Sliabh Rua look to go one better

SE System Intermediate Camogie final set for Castle Road on Sunday at 4pm

(JJ Hurley)

Sliabh Rua will make their second appearance in as many years in the SE System Intermediate Camogie final at Castle Road on Sunday at 4pm, aiming to go one better than last year.

Facing the Clontead outfit in this decider are Carbery side Ballinascarty, a side team manager, Denis Crowley, expects to put it up to the Sliabh Rua girls.

However, he’s hoping that having reached last year’s final, the girls will have learned from it.

‘I know we have been in one twice running but these things don’t come along every day and you just have to enjoy it,’ Denis said.

‘It’s been a great year, we have all enjoyed it. There is a great group there, we are getting great involvement and buy-in from everybody.’

Certainly, the return of Jillian O’Leary from Australia has added that extra bit of leadership that was absent on the field — a point Denis agrees with.

‘Jillian is back and it’s a great addition, but we also have a number of minors that wouldn’t have been available to us last year,’ he said.

Included in that line-up were Emma MacSweeney, Aoibhinn Halpin, Aoife Sheehan, and Caoimhe O’Donnell, and for Denis, that is a huge addition.

Of course, also in the ranks are several players who have huge experience, having seen Sliabh Rua lift Junior B and Junior A County titles, with Cathy O’Mahony, Aine Cummins, Orlaith Cummins, and Claire Bernard all in that line-up.

Despite having not lost a game all season, Denis says that will have no bearing on Sunday’s meeting, as only one point separated the sides when they met in league and championship in 2025.

Sunday’s clash will also be a nervy occasion for the selection committee of Pa O’Donoghue, Denis Crowley, Brian Higgins, Helen O’Callaghan, and Damien Lyons, as the winning and losing falls on the fifteen on the field.

For team coach Brian Higgins, he’s very happy with the season to date and how the team has progressed in 2025.

‘This year we said we’d take what we get in the league, but our target was a strong championship campaign,’ he said.

‘First and foremost, maintain that intermediate status and establish ourselves as a solid intermediate team in camogie.

Of course, you can’t but be happy with six wins from six in the championship.’

While Higgins has always had full faith in his charges, what’s been most pleasing for him is the consistency in the ranks in 2025.

Reflecting on what’s going to be different from last year’s appearance, the team has added more firepower to its armoury, according to Brian.

‘We have added new players to the squad. Great work is being done here at underage level in the club, we’ve a rich conveyor belt of young girls coming through at minor and U16s, right down to U15s,’ he said.

‘These girls are playing at Premier 1 and 2 level and this is now feeding into this group, and now we have a group of 27 to 30 players — any of those could play on Sunday.’

As for his predictions on the day, Brian thinks only a puck of a sliotar will separate the teams.

‘There will be nothing in this, it will come down to fine margins, so is there someone on the day who will step up at that moment, and that’s what it will come down to on Sunday,’ Brian thinks.

‘I have great respect for Ballinascarty, they are well-organised, some lovely players, and after having played six games in seven weeks, both teams deserve to be in the final.’

However, there can only be one winner, but it promises to be edge-of-the-seat stuff before we get to know that result.

The Sliabh Rua Camogie squad who have a date with destiny in Castle Road on Sunday at 4pm.