Neills and Sarsfields.

The U12s also went up a grade from D to C due to the success of the previous year’s U12 team. With 7 U12 girls on the age and 11 under the age they all put massive effort in.

The U13 reached the East Cork Final for the second time (v Dungourney), the U15s reached the Imokilly Final (v Killeagh) and 2 County Finals in U16 (v Banteer) - the latter going to a replay. We unfortunately didn’t bring back any silverware, but the experience gained by players and coaches was invaluable.

The girls were winners in the Cork National Schools Camogie ‘Sciath na Scoil’. The girls also represented the Club in Munster Final Schools (Carmel Cronin), Secondary Schools (Ciara Rohan), U15 Cork Panel (Rachel Sheehan), Imokilly U15 (Rachel Sheehan, Holly Breheny, Robyn Jenkinson Butler and Nicola O’Sullivan, Julie Foley). The same year Lennox’s (which was a business in the village at the time) came on board to sponsor the U16 team with a new kit. 2010 photos

U16 Team of 2010 wearing Lennox sponsored jerseys

2011

In 2011, the club had a membership of almost 90 girls, with girls playing camogie from U6's to U17's and the breaking news that a Junior team was formed. Rachel Sheehan was named in both the U16 Camogie and Football teams, and Ciara Rohan was selected for the U14 Cork Colleges team. Rachel also played Cork Minor full forward in 2013 and was hard luck not to win an All-Ireland that year with her Cork team reaching the Quarter Finals. Again, this year we held our Medal Presentation evening where our U13s were runners up in the Imokilly League and our U16 panel were runners up in the County Championships. We also had 3 trophies presented from the Long Puck to Ciara Dixey, Shauna Dorgan and Sarah Mennis. Carrig’s own Robert White who was a Cork Senior and U21 player at the time presented the girls with their medals.

In 2011 Scoil Chlochair Mhuire won the Sciath na Scoil with approx. 10 or more Carrigtwohill Camogie girls lining out as part of that team. Also, in 2011 St. Aloysius Secondary School contested the All Ireland Colleges Final in Kilkenny and there were 8 Carrigtwohill girls who played (Amy Horgan, Laura Hinchliffe, Rachel Sheehan, Carmel Cronin, Robyn Jenkinson-Butler, Ciara Rohan, Aishling Crowley and Sarah Cronin).

We also had girls participating in the Cork Primary Games with Carmel Cronin, Grace Cotter and Kayla O’Riordan representing the club. Holly Breheny, Ciara Rohan, Robyn Jenkinson-Butler, Cayleigh Boland and Courtney Horgan all played for Cork U15s in subsequent years representing Carrigtwohill, winning two Munster titles. This was hugely important as when these girls returned to the West End for club training they brought with them some new skills from Cork training sessions. 2011 photos

Junior Team of 2011

2012

Registration numbers exceeded 160 members and we fielded our first Minor team for years.  More success followed with a historic Minor D County Championship win against neighbours Cobh on a scoreline of 3-03 to 1-04 in Castleroad.

Team: Shauna Dorgan, Ciara Rohan, Robyn Jenkinson-Butler, Amy Horgan, Sarah Curtin, Danielle Holmes, Rebekka Hickey, Eve Correy, Hannah Kerrins, Andrea Buttimer, Holly Breheny, Julie Foley, Shannon Kane, Ciara Dixey, Rachel Sheehan (Captain), Aishling Crowley, Gemma McConville, Laura Hincliffe, Carmel Cronin. The coaches were Val Cotter, Dave Cody & Majella Sylvester.

That same year, the Junior team started training in April. Dave Carroll was the Juvenile Chairman at the time and he was an immense support to the Camogie Club. He would referee matches and watch training sessions. The club had its inaugural ‘street leagues’, with teams wearing different colours from U6s to Minor playing against each other. Rachel Sheehan continued to play for the Cork Minor Team this year.

