Camogie
Camogie has been played in Douglas since the early part of the 20th century. During that period the club went out of existence on a few occasions only to reappear again within a few years. The present club has been in existence since the early 1970s when a few far sighted people got together and started the club. Some names from that period include Mary Dineen, Pauline Downey, Ann Drinan, Jim Daly (RIP) and Emalda Slavin.
Camogie is the female version of hurling, a game that is unique to Ireland. It is played with a timber stick, similar in shape to a hockey stick. However in camogie, unlike hockey, players can pick the ball onto the hurley and into the hand, solo (carry the ball on the flat of the stick while running), and strike the ball from the hands or ground. The goal consists of posts similar to those on a rugby pitch and scores occur when a ball (sliotar - made of leather and about the size of a tennis ball), is struck between the posts. A goal (counts as 3 point) when the ball goes under the cross-bar while a point is given when the ball goes between the uprights. Teams consist of fifteen players.
Competitions are organised by the Cork County camogie board and consists of teams from all parts of the county. At present there are over 50 camogie clubs within the county. The Douglas club has teams in the following grades : Junior A, Under 18, 16, 14 & 12. The county also has a number of individual divisions who organise competitions within their own areas. Douglas is part of the City Division and enter teams in Under 15, 13 & 11 competitions. The City Division also have teams, made up of players from the city clubs, who play in the Senior championship and in an Under 15 blitz.
Competitions are also organised on an All-Ireland basis by the Central camogie board with many counties entering teams in various grades. These grades include Senior, Intermediate and Junior for adult players and Under 18 and 16 restricted to players in these age-groups. (Under 18 & 16 players can play on the adult teams if considered good enough for the teams.) Over the years Douglas has contributed many players to the county teams many of whom went on to win All-Ireland medals. Since the re-formation of the club those who won honours include - Senior & Junior - Liz Lynch, Junior - Mary Harrington (Maher), Liz Maher and Christina ORegan (Pinfield); Under 16 championship & Junior league - Amanda ORegan. Many more players represented the club on the county teams.
The Douglas club has a very active playing membership ranging from Under 7 to over-30. There are currently over 100 registered players. The club is fortunate to have access to the GAA club facilities which include two full size playing pitches and fantastic indoor facilities. Training for the various age-groups take place on different nights of the week and can vary depending on the pitch availability. During the winter, indoor training was held for the various teams. In 1999 the adult players had two aerobic training sessions in the hall weekly which proved very popular while the younger players has indoor matches.
The club is run by a committee of dedicated parents who work to organise the training and matches and organise various fund-raising activities. The club is a totally voluntary organisation and depends for its survival on a number of sources. The current membership fees are £8 per annum (includes £3.50 for insurance). Players pay a small fee for hurlies and indoor training costs £1 per session. The club held a raffle at Easter and did bag packing in the local Tesco supermarket over the Easter week-end. The annual church gate collection is scheduled for the first week in July and a number of other events are being considered.
It is planned to run a week long camp in August confined to camogie players. This camp will be aimed at developing skills of the young players as well as providing fun for all those involved. In September, 2nd & 3rd, the club will be going to Dublin for a week-end and plan to play challenge games on the Saturday with a visit to Croke Park for the All-Ireland finals on the Sunday.
Training Details
Age-group | From March to October |
Under 10 and up to and including Under 14 | Monday and Thursday from 5:30pm to 7:30pm |
Junior and Under 16 teams | Wednesday from 7pm to 9pm Sunday from 10:30am to 11:30am |
The above are subject to change depending on matches and pitch availability.
If you would like any further information about the camogie club, fill in the Feedback form or contact the GAA club or call down to the pitch on the training nights. New members are always welcome.
A separate information sheet has been prepared for new members. If you require any additional information please address your questions to the committee.