Killimor on the brink of regaining the All-Ireland club crown

Eoghan Cormican

REWIND 12 months to a bitterly cold February afternoon in Nenagh – Killimor’s hopes of a second successive All-Ireland club final appearance torn to shreds. There would be no return to Croke Park to defend their title. Put simply, a fork in the road had been reached and the question surfaced, where now for this bunch of players?

Killimor’s stickwomen had enjoyed unprecedented glory during an all-conquering two year period, securing back-to-back County titles and annexing the Bill Carroll Cup in the process – the fifth Galway club to inscribe their name on club camogie’s most coveted prize.

Then, out of the blue, they came unstuck against a Drom & Inch outfit, bringing this success story to an abrupt halt. Spring came and went and camogie enthusiasts in the East Galway village wondered if the players which had given them so many unforgettable days had the hunger to rise once more.

Killimor had long knocked at the door of champions and when they finally barged through, the success achieved was almost unimaginable. This group of players had soldiered together since the County Junior A final win of 2003, taking the Intermediate title at the first attempt a year later. Was it now time for Galway’s camogie queens to hand over the baton to a new force?

Killimor, however, proved their appetite was still as strong as ever and will look to reclaim the All-Ireland senior club title when squaring off against Milford in what promises to be a fascinating decider at Croke Park on Saturday (5pm).

Reflecting on the semi-final loss to Drom & Inch, manager Tommy Callagy says the defeat had a massive impact on his troops. “It was a game I think we half expected to win, but after the loss something changed. By god there is a different attitude this year from the girls and there’s been no standing back at all.”

With no injury concerns to report, Callagy asserts that competition for a starting berth is fierce: “Everyone is flying fit and rearing to go, no one is guaranteed a place for Saturday which is the right way to have it.”

Unlike previous campaigns, Killimor were rarely troubled in easing to a third consecutive county championship. Old nemesis Mullagh were cast aside in the semi-final, a real confidence injecting win and that was no more underlined when they played with fantastic style to put Sarsfields to the sword in last November’s county final.

Midfielders Emer Haverty and Ann Marie Starr delivered tour de force performances in that final, while corner-forward Susan Keane struck for 1-3 in their 2-12 to 1-4 win. Claire and Martina Conroy were also prominent in attack shooting 1-7 between them.

Ulster champions O’Donovan Rossa provided the opposition in the All-Ireland semi, a game Killimor were expected to see out with minimum fuss. The underdogs from Antrim, however, completely ripped up the formbook and Killimor were forced to exhaust their full arsenal of energy and effort to scrape through.

To some degree, that narrow victory may prove a blessing in disguise for Killimor – not only bringing them back down to earth after the ease in which they achieved the three-in-a-row of county titles but hammering home that a second All-Ireland title won’t be handed to them on a silver platter.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.