Sport

McCarthy and Buckley play their role in Cork All-Ireland win

August 12th, 2022 10:10 AM

By Ger McCarthy

Cork’s Amy McCarthy celebrates winning the All-Ireland final. (Photo: INPHO/Evan Treacy)

Share this article

CLONAKILTY’S Amy McCarthy and Newcestown’s Alice Buckley were part of Cork’s three-in-a-row winning Tesco All-Ireland U16A camogie final panel.

The Rebels faced provincial rivals Tipperary in front of a bumper attendance in Mallow in a repeat of their 2022 Munster final.

Cork won that provincial decider and emerged from a tough All-Ireland qualifying group involving Kilkenny and Galway before facing the Premier County again.

Hot weather conditions and a determined Tipperary effort couldn’t prevent Cork from emerging 2-18 to 0-10 winners. On a memorable afternoon, Cork manager Donie Daly’s third consecutive All-Ireland U16 camogie success owed much to the depth of his talented panel.

Centre-forward Gráinne Finn (Fr O’Neill’s) scored 1-3 and Sarah Murphy (Glen Rovers) came off the bench to contribute 1-2.

Yet, it was the Rebels’ midfield pairing of Amy McCarthy (Clonakilty) and player of the match Ava Fitzgerald (Sarsfields) and half-forward Kate Fennessy’s (Sarsfields) combined efforts in the middle third that swung the result in Cork’s favour.

 

After a disjointed start, the eventual winners built a 2-6 to 0-5 lead at the break. Cork found another gear and added 12 second-half points to secure a convincing victory.

‘We had a tough start and didn’t get going until about ten minutes in,’ Clonakilty’s Amy McCarthy commented.

‘Those two (first half) goals got us going and the girls started popping over scores after all those early wides. There was no concern with those misses because we have trust in all the girls on this team.

‘As for dealing with the hot conditions, well, we played in 27 degree heat in last year’s All-Ireland U16 final and would be used to it training and playing with our clubs throughout the summer.

‘I think that the Kilkenny and Galway group games really set us up for this match. They are both tough teams so we were well prepared for Tipp.

‘We had beaten Tipp before as well so we had hope coming into the All-Ireland final. Tipperary are improving though. We expected to get a tough final and that’s what we got today.’

McCarthy’s delight at claiming another All-Ireland U16 medal was mirrored by her West Cork inter-county team-mate Alice Buckley.

‘It feels great to be All-Ireland champions again because we worked so hard and deserved to win it,’ the Newcestown player said.

‘Donie Daly and the management team have been so important to us. They worked really hard with us throughout the year and it was all worth it in the end.

‘I learned a lot playing for Cork and am excited to get back playing for my club Newcestown now. It is one of the better things (about the split-season) being able to go back to your club after the inter-county season is over.’

 

Share this article


Related content