'It's so rare' - Kate hoping Barrs glory will be the first of Wall family double at Croke Park

Kate will be a key figure on Sunday when St Finbarr's take on Athenry in the national decider while her twin brother, Philip, may yet experience Croke Park too, in the colours of Kilbrittain.

BACKS TO THE WALL: AIB ambassador Kate Wall (St. Finbarr’s) ahead of the AIB Camogie All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Final. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan.

This will be an interesting Christmas in the Wall household.

Kate, the joint-youngest of four Wall siblings, could be an AIB All-Ireland club senior camogie medallist by then.

The Cork player will certainly be a key figure on Sunday when her adopted St Finbarr's take on Athenry in the national decider at Croke Park.

Her twin brother, Philip, may yet experience Croke Park too, in the colours of Kilbrittain who have an AIB All-Ireland junior hurling semi-final to overcome first, on Saturday week.

Philip is captain of Kilbrittain and their older sister, Ellen, is flying back home from Boston for what promises to be a family festival of hurling.

No doubt Jamie, the oldest of the children and a former Cork underage dual player, who has more recently forged an impressive career in coaching, will be on hand too.

"We're all delighted, I think they don't know what to be doing at home, there's so much success," said Kate. "It's so rare, we're just thrilled."

St Finbarr's won their All-Ireland camogie semi-final on the same day that Kilbrittain claimed the Munster junior hurling title. The hurling game was in Mallow, the camogie tie three hours north in Meath.

So what did the parents do?

"I should actually lie and say that one went to each but Philip got them, they went to Mallow," said Kate.

"That was a Munster final and ours was a semi so we said that finals take precedence, and he was captain. I was the nice twin that day and let them!"

There'll be no such logistical headache this Sunday. All highways and byways will lead to Croke Park. The last time Kate was there, with Cork, she coughed up the free that Galway's Carrie Dolan converted to win August's All-Ireland camogie final, four months ago today.

Many of the same players will meet again as the club champions of the respective counties clash.

"Anyone that loses a big game knows there's a lot of hurt," said Wall of the Cork loss.

"It's a hard thing but you've your clubmates that bring you back in. You're back training a week later and you've got best friends in there with the club team and they just bring you along with them. Credit to them for that because, yeah, there were a few wounded soldiers coming back in."

Like Cork in that agonising one-point defeat, St Finbarr's will go the distance on Sunday, for better or for worse. The club's remarkable journey to the camogie decider has included extra-time wins - against Newcastlewest in Munster and Loughgiel Shamrocks last time out - as well as a late winning goal from Wall herself in the provincial final win over De La Salle.

"It gives huge confidence," she said of the battling wins.

"It really did stand to us, probably not physically, as in the bodies were sore after that, but mentally to go through that, God, you can't buy that. It's brilliant, it's such grit, it's heart. There's no skill involved in winning those kinds of games - it's pure work rate and pure heart."