Camogie's new U23 All-Ireland will bridge important gap

Nicole Olden, Cork breaking past Tipperary players Lorna Ryan and Miriam Murphy n the Munster U23 Camogie final at Kilmallock, Co Limerick. Picture Dan Linehan

There is considerable excitement surrounding the commencement of the inaugural U23 camogie championship on Saturday, established to bridge the gap between the minor and senior, and to counteract the danger of a fall-off of talented young players in their late teens.

Maintaining the ambition for continuous involvement and improvement is among the core goals of the U23 grade and with the best young talent in the country on display, the action should be fierce, fast and frenetic.

The requirement for a competition of this nature came out of the removal of second teams from the intermediate and premier junior championships,  filling that void in terms of giving games at a good level to gifted young camogs.

While it is a pathway first and foremost to hopefully operating at the highest level, the U23 is a championship worth winning in its own right and there is always particular significance with being the first name on a roll of honour.

With three grades, the exchanges are certain to be tight and thrilling.

Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Waterford will compete in the A section, with one team’s interests ending at the conclusion of the round-robin phase, and the first and second teams having home advantage in the resultant semi-finals.

The B comprises Clare, Dublin, Limerick and Wexford, with the top two playing in the final.

There are three teams in the C championship: Down, Meath and Westmeath. Again, the top two will do battle once more in the decider.

There is no history to call upon as a form guide, nor, of course, a National League, so the inevitable recourse is to previous minor campaigns.

That, however, is not a good measurement tool on its own, as the likelihood of players three and four years below the maximum age is minimal at minor. It will not be unusual at U23.

There actually was no minor championship in 2020, due to Covid-19. Since then, Kilkenny have won two A titles (2021, 2025), Cork two (2022, 2023) and Tipperary one (2024).

The Rebels were also beaten finalists this season and in 2021. Waterford got to the decider in 2023 and 2024. Perhaps surprisingly, Galway’s only appearance in a final in this period was in 2022.

Some players have been promoted to the senior ranks in the interim, but it is likely that a number of this weekend’s panellists will have been involved at minor. Some of them will have played with second-string teams in the past too.

Senior players will not be allowed participate in the U23A competition. However, first-team operators can play with their counties in the B and C grades.

It all adds up to a potentially mouth-watering new element in what has already been a ground-breaking season.

U23A: Galway v Tipperary, Cork v Kilkenny (2pm)
U23B: Dublin v Clare, Limerick v Wexford (2pm)
U23C: Westmeath v Meath