By Daragh Ó Conchúir

There’s a bumper day of camogie in Croke Park this Sunday.

The senior, junior and intermediate All-Ireland finals take place this weekend. The attendance for this day last year 20’348 – the fifth highest in camogie history, and the camogie association will be hoping for an increase again in the number of spectators this year.

All-Ireland Camogie Finals 2018 pic.twitter.com/87LIlggdRZ

— Cork GAA (@OfficialCorkGAA) September 5, 2018

Tickets are available for €25 on camogietickets.ie and in selected SuperValue and Centra stores right now. They’ll be €30 on the day, while students and senior citizens will get a €10 discount.

Under-18s will only have to pay a €5 admission fee – So there are no excuses for young up and coming camogie stars to miss the big day.

Considering that hurling final tickets are €80, that’s some bargain – especially when you’ve three adult finals.

Here’s a preview of the three games.

Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Senior Final

Cork v Kilkenny Croke Park, 4.15pm, E Cassidy (Derry)

They know each other as well as family now. This is the third consecutive Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Senior Camogie Final between the two counties, the fourth in five seasons. Cork lead that count 2-1 and are current holders of the O’Duffy Cup by virtue of that now famous Gemma O’Connor-Julia White combo in the dying minutes of the dramatic 2017 Final.

'The best feeling in the world' – Cork's Julia White reflects on the score that won the All-Ireland #RTEgaa pic.twitter.com/7INwGqQDPH

— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) September 10, 2017

It’s not like Kilkenny will have any complex about taking on their old foes however. They did get the better of them in the 2016 decider and in the last two National League Finals, while completing a three-in-a-row in the spring competition.

Having lost 12 months ago to White’s injury-time point, after O’Connor had equalised seconds before the end of normal time, Kilkenny will not want for motivation.

And they were stunning in the first 20 minutes of the League Final at Nowlan Park, leading by 10 points having registered the first eight scores inside the opening 10 minutes. Yet Cork cut the margin to seven by the break and despite having captain Aoife Murray sent off in the second half, fell just one short of a stunning comeback.

It seems that no matter what, there will never be more than a puck of the sliotar between these two.

Kilkenny did not impress everyone with the manner of their Semi-Final win over Galway but the westerners pushed them to extra time in 2016, when Ann Downey went on to navigate them to their first All-Ireland since she herself climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand as victorious skipper in 1994.

What’s more, the westerners staged a second-half rally that had Cork hanging on in the penultimate stages last year. The Cats would hope there is an omen there and that the team that takes care of Galway continues to progress to ultimate glory.

There is no doubt that Kilkenny can draw plenty of positives from prevailing despite not being at their best and will go into this having been tested more severely than the champions. Galway made the semi-final a ferocious battle, albeit a tactical one. 

The Cats butchered a couple of goal chances early on, Denise Gaule missed frees she would normally convert with her eyes closed and they were certainly feeling the pressure. But Edwina Keane, the triple All Star finally back in the team having had to bide her time when missing out last year with a cruciate knee ligament injury, was magnificent in defence.

Meighan Farrell and Anne Dalton were influential too, while Julianne Malone, Katie Power and Anna Farrell showed glimpses of their capabilities. Crucially, Kilkenny’s execution held up for the third-quarter goal that turned the tie in their favour. They quickly turned that three-point advantage to six and that enabled them to hold off the late Galway onslaught.

Paudie Murray was unhappy with his team’s workrate against Tipperary in their Semi-Final and Chloe Sigerson bemoaned the number of times the Premier forwards made ground through the middle of their defence in the second quarter.

Matters improved significantly after the break and they went on to win by 12 points, finishing with a tally of 0-21. They have been scoring heavily throughout the summer, clearly looking to play a more expansive style but that does seem to be giving the opposition more chances too.

Sigerson shone at wing-back, weighing in with three long-distance points, including two whoppers from play. Orla Cotter excelled in all facets of her game, while Pamela Mackey kept the Championship’s leading scorer Cáit Devane to a point from play. Hannah Looney, Ashling Thompson and Julia White provide much of the industry, while the latter is also the joined leading goalscorer in the competition with four. Katrina Mackey and Amy O’Connor are other genuine threats, while Orla Cronin was Player of the Match in last year’s Final.

It will be interesting to see how Cork approach this, particularly given Kilkenny’s miserly tendencies when not in possession, and the Noresiders’ own slew of dangers in attack.

Shooting from further afield will be important one suspects. So will free-taking. Cotter, who got married this year, has been magnificent as usual in this regard since her return and Gaule is a former Player of the Year who is unlikely to have an off day twice in a row.

Squad depth will be significant too. It was surprising given that Kilkenny only used one sub in the Semi-Final, and that was Miriam Walsh, who was deemed not fit enough to start. Being able to call on someone of the calibre of Keane, while Danielle Morrissey, Aoife Doyle, Kellyanne Doyle and Jacqui Frisby, the former All-Star defender now providing cover for goalkeeper Emma Kavanagh, are all good options in attack.