The U16’s made the semi final of the “A” grade versus Sarsfields who were the current U16A champions than. Some of these girls moved to minor team in 2013.   2012 photos

2012 Minor County Champions2012 Minor Captain Rachel Sheehan being lifted sky high by her team mates

2013

With just under 200 players registered and age groups from U6 to Junior there was in excess of 100 matches played but unfortunately no silverware that year. Carrigtwohill Tidy Towns very kindly invited us to help out with Bluebell Planting around the area opposite Aldi in October 2013. While all this was taking place over the season we were involved in lots of other fundraising enterprises - one of them being the Cyclethon on Fair Day in the village, where people took great pleasure in soaking some of their coaches.  2013 photos

Bluebell planting 2013Cyclethon 2013, pictured LtoR: Caroline Dixey, Lorraine O'Connell, Sheila Boland, Mary Curtin, Karen Horgan and Majella SylvesterCourtney Horgan and Caleigh Boland

2014

Great numbers enrolled at the start of the year from U6 to Junior level. Courtney Horgan and Caleigh Boland made this year’s Cork U16 panel.  Nicole Horgan and Aoife Dalton were selected for the Imokilly primary school team and Kayla O'Riordan was selected for the Cork Primary Schools panel. Ellen Collins played with the Minor Imokilly team.  A large number of players from the Club played in the final of Sciath na Scoil this year also.

On Aug 28^th 2014, our U13s won the Imokilly U13B Plate against Youghal. The winning team were Kiera Bemis, Chelsea Ode, Louise O’Brien, Louise Horgan, Julieanne Stack, Kayla O’Riordan, Grace Cotter, Chloe Roche, Viviennne Keating, Alannah nGwa, Katie Cronin, Wendy Ode, Magda Kijanka, Hannah Conroy, Clara McCarthy, Laura Cotter, Orla Evans, Misha Daly, Megan Leahy, ???, ???? Daisy McCarthy.

Match photos https://carrigtwohillgaa.com/photos/?gallery_id=424476

2014 photos

2014 U13B Imokilly Final

2015

130 girls registered this year. With a massive 30 at U6 level. The club had a meet and greet in Castle Road with the Cork Senior Team on June 15^th 2015.

The U12 team were chosen to play in an Inter-County Blitz in Semple Stadium at the beginning of the year. 3 wins out of 3 on the day against very strong teams from Clare, Tipperary & Limerick produced some excellent games. The team were Ciara Horgan, Maedhbh de Burca, Ciara Walsh, Michaela Horgan, Aisling Sexton, Alice Bogue, Rachel Barry, Rachel Desmond, Sinead Crowley, Alannah O’Connell, Sadhbh Cooney, Ruth Ahern and Holly Madden. The U13s that were on the age that year were Ciara Beamish, Laura Cotter and Clara McCarthy. Coaches Val Cotter, Catherine Desmond and Lorraine O’Connell.

For U14 to Minor, having been drawn with teams from Newtownshandrum to Barryroe, all leagues were particularly difficult to organise matches with the Minors missing out on the League at the beginning of the year.

Our U15 panel however, got to the Imokilly Plate Final. Erin’s Own had home advantage on the night of Sept 7^th and with a panel of 22 to our 12 the odds were against us from the get-go. Fortunately, our girls played their hearts out on the night and brought the match to extra time. Grace Cotter came out from her goalkeeping position and travelled the length of the field with a spectacular passage of play and putting the sliotar in the back of the net, ensuring our 2 point win! The girls came home in the dark as 2015 Imokilly Plate Winners. The winning team were Sarah Crowley, Magda Kijanka, Megan Leahy, Katie Cronin, Louise O’Brien, Lorraine Keegan, Julieanne Stack, Grace Cotter, Alannah Nywga (Captain), Nicole Horgan, Kayla O’Riordan, Louise Horgan, coaches Val Cotter, Philip Dorgan and Deborah O’Mahony.

