Five Cork dual players considering boycott of camogie and ladies football games

“For myself, it has been four years of the same thing every year,” says Libby Coppinger

Cork's Libby Coppinger is adamant she will not pick one code over the other if two games end up being played on the same day. Picture: INPHO/Bryan Keane

The five Cork dual players facing a fixtures clash on Saturday, November 7, are considering sitting out both games if no resolution is brought about.

One of the five affected Cork players, Libby Coppinger, has told the Irish Examiner she is “sick” of such avoidable fixture clashes occurring year in, year out.

Unless a resolution is found to the November 7 clash, Coppinger has said the five dual players may have to take a “big step” to prove to the Camogie Association and LGFA how unacceptable an issue this is and how strongly they feel about being asked to choose one code over the other.

Cork are scheduled to play Galway in the All-Ireland Camogie Championship on the same day Cork play Kerry in the All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship.

The Galway camogie management have made contact with Cork camogie boss Paudie Murray to express their willingness to play the All-Ireland Championship Group 1 fixture between the counties on Sunday, November 8.

But even if Galway’s act of generosity avoids a fixtures clash on the first Saturday of next month, the five dual players in question - Hannah Looney, Fiona Keating, Meabh Cahalane, Ciara McCarthy, and Coppinger - are looking at further potential clashes on Saturday, November 14, and the weekend of November 28/29.

Coppinger is adamant she will not pick one code over the other if two games end up being played on the same day.

“Obviously it is going to be a tight schedule this year. But we are not looking for games to be on different weekends or anything like that. It is literally just 24 hours between games is what we're looking for,” said Coppinger.

For myself, it has been four years of the same thing every year

“It happened in 2017 when the ladies football All-Ireland quarter-final went ahead on the same day as the All-Ireland camogie semi-final. I played camogie and had to miss the football. Like, you just can't do that. You never want to be making that choice.

“But I don't know if we are going to have to take some sort of bigger steps to prove that it is an issue and make them realise what is going on. We haven't fully decided anything. But if nothing is going to happen, you don’t know, you might just have to take that step to prove that it is such an issue and hope they can resolve it. You can't be choosing one over the other. That is just not a possibility anyway.” 

Coppinger expressed frustration at the clear lack of cooperation between the LGFA and Camogie Association.

“Up until this week, I was assuming both associations would make the right call, maybe talk to each other a little bit and basically sort out which game goes on Saturday and which goes on Sunday.

"We are hopeful common sense will prevail because there's an easy fix to this. It just doesn't make sense that they are doing this again because there is a free day on that weekend of November 7/8.

It has already been reported that Galway are willing to accommodate a change and I am sure other teams would be happy to do likewise because it is never a case of teams trying to be awkward and not agreeing to moving a fixture, it seems to be the associations not willing to move.

“We are all just sick of it, very frustrated. Yesterday, we [the dual players] had a chat and we were all irritated coming away from it because nothing has changed. It is the same thing over and over again. I think that is how people are reacting when they read about this, 'oh, same story, different year'."

The Women’s Gaelic Players Association, when contacted, said “we are engaging with all parties to try and find a resolution to this issue”.