Shelly Farrell: Cats bent on revenge for 2017 heartbreak

By Billy Stack

The pain of losing last year’s All-Ireland final has been the driving force behind the Kilkenny senior camogie team’s quest to reach this year’s decider.

“We’ve been very driven all year,” said Cats captain Shelly Farrell ahead of Sunday’s clash with Cork.

“I think everyone has bottled the feeling of losing the 2017 All-Ireland final and we’ve used it to get back to Croke Park.

“And you don’t just want to get to a final. We don’t just want to compete; we want to get into it and win it.”

The Thomastown player has tasted the highs and lows of sport. She was part of Ann Downey’s team who won the 2016 final, beating Cork by 1-13 to 1-9, before their reign came to a dramatic end 12 months later.

It was practically the last puck of the game,” Farrell said, recalling Julia White’s last-gasp point in the sixth minute of injury-time that saw Cork claim the O’Duffy Cup for a record 27th time on a 0-10 to 0-9 scoreline.

“It was a game that could have gone either way, but we know we need to get a good start this year and drive on.” Kilkenny’s first championship game of 2018 was an indicator that the Cats were going in the right direction.

“When we played Limerick in the championship, we put in a brilliant team performance in the second half,” said Farrell.

“We were a point or two down going in at half-time, but we as players spoke at the interval and said we weren’t playing to our potential. Everyone just clicked in that second half and we blew them away.”

Team spirit has been key to their success in recent years — as well as their 2016 All-Ireland crown, Kilkenny have won the league title three years in a row. That is something which started long before their senior inter-county days.

We’ve played together as a group for so long,” said Farrell. “For some of us that goes back to our college days with Waterford IT, so we’re well used to each other.

“I think there is a great spirit there between us all,” Farrell added. “Everyone works hard for each other, which is the main thing you need in a team. We have a small enough panel this year, but everyone is pushing for places.

“Competition for jerseys is great,” she said. “Everyone is flying in training and there’s nothing between the starting 15 and the girls on the line. Everyone is driving everyone else on.”

That spirit will be tested when they face Paudie Murray’s champions on Sunday.

“They have flown through all their matches, so hopefully we can put it up to them,” she said. “We’ve prepared well, trained hard and there’s great spirit in the dressing-room.”