Match photos: https://carrigtwohillgaa.com/photos/?gallery_id=424476

2015 photos

Inter County Blitz Day Thurles2015 U15 Imokilly Plate WinnersCate and Ellen Bogue with Cork legend Briege Corkery at the Castle Road meet and greet

2016

This year we were only able to field teams from U6s to U12s. We could not make the numbers to field from U14s up. Kate Dwyer and Sophie Dixie joined the coaching panel this year and both Clara McCarthy and Alannah nGwa were picked to play for Imokilly U13s. We were runners up in 2 finals for our U12 and U13s. Our U12s reached the semi-finals of their League and were narrowly beaten by Sliabh Rua who went on to win it. The U13s reached the Finals of the Imokilly Shield where they were beaten by Watergrasshill. Again this year saw our annual trip to Thurles. We hit the road on August 13^th when the U12 panel travelled to Thurles having been chosen to play a mini-match at half time of the All-Ireland semi-finals. They played Rathnure of Wexford. Our U12/13 panel received the Carrigtwohill Sports Star and Community Award for July. On Oct 31^st 2016 we held our Street Leagues once again and Carrig legend Niall McCarthy came and presented the U13 team with their Sports award along with presenting every girl who played in the Street Leagues with their medal. 

The Club co-hosted the Go Games Blitz this year under the Imokilly division – this was the biggest event we have ever organised and we welcomed 6 clubs across all juvenile age groups. It went off very well.  More photos

2016 photos     

Carrigtwohill Sports Star Recipients on behalf of U13 Camogie team. Pictured LtoR: Liz Ahern, Catherine Desmond, Val Cotter and Lorraine O'Connell


Niall McCarthy pictured with the Camán to Thurles team of 2016

2017

With 109 girls registered our U14/13 had a very competitive Féile competition where they won 2 out of 3 games, and only losing out to the overall winners gave them great confidence going into Imokilly League. Competing at A Grade we beat Erin’s Own in the final to lift the A Shield. The winning team were Alannah O’Connell, Ciara Horgan, Leah Parker, Sinead Crowley, Maedhbh de Burca, Clodagh Cotter, Rachel Desmond, Aisling Sexton, Ruth Aherne, Sadhbh Cooney, Katie Walsh, Kerrie Dorgan, Ciara Walsh, Katie Ryan, Michaela Horgan, April Normoyle. The winning coaches were Philip Dorgan, Val Cotter & Lorraine O’Connell. A confident start going into Championship saw the girls again lose out in Round 3 to the Overall Championship winners.

In June the club was invited to the official opening of Mace in Carrigtwohill.  Some of our registered players also played in the Sciath na Scoil finals that year. Our U12s competed very well in County League and reached the quarter finals. The Club ran an U12 East Cork League for 8 weeks at the end of the summer and this culminated in the inaugural Dominic Rooney Memorial Cup semi-finals and finals which were held in West End in October. The same U12 girls fought to win an enthralling final against Aghada by the narrowest margin of a point. It was an emotional event and to see the pride they had to lift the inaugural Dominic Rooney Memorial Trophy was worth all the hard work both on and off the pitch.

2017 photos

2017 Sciath na Scoil Finalists2017 Inaugural Dominic Rooney Memorial Tournament winners2017 U14A Imokilly winners

2018

We started the year with 119 girls registered across age groups up to U14. Ciara Walsh and Michaela Horgan were selected to play for the Cork U14 panels whilst Maedhbh de Burca and Sinead Crowley were not only chosen for Imokilly U13s but also shortlisted for Cork U14 in 2019. Katie Walsh, Michaela Horgan, Ciara Walsh and Leah Parker were all part of the team who won the Munster Colleges Final with St. Aloysius College on May 22^nd.

Our U14 panel gave a great account of themselves in Féile and reached the quarter finals of the U14 League. But the icing on the cake was the U14s winning the U14C Championship. The girls were also the worthy recipients of the Carrigtwohill Sports Star & Community Awards on December 1^st 2018. The winning team were Abbie O’Connor, Aisling Sexton, Aoife Lehane, Alannah O'Connell, April Normoyle, Ciara Horgan, Ciara Walsh, Clodagh Cotter, Holly Madden, Katie Ryan, Katie Walsh, Kerri Dorgan, Leah Parker, Maedhbh de Burca, Michaela Horgan, Rachel Desmond, Ruth Ahern, and Sinead Crowley. Coaches & Mentors were Philip Dorgan, Val Cotter, Natasha Durity & Lorraine O'Connell.

