Free-scoring Kilkenny don’t fear Cork, says Fintan Deegan

Their graph was expected to dip. After successive All-Ireland final defeats, managerial resignations and the departure of two of their most experienced players, Kilkenny camogie was set to return to the chasing pack in 2015.

When the draws for the All-Ireland camogie championship were made earlier this year, it was Group 1 that turned heads. The last three counties to lift the O’Duffy Cup — Cork (2014), Galway (2013) and Wexford (2012) — had been pitted together, with only the group winners guaranteed an All-Ireland semi-final place.

But Kilkenny didn’t just simply bounce back from successive September losses, the resignation of joint-managers Niall Williams and Graham Dillon and departure from the squad of Leanne Fennelly and Elaine Aylward.