This is damn refreshing.
Camogie is a team game, and the goal for every team setting out at the start of the year will be for their side to win, and to achieve their goals.
That’s exactly what Cork did, in winning the O’Duffy cup in 2017, reversing the heartbreak they suffered to the same opponents Kilkenny the year before.
For that to have happened, though, players on the team had to make contributions. Contributions like Ashling Thompson’s. Important contributions.
That may mean the corner back working like a dog for the greater good of the team, that may mean the full forward showing some class individual skill to raise a white flag. That may mean a midfielder having the brains and execution to provide a defence splitting pass.
The point of all this is, without some exceptional, outstanding contributions from individuals, a team won’t win.
Ashling Thompson is a two time All-Star. The Cork midfielder was one of the three camógs in the country nominated for senior Player of the Year for her performances in the Rebel red in 2017.
That’s some going, that’s some achievement.
For Thompson to have been recognised – via an All-Star, via a nomination for Player of the Year – as one of the most important contributors to this triumph, and the same goes for any other All-Star winners, this must be special.
And she knows that. Speaking on SportsJOE Live on Wednesday night, and her take on these individual nominations was bloody refreshing to hear.
“I was obviously extremely delighted to be nominated, but I knew there was no competition when Rena Buckley was up there as well. It’s an honour to be nominated for Player of the Year, and my family were extremely proud and so was I,” she said.
We’re well used to GAA players saying that it’s about the county, all about the team winning after they record a big championship victory. It all feeds into the Irish mentality of being humble and getting the job done.
But the fact of the matter is, it’ll have meant more to someone like Thompson, who dedicated her whole life to reaching that Holy Grail, than another person from Cork who’s sitting in the stands.
Making her family proud, making her club proud, making everybody who helped her throughout her career proud, making her teammates proud – that’s what it’s all about.
“I remember seeing the nomination on Twitter that day, and I was shocked, because that in itself was some achievement for me,” she added.
“Absolutely, it is (important) The ultimate is winning the All-Ireland Championship, that’s for sure. Sometimes, those awards can go funny, they can go for you or go against you but there’s an added element to winning an All-Star or getting nominated for Player of the Year.
Because as juveniles growing up and dreaming to play for the county under-14 or under-16 team, you’ll be going to trials as an individual. Say for Thompson, the other Cork girls at those trials would have been her enemies back then, because they were the ones that could have taken the opportunity to represent Cork away from her.
She made it. All of the other Cork senior camogie players made it. These teams are made up of individuals with so much in common, and that’s what makes the bond, the team-ethic so strong.
Going back to those under-14 or under-16 dreams, you’re not dreaming about who’s alongside you when you triumph for your county, you’re dreaming about getting there yourself, you’re dreaming about scoring the winning point yourself. Dreaming about making those connected to you proud.
“It’s a special moment, because it’s not all about the player. It’s about what you can give back to your community, what I can give back to my club, what I can give back to my family.
“That’s what was most important for me, just sitting up there, and having my mam and dad there at the table, and going up there and accepting the award. It’s what I can give back to my own family and my club,” she concluded.
You can listen to the Thompson interview and so much more from the 40th episode of SportsJOE Live right here.
