'I don't know is this our swansong' - Incredible Clanmaurice playing for club's future in All-Ireland final

The Kerry outfit face extinction unless they attract new players, they say.

Sat, 16 Dec, 2023 - 07:53

Eoghan Cormican

You’ve heard all the adjectives attached to Clanmaurice and their history-making camogie panel of just 17 players.

A paradox. An improbable success story. Indomitable spirit. Obsessive will to win. Role models. Ceiling smashers.

The first camogie team from Kerry to reach an All-Ireland intermediate final - at club or inter-county level - deserve to be waxed lyrical about. And with the help of manager Eddie Murphy and players Jackie Horgan and Rachel McCarthy, we do exactly that further down.

But first, another adjective for the list. It’s one you’ll not previously have come across when learning about Clanmaurice’s unique story.

Unsustainable.

As mentioned at the outset, theirs is a panel of only 17 players. During the countdown to every game, Murphy is praying that no player picks up an injury, a bug, or tests positive for covid.

Against Galway champions Shamrocks in the All-Ireland semi-final, a couple of players suffered knocks. They were left on the field. The numbers simply weren’t there to replace them.

Their playing numbers used to be more populous. The formation in recent years of adult teams in Causeway and Cillard has eaten into their pick.

You see, when Clanmaurice first came into existence in 2011, they were the sole adult camogie club in the Kingdom. They were the sole option. And so they pulled from here, there, and everywhere. That’s not the case anymore.

It also needs mentioning that Clanmaurice does not have an underage section. There is no supply line feeding into their flagship side. Their adult team stands in isolation.

When the time comes for some of the 17 trailblazers to tog off and retire from this remarkable story, what then for the back-to-back Munster intermediate champions?

“We are in an All-Ireland final, but unless we get more players, we are facing extinction,” says Murphy.

“That is a very profound statement to make. Older players will retire in the next year or two, and unless we pick up players, there won't be any future for Clanmaurice. That is reality.

“We are hoping that by appearing in Croke Park, in a televised All-Ireland final, that it would be the catalyst for attracting other players.”

Tomorrow is Clanmaurice’s fifth All-Ireland club final appearance since 2017. The previous four were at junior level. They tasted outright success in 2019.

The players who founded the club 12 years ago are the same ones delivering provincial silverware and All-Ireland final appearances season after season after season.

“You have 16, 17 players. They can't go on forever. It is not sustainable long-term,” Murphy continues.

“I don't know is this our swansong. I would hope that the club would live on for years and years because it is a unique club. I don't think a Munster championship has ever been won with 17 players. And it never will be done again. They are unbelievable.

“To be in an All-Ireland final with such a condensed panel is history-making. It is incredible.” That it surely is.

Clanmaurice’s first training session of 2023 was held on September 6. There is no Kerry intermediate championship for them. Cillard and Causeway meet in the junior decider, Clanmaurice move straight to Munster.

Because of such, their first competitive fixture of 2023 didn’t arrive until Saturday, November 18th. Their opponents were a Blackrock side that had not only reigned supreme in Cork, but fed heavily into the Seandún divisional team that reached the Cork senior final.

Eight white flags from Patrice Diggin edged the outcome in favour of the Kerrywomen. Thereafter, the champions of Tipperary and Galway were taken down.

“Although we had such a long break after the inter-county season finished (over two months), I’d say there weren't that many who sat still for a week,” says Clanmaurice corner-back Rachel McCarthy.

“We were back training individually at home. The crowd of us who are here now, we just love it. It doesn’t matter how many of us there are, we will fight to the end.” Among the 17 is a midfield pairing of Kate Lynch from the little-known camogie stronghold of Glenflesk and Kerry footballer Danielle O’Leary (Rathmore) who only took up the game in recent years.

At full-forward is Jackie Horgan. She didn’t play any club camogie until she was almost 16.

These women will leave a rich legacy. The hope is a new generation will come behind them and keep the pages of this captivating Clanmaurice story turning.

“We all want to win for ourselves and each other, but the bigger picture is what a win would do for the club in expanding numbers,” says Horgan, signing off.