Its important to note that our U14/U15 panel in 2018 was made up of 10 girls in U14, 9 in U13 and 4 in U15, unable to field an U16 team one of our U15s Clara McCarthy went on loan to Midleton U16s.

Our U12 panel were chosen for Caman to Croker and gave a great account of themselves on April 8th. They were unlucky to narrowly lose to Aghada in 2018 Final of the Dominic Rooney Memorial Tournament on Oct 7th. On May 24^th the Camogie Club presented the girls in Scoil Chlochair Mhuire with personalised water bottles ahead of the girls playing in the Sciath na Scoil final. The team won on the day and Maedhbh de Burca was selected for the Cork Primary Games Camogie Team.

The U13s won the Imokilly B Plate on August 13^th where they had a convincing win over Castlelyons. The winning team were April Normoyle, Eibhlin O'Flynn, Jodi O'Connor, Abbey Madden, Erica O'Keeffe, Sara Barry, Rachel Desmond, Alannah O'Connell, Sadhbh Cooney (Capt.), Aoife Lehane, Sinead Crowley, Ruth Ahern, Holly Madden, Emily Warren-Perry, Neasa O'Donovan, Lily-Kate Cotter, Saoirse Murphy, Eva Lane, Cate O'Connell, Hannah Leahy. 

Our U15s came runner up in the U15A Imokilly Plate Final which was amazing considering we only had 4 girls on the age. 

On Sept 9^th we hit the road with a bus full of fun to Croke Park to cheer Cork on in the All Ireland Camogie Final.  2018 photos

2018 Camán to Croker team Dec 2018 Carrigtwohill Community Awards winners - U14 team. Some of the team are pictured here with coaches Philip Dorgan, Lorraine O'Connell, Natasha Durity, Val Cotter and Catherine Desmond.2018 Imokilly U13B Plate winnersPictured LtoR: Katie Walsh, Michaela Horgan, Ciara Walsh and Leah ParkerU14C Championship winnersCiara Walsh with her Cork U14 team2018 U13 Imokilly team ahead of their match with Avondhu. Pictured are Carrigtwohill players of Sinead Crowley (front row 4th from left)and Maedhbh de Burca (back row 4th from left)

2019

Following registration on January 26th we were able to field teams for U6 to U16 age groups, with an increase of players from 2018. For the first time in many years we again fielded an U16 group. Through the endeavours of our than PRO Janelle O’Callaghan she secured sponsorship for the Club via a new partner Unified2, which allowed our U10, U12, U14 and U16 age groups new sets of jerseys. The following year Unified2 sponsored the U6, U8, U10 age groups along with additional jerseys for teams growing in numbers. This was fantastic recognition for the Club to receive this level of sponsorship across all age groups. We continue to have a fantastic partnership with Unified2 today.

At the start of the year our U12 team were joined by Ciara Dixey (who played Camogie with CIT at the time, a former player who started in our club in 2007) and on March 14th Cork Camogie player Chloe Sigerson held a training session with the girls. Féile fever hit for 5 of the U12 panel (Saoirse Murphy, Cate O’Connell, Kate Bogue, Zoe O’Donovan and Grace Collins) when in the 2^nd weekend of June they were called up to the U14 Féile panel. On August 12^th Cate O’Connell and Katie Walsh attended a goalkeeping workshop in Blackrock GAA club. On September 27th U9/U10s went and had a fabulous evening in Pairc Ui Chaoimh where they were met by 2 Senior Cork Camogie Players Amy Lee and Leanne O’Sullivan. On October 5^th the U12s took part in the annual Dominic Rooney memorial cup.

Ciara Walsh and Michaela Horgan were picked and played for the Cork U15 panels which is a huge achievement. Maedhbh de Burca & Sinead Crowley were selected and played for the Cork U14 panel. Already Eibhlin O'Flynn has been selected for Cork U14 2020 Development squad. Eva Lane of our U14 panel represented Scoil Chlochair Mhuire at trials for Primary Games also.

