Camogie Association says it 'engaged' with LGFA over fixtures clashes

Cork dial star Hannah Looney  in action against Lauren Magee of Dublin  Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile 

The Camogie Association has said “engagement with the LGFA” has failed to bring about a resolution to the fixtures clash facing five Cork dual players next month.

The five dual players in question — Hannah Looney, Libby Coppinger, Fiona Keating, Meabh Cahalane, and Ciara McCarthy — will have to choose one code over the other on Saturday, November 7 unless there is a change to either the camogie or ladies football championship schedule.

There is a possibility the five players may again have to decide between codes on Saturday, November 14 and the weekend of November 28/29.

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.

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. Should Cork fail to 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.

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

A Camogie Association statement issued to the Irish Examiner today said there had been engagement with the LGFA in recent months to try and avoid dual players being asked to play two games on the one day, but no solution has yet been found to remedy the November 7 fixtures clash.

“The Camogie Association has engaged with the LGFA around fixture planning over the past number of months, with the aim of avoiding clashes in fixtures where dual players are involved. The Camogie Association shared our proposed fixture list with the LGFA a number of weeks ago.

"Upon receipt of the LGFA’s fixtures last week, a number of clashes have now been identified. Following engagement with the LGFA, unfortunately there has been no resolution found to avoid these clashes,” the statement said.

“The Camogie Association has looked at where it can accommodate changes to schedules and have already moved four fixtures to avoid clashes in this year’s All-Ireland Championships. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to resolve all of the clashes.

“As ever, it remains the position of the Camogie Association to facilitate dual players where possible. We appreciate that there are a number of constraints in place for both Associations in terms of the organisation of fixtures. This year presents significant challenges due to shortened and altered competition calendars, availability of venues, etc.

“The Camogie Association have identified a particular action in our National Development Plan 2020-2023 to 'face the fixtures' challenge and are currently undertaking research in this area to inform future actions.” 

Cork camogie manager Paudie Murray has described the fixtures clash as “mind boggling”.