SAOIRSE McCarthy admits she has found it strange not having her Ballinspittle buddy Fiona Keating by her side this season, but the three-time All-Star knows the show must go on.
Two-time All-Ireland winner Keating plans to spend the summer in America so won’t be involved in Cork’s championship adventure, and McCarthy is still getting used to not having her Courcey Rovers club-mate around the inter-county set-up. Team-mates on the pitch, they’re close friends off it. When they are both based in Cork, they travel to training together.
‘We played a match together for Courceys against Fr O’Neills recently and we had great fun with the puck-outs!’ McCarthy quips. ‘I miss her, I do. I miss her on the pitch an awful lot, and off the pitch too. I would be looking around sometimes on the pitch for her, forgetting she’s not there!
‘I didn’t kinda see it at the start of the year because I was in Dublin (studying for a masters in digital marketing at Technological University Dublin) so I was travelling by myself, but since I am home I am feeling it more.’
McCarthy (24) also knows that the Cork juggernaut will keep moving forward, given the quality of players in the county right now. It’s why the Rebels are back-to-back All-Ireland champions, won the Division 1A league title last month, and are favourites in this Saturday’s Munster senior camogie championship final against Waterford in The Ragg in Tipperary (1pm throw-in). Cork currently have possession of all three trophies that they can win: All-Ireland, Munster and league.
Saoirse McCarthy and Fiona Keating lift the O’Duffy Cup together last season.
‘The way the set-up is now, life goes on, and as much as I miss Fiona it’s next player up, as harsh as that sounds,’ adds McCarthy, though Keating is always just a phone call away.
‘I was asking her advice about playing centre forward in the last two games and she was laughing at me!’
Cork fans can rest easy though, as McCarthy isn’t planning a sabbatical anytime soon. She wants to travel but feels there’s room within the GAA calendar to explore the world and play inter-county camogie. These are special times with a special group.
‘You can have a life outside camogie – it’s about finding that balance,’ the Cork star explains.
‘I do want to go traveling. I’ll go in the winter when we’re not training, 100 percent. I know Laura Hayes went to Thailand over the winter and had a great time. There is time to do it within the calendar.
‘It never crossed my mind to stop, we are privileged to be part of something so special at the moment. Even when I moved up to Dublin, I saw that – I am friends with a few girls on the Dublin team and the huge effort they put in and they don’t have as many trophies to show for it.
‘Those thoughts aren’t creeping in anyway, I want to enjoy it, and being part of this set-up is rewarding in itself regardless if we win or not. I am not going anywhere for a while.’
The next destination for McCarthy, now in her seventh season with the senior squad, is the Munster final at The Ragg this Saturday. This is a repeat of last year’s decider that the Rebels won 1-16 to 0-14, and the defending champions are determined to stay top of the charts in their home province. It’s Cork’s final competitive game before the All-Ireland senior championship begins on May 24th so this is an opportunity to impress.
‘Munster is really, really important for our group – it’s the last attempt players can make to force their way into the team for the championship,’ McCarthy explains.
‘There is a lot of shuffling during the league and you can solidify your place during the Munster championship heading into the summer. It’s a really important stepping stone for us and we use it really well.
‘Look at the competition for places within our squad. In every game girls come on and want to prove they’re good enough for a position – look at Millie Condon, she came on against Clare and scored 1-1 in the last five minutes. That competition for places is huge.
‘We’re lucky to have the provincial competition because a county like Galway doesn’t have an equivalent between the league and the championship.
‘We have such a rich history that it does come with a little bit of pressure too. We have only lost a handful (of Munster championships) over the years. It’s a chance to lay down a marker and say we are the best team in Munster, and then carry that into the championship.’
McCarthy points to Cork’s shock provincial championship quarter-final loss to Waterford in 2023 as an important moment in this team’s journey. That defeat stung. The Rebels regrouped after that to win the All-Ireland title that season, gaining revenge over the Déise in the final. It’s why McCarthy doesn’t entertain the narrative that the provincial title is not high on Cork’s list of priorities – this matters to a group that loves that winning feeling.
‘You want to win everything. We want to win a crossing-the-road race – we are a really competitive bunch. We want to win every match and every competition we’re in,’ adds McCarthy, as she targets another medal to add to her impressive collection.