The U12s were chosen for Caman to Munster in Limerick on August 10^th. The team involved were Kaci Rice, Katie Walsh, Kate Bogue, Kelsey Wilkinson, Holly Forde, Faye Scriven, Emma O'Connor, Libby Ring, Zoe O'Donovan, Clara Boland, Sarah Bernard, Saoirse Murphy, Cate O'Connell. Carrigtwohill was drawn in Group 4 against Ballinora (Cork), Ahane (Limerick) and Portlaw (Waterford) and a great day out was had by all. Aisling Sexton even joined the girls on the day as our Go Games referee and did a super job.

The U13s won the Final for the Imokilly B Final on Oct 6^th when they beat Dungourney with an injury time goal in the final. 

The U14s played their heart out but at a higher division this year after being elevated to “B” grade. The girls were drawn against Sarsfields, Aghabullogue and Watergrasshill and we received heavy defeats in both games with the Watergrasshill game unplayable on the night. The girls took part in Féile where they finally lost on in the final to Moycarkey Borris from Tipperary.

Our U16 panel did us proud by working hard all year and winning the U16C League Finals and East Cork Imokilly U15A Cup. They were also promote to the U16B Championship where they bowed out at Quarter Final stage of the higher grade. All were huge achievements for these girls. We closed our training season for most age groups with the Season’s street leagues on Oct 19th but on Saturday Nov 16th all roads led to Castle Road in pursuit of an U16C League – we beat Blarney on the day on a scoreline of 5:6 to 3:1. Our U16 girls came home as County U16C Champions. The winning team that played that day were as follows; Ciara Horgan, Katie Ryan (Captain), Maedhbh de Burca, Sadhbh Cooney, April Normoyle, Ciara Walsh, Michaela Horgan, Abbie O’Connor, Aisling Sexton, Sinead Crowley, Una O’Brien, Holly Madden, Ruth Ahern, Kerrie Dorgan, Katie Walsh, Clodagh Cotter, Alannah O’Connell, Rachel Desmond (injured). Coaches Philip Dorgan, Val Cotter and Natasha Durity along with the U14 coaching panel Conor Ahern, Lorraine O’Connell, Rosie Lane and Catherine Desmond.  

Scores: Sinead Crowley 1:2, Aisling Sexton 0:3, Ruth Ahern 2:0, Ciara Walsh 1:0, Michaela Horgan 1:0, Katie Walsh 0:1 

Match Report https://carrigtwohillgaa.com/news-detail/10062312/

Our U15 panel met Sarsfields in the Imokilly “A” Cup final and won. 

2019 photos

UN1F1ED2 Sponsorship of all age groups within our Club2019 Féile Team2019 Munster Colleges Intermediate B Winners2019 U13s B Plate Winners with U15s A Cup Winners

2020

We started off the year with registration and over the year finished with 203 registered members. We also attempted to launch a Junior team however it was short-lived when Ireland went into Covid 19 lockdown on March 27th 2020 and all training was halted.  We signed up to the 20x20 charter – this was the first movement of its kind in Ireland championing women and girls in sport. 20x20 was about creating a cultural shift in Ireland so that girls and women in sport are seen as strong, valuable and worth celebrating. Every role in our committee this year was filled by female and we also increased our number of female coaches on the pitches in the West End. We were also honoured to be selected as a Club to be part of the MNÁ programme (Motivate – Nurture – Aspire). We were one of 7 Cork clubs and 100 clubs across the country to run this new programme in 2020. Through this programme the Camogie Association will endeavour to increase women’s sustained involvement in Camogie as coaches primarily and mentors at the grassroots of our organisation. Lorraine O’Connell was selected as our MNÁ Mentor for the programme along with Courtney Horgan (former club, Imokilly and Cork player).

We were delighted to take part in the Camán Till Dawn Sunset Marathon which our GAA club ran on June 21^st. Club underage coaches of Natasha Cooney and Tanya Carroll along with underage players Maedhbh de Burca and Ciara Walsh ran as part of the marathon event.

