DISAPPOINTED that Carbery will not be able to enter a team in the county senior camogie championship this season, Teddy O’Regan is hopeful the door is not fully shut on divisional teams.

A Cork motion brought to the Camogie Association’s National Congress, seeking to allow divisional teams to compete in the county championship, was heavily defeated on Saturday, garnering just 17 percent support.

The result is that divisional teams like Carbery, Sendún, Imokilly, Muskerry and Carrigdhoun will not line out in this year’s senior competition.

‘It’s disappointing because we had made progress last year, there was a good buy-in from players and we felt the probability was that we would only improve. But unfortunately, it’s not a possibility,’ Carbery camogie chairman Teddy O’Regan told The Southern Star.

Carbery reached the preliminary quarter-final stage last season before bowing out against Blackrock.

Divisional teams were granted a reprieve to enter the 2025 county championship, but knew their participation this season required a rule change at Congress.

However, Cork’s motion – ‘Divisional teams comprising clubs from lower-graded clubs may come together to enter the county senior championship’ – was comfortably defeated.

‘I was in contact with the players through WhatsApp and a number of them came back expressing their disappointment. They said they really enjoyed it last year. It’s frustrating that we can’t provide that opportunity again,’ said O’Regan, who remains a strong advocate for divisional teams as a pathway to senior level.

‘We have four clubs in Carbery playing in the premier intermediate grade and those players have a realistic chance of reaching the senior championship with their clubs.

‘But you also have girls playing with Carbery clubs in junior B and junior C who now may never play senior championship because of this ruling. Libby Coppinger is the obvious example – a multiple Camogie All-Star playing junior C with St Colum’s, and now unlikely to feature in the senior championship again.’

O’Regan also warned of possible unintended consequences.

‘The other concern is that it might encourage players to transfer, and we don’t want to see that. It could take better players away from rural clubs if that becomes their only route to senior camogie,’ he said.

Despite the setback, O’Regan is hopeful that future GAA integration could reopen the door for divisional teams. He pointed to the fact that divisions are allowed compete in men’s football and hurling, suggesting that when the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association merge into a single body, the issue could be revisited.

‘You would hope that common sense will prevail at some stage and that we might be able to get back in,’ O’Regan added.

‘If integration happens, you could have a situation where Carbery enters senior hurling and football championships every year. It’s hard to see a scenario where divisions would be excluded there, so that might bring camogie divisional teams back into the conversation – but it won’t be today or tomorrow, unfortunately.’