PREVIEW: Tipperary senior camogie team kick off league campaign with Galway test

This Saturday sees the start of the VERY National league with Denis Kelly kickstarting his management career with a tasty home tie against Galway.

Tipperary’s championship ambitions came to a disappointing end last July when despite a last round victory over Cork they failed to advance to the knockout stages.

While Galway exited their championship with defeat to Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final.

But a lot has changed since then with personnel changing in both panels and Bill Mullaney stepping down and Denis Kelly stepping into the hot seat. Cathal Murray is still at the helm in Galway and no doubt he will look to get back to winning ways on Saturday.

Division 1A consists of 6 teams Tipperary, Galway, Cork, Kilkenny, Clare and Dublin with the two top teams contesting the final.

Speaking to Tipperary Camogie during the week Denis was clear on what he hoped to get out of the league with finding a ‘settled team’ in particular ‘a settled spine and then lots of options for other positions’.

He also set out his intentions to start with a strong team on Saturday. All eyes will be on his team selection come this week. Is a back to full fitness Karen Kennedy likely to be given the number 6 jersey?

Will the experienced Mary Ryan be positioned at the edge of the square? Will we see any newcomers such as Cashel twins Lillie or Anna Fahie be given a start?

Having won the All-Ireland in 2021 before being beaten at the semi-final stage last year Cathal Murray will likely use the league to experiment and find some new players.

Players from the All-Ireland winning Sarsfields team maybe given a rest with Siobhan McGrath having played third level with UL in recent weeks while sister Orlaith is out of action at present through injury.

Young Athenry star Sabina Rabittee broke into the starting fifteen last year and is likely to be a key player again in 2023 along with the experienced Aoife Donohue and Niamh Kilkenny.

Last year Tipperary travelled to Galway for a top of the table group clash knowing a win would put them into a league final.

After a rip-roaring contest Tipperary were denied at the end by a late Galway free. Tipperary followers rightly felt hard done by that day with the sending off of attacker Casey Hennessey which was later rescinded.

Tipperary will certainly be hoping they can reverse last season's fortunes on Saturday and claim a home victory.

Tipperary joint captains Karen Kennedy and Clodagh Quirke

Training has been in full flow over the long winter nights in recent months and the Tipperary camogie team can’t wait to finally get into competitive action after a hard slog, according to joint captain Karen Kennedy.

“Yeah we’ve had a really hard block of training over the winter and over January and we’re all just looking forward to getting back playing games and getting our first competitive game under our belts,” she said.

There is a somewhat settled look to the team with plenty of experienced players still making up a large proportion of the panel, but there has been an infusion of youth from underage panels and Kennedy says it’s adding a lot of competition in camp.

“There’s a really good buzz around the setup. Everybody looks forward to going training because it’s really enjoyable while being tough at the same time.

“That’s exactly what we want and it adds to the competitive nature of everyone here. We’re all trying to get better and the only way to do that is by training hard.

Kennedy had a torrid twelve months up to her return to action during the recent club championship at the end of 2022, recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury, and she is raring for road with a good club campaign under her belt.

“Delighted to be back,” she acknowledged.

“I’m happy with how I’ve been moving after getting the full club season under my belt at the end of last year and it got a real test during those games.”

Along with Kennedy, her joint captain and teammate Clodagh Quirke has overcome the same injury in pretty much the same timeframe and she highlighted that the hardest work is now done and they can finally get down to brass tax.

“We’ve done plenty now in terms of on the pitch training and in the gym and I just can’t wait to get back playing matches.

“There’s plenty of young talent around the panel this year driving on looking for places in the team so we’re excited to see what they can bring.

“It’s brought real freshness to the group. Obviously there are plenty of the older players still there but we feel that the younger girls that have come in are really pushing us on.”

Big games will quickly come down the track in the opening rounds of this year’s league campaign, and Quirke feels there is no better way to get ready for championship down the line than playing the best teams around as often as possible.

“If you want to win big games against the big teams, you need to be playing the best. Getting some hard matches in the league while trying different players and different positions is exactly what we want and tough games are exactly what we’re looking for,” she finished.