On June 29^th we got back on the pitches in the West End for whitened up being a very short season. Training took place in pods and Return to Play became the phrase of the week. We started getting ready for Imokilly Leagues and Championship. Our U6s managed to get 2 matches played their debut game being played on pitch1. Our U8s managed to get one game in and our U10s 2 games in. Our U11s managed to get 2 Imokilly games played versus Killeagh at home on Sept 7^th and Watergrasshill away on Sept 19^th. Our U12s played 3 Imokilly games, all at home, against Dungourney (Sept 12^th), Castlemartyr (Sept 1^st) and Erin’s Own (Sept 26^th). On Sept 17^th our U13 panel led by June Scriven played one game away to Watergrasshill but then all leagues got halted due to Covid 19 restrictions coming back into play. Later in the year Stef Beausang from the Cork Senior panel ran a training session with a group of girls from all age groups. Stef’s focus on goalkeeping skills was fantastic and our U16 goalkeeper Ciara Horgan kept her on her toes for a while!

Our U14’s competed in the “B” championship but didn’t move past the round stages after 3 tough games- away to Bishopstown and Na Piarsaigh and home to Blarney. Our U15s managed one game against Castlemartyr away on Sept 22^nd.

This year saw our U15’s drawn into a B Imokilly League table against Castlemartyr, Cobh and Fr. O’Neills, with the top 2 coming out on top going through to the Finals. Our U15 Panel: Abbie Madden, Alannah O’Connell, April Normoyle, Cate O’Connell, Eibhlin O’Flynn, Erica O’Keeffe, Emily Warren-Perry, Eva Lane, Grainne Cuddigan, Jodi O’Connor, Maedhbh de Burca, Neasa O’Donovan, Rachel Desmond, Robyn Walsh, Ruth Ahern, Sadhbh Cooney, Sara Barry, Saoirse Murphy, Sinead Crowley, Zoe O’Donovan along with 3 of our younger U13 girls – Cate O’Connell (Goals), Saoirse Murphy and Zoe O’Donovan. On Sept 22^nd we played Castlemartyr at home and unfortunately it didn’t go our way, losing on our score line of 6:08 to 3:05. On Oct 4^th we played Cobh at home and won by 2pts on a scoreline on 4:06 to 2:08 with Sinead Crowley scoring 1:04, Maedhbh de Burca 1:0, Eibhlin O’Flynn 1:0 and Eva Lane 1:0. The 3^rd round saw us travelling to Fr.O’Neills club. 

On the back of their strong performances in the last 2 year, we were so proud to hear that the Carrigtwohill U16 panel were placed in Grade A, a first in the Club’s history, and a step up of 2 grades from the previous year. For Grade A, the prelim round was made up of 7 groups, 4 clubs per group, with the first placed Club progressing to a Qtr. Final Cup and the 2nd placed contesting a Championship Plate. Drawn against Youghal, Castlemartyr and Cobh, we were in no doubt that this was going to be a close, tough competition.

The 2020 Abbie O’Connor, Aisling Sexton, Alannah O’Connell, April Normoyle, Ciara Horgan, Ciara Walsh (Captain), Clodagh Cotter, Eibhlin Flynn, Eva Lane, Holly Madden, Katie Ryan, Katie Walsh, Kerrie Dorgan, Maedhbh de Burca, Michaela Horgan, Rachel Desmond, Ruth Ahern, Sadhbh Cooney, Sinead Crowley. Our first round was a home game against Youghal on Aug 17^th with a close win of one point with a final score line of 2:04 to 1:06. The second round was an away game to Castlemartyr on Aug 30^th. By the first half whistle we had lost 2 girls to injury Ciara Walsh and Holly Madden and the end Castlemartyr were too strong for us on the day and we lost on a score line of 2:12 to 0:13. Round 3 was against Cobh at home on Sept 13^th and this math was lining up to be a cracker. With Youghal having beaten Cobh by 1pt on their round2, all 4 teams went into their final 3^rd round level on points - we basically needed a win to progress to qtr. finals. The girls played their hearts out and with a few frees calmly taken by Michaela Horgan I the 4^th quarter the final score line was 3:08 to Cobh’s 2:06. Youghal also own their 3^rd round match against Castlemartyr which meant our U16s along with Youghal finished in joint 1^st place. To assess who progressed the County Board assessed the total number of points conceded and unfortunately, we missed out on progressing to the County Qtr. Finals by only 4 points.    

