Eimear Ryan: Dillon Quirke makes us forget our differences but still relish our rivalries
Niamh McNabola, Cloughduv and Aoife Higgins, Fr. O'Neill's in the Cork Senior Camogie Championship
Back to our clubs we go. There has barely been a moment for the camogie players of Kilkenny, Cork, Galway, Antrim and Armagh to take a breath after the All-Ireland finals before reporting for club championship duty. It’s been a month since intercounty hurling wrapped up, but the changeover is still rapid. While the split season has, by most accounts, been a success, a fortuitous by-product of lockdown that allows county players to be fully present for their clubs, there is precious little downtime for those players, especially if their team goes all the way. And with club pride and local rivalries being what they are, it’s oftentimes out of the frying pan of intercounty hurling and into the fire.
In club training, right around the country, there’s a slight edge to proceedings. An antic disposition. A realisation that all the preparation since the start of the year is beginning to cohere. Pre-championship jitters come out in various ways. Everyone is excited, anxious, playing out of their skins. There’s seriousness of purpose but also a certain giddiness. Funny things are funnier. Tackles are crunchier. Coaches are upping the ante and players are wrecked by the end of sessions, both physically and mentally. Wrecked but ready.
