'I have to box clever': Gemma O'Connor swaps Barrs sideline for centre-back
Gemma O'COnnor: 'Watching the girls last year, I reconsidered. They reignited the love to go back playing.' Pic: Eddie O'Hare
As Athenry and St Finbarr’s disappeared down the Hogan Stand tunnel at the end of last December’s drawn All-Ireland club camogie final, two legends of the game stayed out on the sideline for a chat and catch-up.
44-year-old Therese Donohue, her three sons circling nearby, was not long after receiving the player of the match award. For company and conversation was long-time adversary Gemma O’Connor, four years her junior. The latter, having stepped off the field following county success in 2024, was now part of the Barrs’ sideline set-up.
Looking down from Level 7, one wondered how many All-Stars the pair had collected between them during life in red and maroon. 16 was the answer. A record haul of 11 for Gemma and the not so insignificant catch of five for Therese.
Athenry and the Barrs served up two ferocious contests either side of Christmas. And not to get too far ahead of ourselves here, but a third instalment later this year is not entirely out of the question. Athenry are part of the last four in Galway. The Barrs go after a three-in-a-row of Cork titles on Sunday (MTU Cork, 3.30pm).
Read More
Were their paths to again cross, there’d be no sideline catch-up for these two legends. They’d instead be meeting inside the whitewash.
At 41 years young, you see, Gemma O’Connor has stepped off the sideline and back out onto the field. Retirement has been reversed. From selector to centre-back. The comfortable has been swapped for the constant internal wrangling of ‘Gemma, are you absolutely mad to be doing this'?
The 2024 Cork final victory had been her initial swansong. Her second-half introduction represented her first appearance of the campaign. The full-time scoreline bridged an 18-year gap to her first county medal. A perfect note on which to depart a team she’d been serving since the age of 13.
So, what happened? Retirement didn’t suit her?
Twas hardly a desire for silverware, she already has sackfuls on that front.
“When I did finish up in 2024, fatigue had set in, not even physically, but mentally. It had become a case of how long can you sustain this because I never really had a break from it, so I called it when I did, after we won the county.
“But watching the girls last year, I reconsidered. They reignited the love to go back playing. It was just so enjoyable to watch them that I was like, ‘Look, would I like to go back playing with them and see how it goes’,” Gemma told the earlier this week.
This is no indefinite retirement U-turn. Never mind coming back for the year, when she first rummaged out the helmet and gripped a fresh hurley last February, this was a week-to-week experiment.
“I told them that I'll ease myself into training and see how I feel. I wasn’t making any promises because I hadn’t played properly in around three years. I also wanted to make sure that I was making the right decision.”
The GAA calendar, as she should well have known, doesn’t be long in clicking along. Early-season slog out in Togher gave way to the league, gave way to Summer Cup, gave way to the 41-year-old returning to her old No.6 haunt for the opening round of championship against Cloughduv in mid-August.
Mid-August is now early October. The 41-year-old will be at centre-back for Sunday’s county final against fellow city southsiders Blackrock.
“It’s crazy because I genuinely didn’t know what the plan would be when I made the decision to come back. I played inter-county for however many years and the experience you get from that, so I knew if management wanted to use me for 20 minutes at the end of games, that was absolutely fine with me because I didn’t have any mad expectations coming back.
“I’ve found myself in at centre-back. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, marking young ones. Some people might think I'm a bit mad [for having gone back], but my thought process is just to try and get as much as I can out of the season.”
Never mind the young ones who stand in her orbit. Never mind those who do indeed think she’s mad for having gone back. What does the 41-year-old herself think?
If this was lower-level junior stuff, nobody would bat an eyelid. But this isn’t the little leagues. The nine-time All-Ireland winner has recommitted to a cause that has its eyes trained on Croke Park. Where club camogie is concerned, the Barrs have become a standard-bearer.
And so, given all that she's already done in this game, does the 41-year-old agree with the sentiment that this is unnecessary strain to be putting on top of herself?
“Oh I say that to myself on every occasion I go out playing and have done so since the start of the season! I say to myself, ‘What are you doing here, what are you doing to yourself? Am I mad chasing after the likes of Kate Wall, Sorcha McCartan, and Orlaith Cahalane at training, or trying to dispossess them, or block off ball to them.
“I do question myself, but the more games and exposure you get, your body adapts and you get more comfortable, the mind gets more comfortable. When I’m out there, I’m concentrating so much on surviving the game, really, in terms of controlling my breathing and not getting too fatigued.
“It is important to know that things I could do before I can’t do as good, or maybe at all, so you have to adapt to where you are in life. I am not as fast or as fit as I was, so I have to box clever.
“But look, it’s a short window and I’m really enjoying playing with the girls, and I am trying to get as much out of it as I can.”
One wondered if the Barrs’ window to honours beyond Cork had opened and shut when failing to protect a six-point lead from the 55th minute onwards in the aforementioned drawn All-Ireland club final.
Kate Wall and Grainne Cahalane left for Australia at different points following January’s replay loss. Hannah O’Leary made for New York. There was talk that Sorcha McCartan might also depart. Sofia Daly and Keeva McCarthy did their ACLs.
The 2025 Cork and Munster-winning team was being ripped up line-by-line. Had Gemma maybe missed her window to emulate in blue what Therese Donohue had achieved in maroon on that frozen January night in Thurles.
And yet here they are on the cusp of gaining entrance to another provincial campaign. McCartan never did take off and Wall is home again.
As for the 41-year-old centre-back, she’s the latest example that age is no barrier.
“Whether it is amateur or professional, if you have the talent and the grá to continue on, and if it suits you and where you are in life, I would like to think you can play for as long as the body and mind wants it.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
