Ashbourne Cup action should draw fans to WIT

“It’s the biggest weekend for camogie outside the All-Ireland final in September,” says Fionnuala Carr ahead of today’s Ashbourne Cup action.

PRO for the third level camogie association, Carr mightn’t be an impartial witness, but she makes a strong case to support the quality on offer in Waterford Institute of Technology Sports Campus.

“You’ll have plenty of senior intercounty players in action, current All-Stars. There’s a very good quality of play. It’s a fantastic weekend. There’s always a great atmosphere and the teams interact well and that’s without getting to the quality of the camogie on show, which is top drawer.”

The venue helps, she says.

“The fact the games are all in one venue, which is the case this weekend, is a huge bonus. We find people are more likely to go and watch the games if they’re all in one place. I was down in WIT’s sports campus last weekend and the facilities are the finest I’ve ever seen in one place in Ireland. The work WIT’s organising committee have put into the weekend is immense. They hosted the Fitzgibbon tournament last year and that went well, so they know how to manage a big event. “You’ll have over 400 players in Waterford this weekend, so it’s a huge event. People are coming from Derry, Galway, Dublin.”

Hosts WIT are the popular fancy, but Carr says there’s plenty of quality in the other semi-final. “Waterford have won the last three Ashbourne Cups and are going for four in a row. They have the likes of Denise Gaule and Katie Power so they’ll probably be favourites, particularly as they’re in their home venue. UCC lost nine of senior intercounty standard so they’ll have it all to do against UL in the semi-final today. It’s going to be a great weekend no matter who’s in the final.” The final is on tomorrow.