On October 3^rd we decided that given the current level 3 restrictions we could not facilitate the Dominic Rooney Memorial Tournament as we had done previous years. But we were determined to keep Dominic’s memory alive within our Club and therefore we ran the Dominic Rooney Memorial Tournament Street League style. We felt that although it was different to previous years it was still at the Core at what Dominic loved – the Club and hat it stood for. So, we named all our teams for the Street Leagues after Battalions or Units that Dominic was a member of or places he lived or had served. The sun shone all day and with the PA working and club spirit in full swing we played for hours. The day was a huge success, and many have asked if this could be the format for the years to come. A week after this event our country was back in level 5 lockdown and all sports were once again halted.  

In December in a level3 lockdown we just got away with a Santa GAA’la drive through event for all members of both the Camogie and Juvenile club. It was lovely to see all the families drive through a lit up West End and have Santa himself arrive safely with selection boxes for all the kids. Photos

2020 photos

As we return to Play in 2021 after Covid restrictions lifted once again our U13 group played their 2020 Imokilly Cup final against Castlelyons in Castleyons. The girls were unlucky on the night to a stronger Castlelyons. 

Eibhlin O'Flynn receiving her Imokilly medalMicheala Horgan, Ciara Walsh and Aisling Sexton representing ImokillyCamán Till Dawn Sunset Marathon runners crossing the finish line. Photo courtesy of Michael Buckley PhotographyLorraine O'Connell selected as the Club's MNÁ Mentor with her fellow MNÁ teamCork star Stef Beausang generously gave her time for a goalkeeping session with our underge girlsSanta GAA'la Drive Thru 2020

2021

2021 season started off in lockdown once again and a new registration system was launched. Again this year our registration numbers grew by 27% on 2020 and we welcomed 7 new coaches to the club also. This year was super special for the club as we welcomed back to the Club the girls who trained with us at an underage level up to 2012. They formed the foundation of our JuniorC team along with the support of our minor players Aisling Sexton, Katie Walsh, Kerrie Dorgan, Una O’Brien, Abbie   O'Connor, Ciara Walsh and Ciara Horgan. We entered the team into the Junior C league and Championship for 2021 and the girls played exceptionally well against Kinsale, Laochra Og, Bandon, Kilworth, Castlelyons, Castlemartyr to finish middle of the league table. They then quickly moved to Championship where they beat Cobh by a point away in their first round. The girls eventually bowed out at quarterfinal stage of the championship against a strong Buttevant side. Our U6s up to U10 enjoyed several matches at home and away when the season reopened and we entered 2 U12 groups into the County League as our numbers were so high. The gold U12 team reached semi final stage of the league and lost out to Clonakilty on the day. Our U14s reached the final of the U14B League final but were unlucky on the day against Sliabh Rua in Castle Road and some of the same girls eventually got to play their U13 Imokilly final against Castlelyons in May where they were runner ups. Our U16s had a tough year at A grade not moving passed the group stages. We also fielded a Minor team this year with the team reaching the semi final of the B grade County Championship where the were unlucky against Ballinsacarthy. During lockdown the club completed the Easter Egg drop and also Caman Corcaigh with all proceeds going to Jigsaw. Feile ran off this year as an U15 event with the motto of no player left behind, UNIF1ED2 Global Packaging kindly sponsored the team with a beautiful commemorative jersey of the event. The U15 team reached the semi final stage. From U6 to U12 all girls enjoyed a fun team building day at Fota Adventure in Cobh. All of the girls had an amazing day. We also hosted the Dominic Rooney Memorial event street league style again this year and al girls received a water bottles at U6 and U8 level sponsored by Lucianos in Midleton and the Club sponsored U10 players and up with a Hurley engraved with DR21 on it. Some teams finished up for the year in October whilst U10 upwards have continued with winter training this year.

More to follow..........