Camogie final must remain ‘showpiece’

CAMOGIE Association President Liz Howard is adamant that the Gala All-Ireland senior final should take centre stage on Sunday’s Croke Park programme.

The game, in which champions Cork take on a Wexford team chasing its first title since 1975, will follow the All-Ireland U21 final between Dublin and Galway, which has a 2pm start.

Cork manager John Cronin feels that the senior camogie decider should precede the U21 final, on the basis that it would be watched by a bigger crowd. Under the present arrangement, he fears that hurling supporters will leave the stadium in big numbers once their game is over.

Pairing the hurling and camogie finals wasn’t about upgrading their game, according to Howard, but more a matter of having ‘a platform’ where the two sports could be combined.

“The U21 championship probably didn’t get the greatest profile down the years and I personally think it’s a wonderful grade, so there was a kind of a natural fit there with the senior camogie final and the U21 final. And I’m a great believer in trying things. Of course the junior counties were offended because the final went out of Croke Park. But, we negotiated with the stadium management and they have allowed three games (with the junior final between Clare and Derry starting at noon).”

While this is the second year of the two-year trial agreed, Liz Howard is looking forward to seeing how Sunday’s arrangement works out before they talk about next year.

“I think there’s room to sit down and negotiate,’’ she added. “Some people in the GAA thought the U21 final should be the last game, but I think the Gala senior final must always be the main game. Last year we possibly hadn’t the greatest final ever, but I have witnessed poor U21 finals as well.

“I would never concede that the senior final would be sandwiched in any triple header. I think it must always be the main feature, but I’m always prepared to talk. We have good relations with the GAA and we’re lucky that our liaison officer is Liam O’Neill.

“He is a great facilitator and will always bring you back to basics. It’s about dialogue, it’s about compromise. However, the one place I will never compromise on is that on the senior Gala final must be the showpiece on the day.’’