Cork star Niamh Cotter transferring to Kilmacud Crokes

NIAMH Cotter will have shorter to travel to Croke Park than her Cork team-mates for Saturday evening’s glamour league clash against Dublin (5pm).

The Glengarriff woman is living in Goatstown as she studies a Masters in European Law at University College Dublin.

The 23-year-old has missed Cork’s opening two Division 1 games because of a back injury and is hopeful she will be involved for the rematch of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final that the Dubs won in Croke Park.

‘It doesn’t get much bigger or better than playing Dublin in Croke Park, they are the games that every player wants to be involved in,’ Cotter said.

‘We are still hurting after last year but at the same time it’s very early on in the season and no team will get carried away at this stage.

‘Hopefully we will improve on the last few performances, we did play better against Tipp last weekend but we still have a lot to work on.’

Because of her studies – and her Masters will continue right through the summer – Cotter has also decided to transfer from Beara to Kilmacud Crokes. It means that West Cork will be without the services of a key player this season, but it’s a decision Cotter had to make.

‘It’s over five hours for me to get home to Beara from Dublin,’ she explained.

‘It’s one thing going down to Cork for training, but I am only halfway home at that point. It was a very hard decision to make, to be honest. I had put it off, but I spoke to a few people about it and you have to be a bit realistic about the situation.

‘In fairness, everyone in Beara has been so good to me, they know my heart will always be with them and with West Cork – and I’ll be their biggest fans this year.’

The chance to play club football in Dublin is also an exciting opportunity for Cotter.

‘I am looking forward to the new challenge and playing with and against new players in a different environment,’ she said.