‘Work-ethic’ key to Lachtain’s title run

DARE we mention that Kilkenny camogie champions St Lachtain’s, Freshford are bidding for three-in-a-row in Sunday’s All-Ireland senior camogie final in Portlaoise against O’Donovan Rossa from Antrim.

Vice-captain Esther Kennedy, one of four players with sisters in the team, didn’t need to be reminded of what happened to the Cork hurlers this year, or to the Kilkenny hurlers in 2003. And just as the respective managers said in advance, it’s not an issue with them, she says.

“We’re not looking on it as three-in-a-row, even though the people around us are, as are outsiders. For us, it’s like going for our first. We are playing O’Donovan Rossa from Antrim again and we were lucky to beat them by a point in the semi-final last year. That was our toughest game of the campaign.’’

In any case, she points out that from the time of the establishment of the club in 1984, they went through too many hard times to be getting carried away by the prospect of winning again. It’s not so long ago since the Downey twins, Angela and Ann, were household names in the camogie world and St Paul’s were one of the dominant teams nationally.

“You could say that St Lachtain’s started to come to the forefront around the time that they were coming to an end. I can remember games when we were beaten by a cricket score.’’

What sustained them was an inherent belief in their ability and a steely determination to succeed. It meant that the players and the people in charge of the club never lost hope. “We always knew our day would come,’’ says Esther.

“We were trying for years and we lost in two All-Ireland semi-finals. The attitude was ‘the more you lose, the more you want it.’ You keep remembering what you have lost and it makes it so important to hold on to what you have.’’

And, key to their progress, she emphases, is a tremendous work ethic. “Everybody looks out for each other, whereas with other teams it’s more about individuals. At club level, it’s all about the team.’’

St Lachtain’s can call on a number of inter-county players, Marie O’Connor, Gillian Dillon-Maher, Eileen Fitzpatrick, as well as Esther herself and her sister Imelda — who was the only Kilkenny player to be named in the All-stars team last weekend.

En route to the final, they defeated Mullinavat in the county final, Oulart-the-Ballagh in the Leinster semi-final (yet another example of a Wexford team having to bow the knee), Ballyboden in the decider and Cashel in the All-Ireland semi-final. “The Cashel match was very close, we won by just a point. They had a lot of county stars and it gave us a great boost to beat them.’’

While agreeing that playing the final in mid-November isn’t ideal, she favours the idea of having the competition concluded in the calendar year. It’s better than having to continue training over the winter months and waiting until the New Year as is the case with the AIB club championship.

“It takes a lot of commitment, but we are lucky with the players we have, some of whom work away in Dublin, Cork and Wexford. And, the commitment is the same with the girls who are married and have children.

“What tends to happen is that they bring the kids with them. Sometimes, it’s like a creche! All in all, there’s a great bunch of girls there.’’

*The team coach is John Lyng, father of Kilkenny midfielder Derek Lyng.