THIS is the decision that Libby Coppinger never wanted to make, but in recent times knew she had to.

The St Colum’s clubwoman has taken huge pride in playing both camogie and football at inter-county level for almost a decade, but earlier this week confirmed that she will commit to camogie only at county level in 2026.

Coppinger had feared this decision day would come and had resisted making it for as long as she could, but ultimately knew she couldn’t give her all to both set-ups.

‘The seasons are getting busier and the body is getting a bit older as well,’ the Kealkill hero told The Southern Star.

‘It was in the back of my mind a bit during the year, and it came to the stage where I had to decide – there was a lot of humming and hawing, and a lot of tears.

‘I have loved playing both, and that love hasn’t changed. I love playing football, love the gang that’s involved, and I’ll miss so much of that.

‘But the way the season plays out, there is no time for anything. Even in the season just gone I had a few niggly injuries, so preparing for games has become a lot harder with the season so much shorter.

‘It’s great that there are more games than ever, but as a dual player it has become so much harder.’

Perhaps the season-ending hamstring injury Coppinger suffered in May 2024 played a role in her decision.

The grade-three hamstring tear picked up in a Munster football round-robin game saw her miss both the 2024 football and camogie championship campaigns – and the latter ended in All-Ireland success for Cork.

Speaking to The Southern Star in January, Coppinger admitted she was more conscious than ever in 2025 of the dual workload. Her plan was to see how the season played out.

Libby Coppinger in action for the Cork footballers this season.

‘I want to give it a go. Please God, it will work out,’ she said at the time, but has now come to the realisation that it has become too difficult to play both at county level.

‘It was a culmination of factors,’ Coppinger explains.

‘In 2024, it was slightly different in that when I had that injury my season was over, but this past season I picked up an injury playing football in the Munster championship and it was extra hard then to get back again. You end up chasing your tail for weeks, between rehab and so on.

‘Everyone has been great to me over the years, and I am so grateful that everyone – management and team-mates – gave me this opportunity. But it is definitely harder now.

‘I wanted to give it a go this year and see what happened. For this to work you need to be fully committed to both, and it’s a big commitment.

‘It was a long year with a couple of injuries, and it takes its toll.

‘There is no guarantee that you won’t get injured playing just one, but it has become harder to balance both when you’re trying to stay fully fit and be at your best level.’

Given the success of the Cork camogie team in recent years, winning two of the past three All-Irelands, and that Coppinger is now a three-time Camogie All-Star, it’s not surprising she has decided to throw her lot in with Ger Manley’s set-up in 2026. But this wasn’t an easy decision – she has loved her time in a Cork football jersey.

Libby Coppinger accepts her 2025 Camogie All-Star award from Camogie Association Uachtaran Brian Molloy, and Marie Coady, PwC Markets Partner.

‘It was really hard to pick between the two,’ the 28-year-old admits.

‘I was saying at home that I would love it if football was one side of the year and camogie was on the other side so I could give the time to both. You are left thinking how things would go if you were fully able to give your time to one.

‘But the season has just gotten busier. From the word go, at the start of the year when you are planning out your year, there are very few weekends when you don’t have a game. If you played just one you’d have a few weekends off, and that helps.

‘I’ll still be watching the football closely, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.

‘It’s very hard to close the football chapter. It was a decision I was wishing someone could make for me.’

Cork camogie will feel the benefit of having Coppinger involved for the full season, as the highly-rated defender will be present from the outset.

‘I will be more present with camogie now because I would have missed various things that you then try to make up for,’ she notes.

Recent events also feel like a crossroads moment for dual players with Cork. From three involved this past season, none of the trio will combine both codes in 2026 – Coppinger is focusing fully on camogie, while Hannah Looney and Aoife Healy have both signed AFLW deals in Australia.

‘It’s not to say it’s not possible, and the way it has ended up this year is that the three of us have all gone down different paths. I hope it won’t stop the idea of a dual player, because I love to see people playing both. It’s still manageable, but the schedule isn’t helping,’ Coppinger explains.

‘I’d love to say that the dual player will continue at county level. At underage you have so many girls playing both, and in clubs all over the county and country there are dual players too, so I’d love to see it continue.

‘But at inter-county level it’s very hard to do, and you need to have people around you who can help make it possible – and I was lucky that I had.

‘I hope it’s not the end of it. I know it’s gone from three dual players to none now, but there are plenty of talented players coming through.

‘Maybe it has become too hard, but I hope it hasn’t. I hope it’s not the end.’

For Coppinger, her Cork football chapter has closed – but there is also excitement about what impact the St Colum’s woman can make with her full attention on Cork camogie.