Grounded Orla Cotter primed for Premier challenge in camogie semi-final

By Daragh Ó Conchúir

It has been a momentous few months in the life of Cork scoring machine, Orla Cotter.

On May 26, she got married to Mark and the couple embarked on a dream honeymoon, taking in Canada and then Alaska, mixing it with bears, elk and moose, revelling in the breath-taking scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the Tongass National Forest. At the end of July, Cotter turned 30, or “hit a new decade” as she describes it with a chuckle.

This may mark a new phase in her life but as of now, very little is changing. The winner of six All-Irelands and five All-Stars is now preparing for another Liberty Insurance All-Ireland senior camogie championship semi-final (against Tipperary tomorrow evening) and doesn’t envisage drawing the curtain down on her 13-season career just yet.

You know it’s going to come to an end at some stage” muses Cotter. “As long as the body is okay, you’re enjoying it, you’ll keep tipping away. I’d hate to leave because of injury, I’d prefer to leave on my own terms. We’ll take it year by year.

It is unusual for inter-county players to have their nuptials during the summer but the St Catherine’s star, renowned as one of the most selfless operators around, decided to put herself first.

"We headed to Canada and did a cruise around Alaska then. It was class. You only, hopefully, get married once so we just said we’d do it. I’ve three months off every summer and I’ve never gone away so I just said we’d do it this summer and luckily it’s worked out. I was away for the first game against Wexford.

"I came back the Wednesday before the Dublin game and knew obviously I wouldn’t be playing for that but I’ve been back into it since then.”

Cork have been racking up huge tallies through the group stages, completing the five games with 15-100. Fifteen players have contributed to that tally for an average of 3-20 a game. That depth is why Cotter knows she has a battle to claim a starting berth.

Throughout the championship, (manager) Paudie (Murray)’s been trying a few different things. We’ve plenty of forwards that can come in and get on the scoresheet easily. Likewise, there’s competition in the back as well.

Tipperary are familiar opposition. When Cotter came into the panel first in 2006, it was Tipp and Cork who were the superpowers of the sport. Indeed, she claimed her first All-Ireland medal in that debut season, coming on as a sub for Angela Walsh.

“I remember anytime we ever played Tipp, I remember the likes of Philly Fogarty, Claire Grogan, Eimear McDonnell – they’d unbelievable talent. There was always fierce rivalry. Everything was left out on the field in those days.”

And tomorrow’s opponents? “Tipp have some quality in Cáit Devane, Orla O’Dwyer and Mary Ryan. For us, it’s the first game this year where if you lose, you’re out. It’s the part of the season you want to be playing in. You want be there or thereabouts at this time and we’re delighted that we are.”