Five dual Cork players face 'mind-boggling' clashes between camogie and Gaelic football

 Libby Coppinger of Cork ladies footballers, playing against Mayo

The Cork camogie and ladies football managements are furious that five dual players will be asked to choose between codes next month because of a fixtures clash.

On Saturday, November 7, Cork play Kerry (3pm throw-in) in Group 1 of the All-Ireland ladies football championship, the same day Cork play Galway in Group 1 of the All-Ireland senior camogie championship.

There are five players — Hannah Looney, Libby Coppinger, Fiona Keating, Meabh Cahalane, and Ciara McCarthy — who are members of both Cork senior panels.

Despite the repeated efforts of the two Cork management teams and respective county boards to get one of the games moved from November 7, both remain fixed for the first Saturday of next month.

Cork’s second game of the ladies football championship is against Cavan on Saturday, November 14 (1pm), the same day as the All-Ireland camogie quarter-finals. Unless Cork top their group, which contains reigning camogie champions Galway, they will likely be involved in the quarter-finals, meaning another clash for the five dual players.

The All-Ireland camogie and ladies football semi-finals are also fixed for the same weekend, that of November 28/29.

Cork camogie manager Paudie Murray has described the fixtures clash on the first weekend of November as “mind-boggling” and cannot understand why the two associations are working against one another, instead of in tandem to avoid putting dual players in such a position.

A letter from the Cork camogie management to the Camogie Association last month, seen by the Irish Examiner, said the physical and mental health of the affected dual players was being compromised by fixing two games for the one day.

“We fully appreciate this is an unprecedented year with tight timeframes and that the circumstances for everyone are not straightforward. However, that does not mean that players' physical welfare is compromised in asking a player to play two games on the one day or having players' mental welfare compromised in asking them to pick one code/team over the other,” read the letter.

A response to this letter from the Camogie Association said efforts had been made to “engage with the LGFA”, but that “it may not be possible to avoid clashes”.

A motion will be debated at Saturday’s annual Camogie Congress - which is taking place online - calling for the facilitation of dual players.

The motion, drafted by the Cuala club in Dublin, was defeated at the Ladies Gaelic Football Association Congress earlier this year. LGFA officials said at the time that the wording of the motion was too open-ended.

The motion is proposing to write in rule that the Camogie Association “recognise and supports the concept of a dual player, as defined, and will encourage all of its Units to support and facilitate its playing members of all ages, who wish to do so, to play both Ladies Gaelic Football and Camogie”.

In September 2019, Cuala withdrew its adult camogie team from a championship game because nine of their players were playing an intermediate football final the next day.

Just last month, Cahir pulled out of the Tipperary junior camogie final because the club’s ladies footballers were involved in the county senior football final a day after the scheduled date of the camogie decider.