Camogie club finals move to Croker

CAMOGIE President Joan O’Flynn is confident the decision to hold their All-Ireland club finals in Croke Park next March will be vindicated.

Concerns having been expressed about the association moving away from traditional practice of completing their competitions within a calendar year.

The national deciders have been played in November and December in recent seasons but the championships will now be run along similar lines to the GAA’s All-Ireland club championships.

The semi-finals are scheduled for the weekend of February 5th/6th with the intermediate and senior finals pencilled in for a double-header on March 6th.

O’Flynn said: “We would have preferred to complete everything in the calendar year and we did seek to get Croke Park before the end of the year. Unfortunately it wasn’t available and we were offered a date in March instead. Ultimately we believe that having Croke Park as a venue will give this prestigious event a more prestigious platform. It’s also known well in advance on this occasion when and where the finals will take place, whereas before it was only confirmed at late notice what venue we were using because of the difficulty in getting pitches towards the end of the year. We have a longer lead in to the finals which gives us more time to market and promote the games successfully.”

O’Flynn does not share reservations that the finals will be diminished if attendance levels in Croke Park are poor.

“I think the availability of Croke Park will enhance the final attendances if anything. Marketing wise we’ll be better able to promote these games. Croke Park is a huge attraction and it’s an occasion attended by people who ordinarily would not go to such a match. I’d be anticipating that this will be a regular date for the camogie association and we’re determined to take the opportunity to offer our players a chance to play in Croke Park.

The All-Ireland senior championship will be contested by Inniscarra (Cork), Oulart-the-Ballagh (Wexford), Rossa (Antrim) and Killimor (Galway), while the intermediate grade is down for decision between Lismore (Waterford), The Harps (Laois), Eoghan Rua (Derry) and Sarsfields (Galway).

Picture: Cork’s Anna Geary with her Camogie All-Star trophy at the 2010 awards, in association with O’Neills, Citywest Hotel, Dublin (Sportsfile ).