Junior Camogie Championship Preview
Junior ‘A’ – Moneygall looking to go one step further!
Nine teams will contest the Junior ‘A’ Championship with Holycross/Ballycahill, Templemore, Drom & Inch, St Rita’s Fethard and Moneygall making up group 1 while Group 2 consists of Lorrha, Ballina, Kiladangan and Brian Borus.
Having lost last year’s final to Boherlahan-Dualla, Moneygall will be expected to have a big say once more. With Mary Ryan commanding things at centre back and Mairead Teehan in terrific form they will be a very formidable outfit once again. Teehan was joined on the Offaly senior panel this year by Edwina King and Catriona Doughan while former Tipperary All-Ireland winner and All-Star Julie Kirwan also retur this year which will boost their chances of success.
Drom & Inch ran Moneygall close in last year’s county semi-final and have plenty of good quality players that could go a step further this year such as Grainne Long, Kate Fogarty, Patricia McGrath, and Niamh Shanahan. Like any second team their success or failure could depend largely on whether players are used on the first team.
Holycross/Ballycahill are another team that will go into this year’s championship with confidence after a good league campaign where they were beaten in the final by Kiladangan, after extra time. Claire Stakelum had a good season with the Tipperary juniors this year and will no doubt bring that form into the club championship. Lorna O’Dwyer, Anna Gavin and Siobhan Ryan have all previous experience playing with Tipp while Meabh Ryan was a sub on this year’s minor panel.
It’s new territory for Lorrha having captured the Junior ‘B’ title in style last year. They certainly won’t shy away from the challenge of playing against more experienced Junior A teams. Tipperary senior player Clodagh McIntyre is a huge asset in their team and usually operates in midfield. While Caoimhe Kennedy, Elaine Hogan and Katie Kennedy have previously donned the blue and gold. Their opening game is at home this Sunday against Ballina who has Tipperary Junior panellist Aoibheann Ward in their team.
Brian Borus will make the long trip to Kiladangan for their opening fixture. Kiladangan were impressive this year when capturing the league title. Paula Kelly and Emma Mulqueen scored some lovely points in that final and will be key to Kiladangan’s progress in the championship. Sinead Meagher is also another key player and will trouble any defence with her excellent fielding and ability to score from distance.
Brian Borus are formidable outfit and are more than capable of beating any of their opponents. Kacey Meehan was the county minor goalie this year while Mary Barrett and Alison O’Mahony were on the county junior panel. They have lots of pace and expect them to improve greatly this year having recently come up from Junior B.
Junior ‘B’ – Moycarkey/Borris fancied for success
Ray Ralph’s Moycarkey/Borris side will be favourites for this year’s Junior ‘B’ championship having reached the final last year and also winning the league final earlier this year.
They have great underage talent coming through in both camogie and football having won both the U16 ‘A’ camogie & football in 2021 & 2022. Kate Ralph, Emma O’Sullivan, Molly O’Dwyer, Amy Callanan, and Alisha Kearney all featured on this year’s county minor panel while Sarah Corcoran, Ciara Shelly and Caitlin Shelly were all part of the Tipperary U16 panel. More experienced players such as Maeve Corcoran and Cathriona Walsh give the side the perfect blend of youth and experience.
They have a tough opening game away to Gortnahoe/Glengoole who have competed well at Junior ‘B’ in recent years and also reached this year’s U21 ‘A’ final. Helen Lanigan is the manager with Brendan Hogan and Darren Coady as selectors. They didn’t have a good league campaign and suffered a heavy defeat to Moycarkey in the group stages but will be determined to reverse that this Friday.
It will be a tough task for Cashel King Cormacs this year who come up from Junior B2 this year where they were beaten finalists. Cashel are a club with great underage talent with Emer Dwan and Hannah Butler on the Tipperary U16 team while Lisa Blair, Ciara Moloney, Saoirse Davis, and Kellie Browne are all involved in the U17 county development squad. If they don’t lose many players to the senior team, they could go very well in the Junior A. Their opening game is away to Carrick Swan, a team that boasts a real family affair with three sets of sisters - Sarah & Lisa Connolly, Shannon & Cailin Power, and Helena & Sarah Walsh.
Portroe make up the fifth team in group 1 and will be another side who will look to make a big impact on this year’s championship. Aisling Sheedy had a good season at full back for the Tipperary junior team while Trisha O’Halloran is a former Tipp senior player. Nessa O’Driscoll in the goals and Claire O’Brien and Yasmin Madden are other key players for them.
Group 2 is made up of Ballingarry, Moyle Rovers, Silvermines and St Cronan’s. On Sunday, Ballingarry are at home to Moyle Rovers while Silvermines welcome St Cronan’s to Dolla.
Moyle Rovers are managed by Marc Collins and Rosin McGrath captains the team while Tipperary U16 corner back Eabha Dolan is also in the side.
Having won the Junior B2 county final in 2021, Silvermines’ second team will relish the opportunity of playing in the Junior ‘B’ Championship. Both the senior and junior panel are managed by Donie Kennedy while Ellen Maher captains the side.
St Cronan’s travel to Dolla on Friday hoping to get their championship off to a winning start. Aoife Moloney is the sole survivor of the team that last won the Junior B county title in 2015 and is likely to feature in midfield. Up front Claire Carey at only twenty years of age is their top scorer and is a huge asset for this very young St Cronan’s side.
Junior B2 – A wide open contest!
The Junior B2 competition looks to be wide open with Cashel King Cormacs and Silvermines being promoted last year. This leaves six teams fighting to be crowned champions, Ballybacon/Grange, Toomevara, Shannon Rovers, Clonoulty/Rossmore, Eire Og Annacarty and Boherlahan-Dualla.
The competition is made up of one group with the top four teams making the semi-finals.
Eire Og Annacarty looked very impressive when capturing the league title earlier this year beating Shannon Rovers 0-14 to 1-4. It’s likely though that some of their players involved that day may feature on their senior team which could have a bearing on how they progress. Similar to Clonoulty/Rossmore though being a senior club they are likely to have a strong second team and will be expected to reach the semi-finals. Kenny Ryan is the manager of Clonoulty’s second team while Aisling Ely is captain.
All of the teams in the Junior B2 are made up of clubs second teams except Ballybacon/Grange who were only formed ten years ago with last year being the first year having an adult team. Huge work has gone into the underage which will begin to see fruition at adult level. In the league they recorded one win and two narrow defeats.
Their opening game on Sunday is at home to Toomevara. Toomevara decided to enter a second team last year and in doing so succeeded in enticing many former senior players out of retirement. Sisters Lizzy & Anna Woods along with Tricia Ryan & Louise Young bring a wealth of talent and experience to the side making them tough opposition and potential winners. They were beaten by Cashel in last year’s semi-final but will be looking to go a step further this year.
Strong numbers at adult level and good success at juvenile level in recent years has allowed Shannon Rovers and Boherlahan-Dualla to establish second adult teams. Shannon Rovers competed last year while it will be the first ever Junior B2 team for Boherlahan Dualla. Vincent Mckenna manages the Junior and Intermediate team and will be able to call upon Tipperary U16 players Meabh Cahalan and Nicola Kelly when they take on Clonoulty/Rossmore at home on Sunday.
Boherlahan-Dualla have a very tough opening game away to Eire Og Annacarty. The team is managed by joint managers Philly Ryan and Grainne Manton, who is a niece of goalkeeper Denise Manton, while Niamh O’Dwyer captains the team.