Cork were able to bring on the likes of Linda Collins against Tipp and she quickly made an impression with two nice points, while the player she replaced, Niamh McCarthy has been among the goals this year and works very hard to bring those around her into the game from her regular posting at full-forward. And of course there was the return of Briege Corkery and that is sure to have had a positive impact.

Anyone expressing confidence about the result in this is a soothsayer or a bluffer. What can be said with a fair degree of certainty is that the verdict will be in doubt, right up to the closing minutes.

Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate Final

Cork v Down Croke Park, 2pm, J Dermody (Westmeath)

There were plenty of raised eyebrows when Down got the better of Tipperary thanks to a 58th minute goal from Sara Louise Carr to reach the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate Final for the first time in 20 years.

It may have been a surprise but there were indications that the Mournewomen were making real progress as the summer evolved.

Admittedly, the League was a disaster, as they lost all five outings but then they got the better of Derry in the Ulster Final. They followed that up with a draw against the much-fancied Oak Leafers in the opening round of the All-Ireland Championship.

That laid the platform for the rest of the campaign and they defeated Laois to bag the runners-up spot in Group 1 behind Cork, who had overcome all before them.

Tipp topped Group 2 and were six points clear at half time in the Semi-Final but with the experiment of deploying Fionnuala Carr at full-forward dispensed with, there was an immediate improvement as the Clonduff colossus began to exert greater influence from centre-back. Nicole Kelly put the shackles on the dangerous Nicola Treacy too.

Meanwhile, Niamh Mallon was busily keeping the umpire busy as she racked up nine points, seven from placed balls. That brought Down in touch and Sara Louise Carr, who got married earlier this year, pounced for the definitive goal to go with her earlier two points from play.

Cork will be desperate to get over the line having lost the last two deciders, including last year’s to Meath after a replay.

Much like their Senior counterparts, they have cruised through to the Final, finishing the group phase with a positive scoring differential of 65 points, compared to Down’s -2. Indeed the Rebels were 12-point victors when the teams met in Páirc Esler in July.

The Leesiders possess a lot of firepower with the likes of Finola Neville, Caroline Sugrue and Katelyn Hickey well able to hit the target. Minor star Cliona Healy came off the bench to have a big impact in the Semi-Final win over Galway, scoring three points in as many minutes soon after her second-half introduction to edge the Leesiders clear and finishing with four.

Healy wasn’t involved when the Leesiders garnered the Division 2 League title but she and a handful of other colleagues from the All-Ireland-winning Minor Championship side have made the step up and with that sort of ability to be called upon, they will be hard to beat.

Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Premier Junior Final

Dublin v Kerry Croke Park, 12pm, A Doheny (Laois)

There is nothing like a Dublin-Kerry Final at Croke Park to get the blood pumping, though this is the first time the two old GAA rivals have crossed swords in a Championship Camogie decider on the hallowed sod.

Dublin make a quick return having suffered defeat at the hands of a strong Westmeath unit last year. This time around, they are here with a strong Division 2 League campaign behind them, after annexing the Division 3 title in 2017.

They have lost Emer Keenan with a cruciate knee ligament injury but welcomed back last year’s Premier Junior Player of the Year, Aoife Bugler for their Semi-Final win over Offaly, having suffered the same injury.

Bugler was on fire against the Faithful, scoring 1-3 from play and she is sure to improve for the runout after such a lengthy absence. In the meantime, Aoibhe Dillon has been added to the attack from last year’s Minors and is proving a real addition from placed balls and general play, the top scorer providing 1-5 of the 3-12 tally in the clearance of the penultimate hurdle. Caragh Dawson is another who will take watching.

Kerry’s improvement has been consistent in recent years and they are coming into this as Division 3 League champions. That was a welcome win as they haven’t enjoyed the best of luck in major Finals, losing at Junior A and B level in recent years, while Clanmaurice, who are, in effect Kerry, lost the All-Ireland Junior Club Final in a replay last December.

In Patrice Diggin, they possess a player whose talents deserve to be on the biggest stage however, the flame-haired artist a multiple Ashbourne Cup winner who Kerry will be looking to for the majority of their scores. Diggin struck 10 points in the 10-point Semi-Final win over Roscommon, who they had also beaten in the League Final.

It was a strong second-half effort from the Kingdom, as they trailed by a point at the break. After Roscommon moved two ahead, they were unable to register another score as the Kerry defence proved impossible to breach. At the other end, Jackie Horgan provided vital support to Diggin and Laura Collins grabbed the goal that ensured the green and gold was bound for Croke Park.

Having done well in Division 2 Dublin will be favourites to garner a sixth crown at this grade but Kerry have shown tremendous resolve in recent years and will be looking to cause an upset.

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