Donohue hopes Camogie can go from strength to strength
PwC GPA Player of the Month for July/August in camogie, Aoife Donohue of Galway, with her award at PwC’s offices in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
Galway star Aoife Donohue hopes her team’s dramatic victory over Cork in what was a hugely entertaining All-Ireland Senior Camogie final can be a really postitive catalyst for the game.
A total of 28,795 attended the triple-header of camogie finals and an average of 353,000 turned in to RTE’s coverage of the game, but Donohue believes the sport has the potential for a signficant surge in popularity.
“It was an unbelievable All-Ireland final and it’s got a lot of coverage since the game,"said Donohue, who was named the PwC GPA Camogie Player of the Month award for July/August. "That’s brilliant to see.
“But you’d be hoping for more support going into next year, and that more people now will start watching the game. Going to games is the most important thing.
“It was a brilliant advertisement for camogie. You had everything on show: physicality, the skill levels, the conditioning of every player out on that pitch. You’d be hoping that we use it in a positive way and that people get on board now and start supporting us.
“Last year’s All-Ireland final was a brilliant All-Ireland final as well, and still you’re looking at the figures of the game last Sunday, and there was 28,000 people there. It’s just when you look at the men’s game and you see a stadium full, and even the ladies’ football, there was close to 50,000 there.
“You’re wondering why we’re not getting numbers at the games. But, look, it’s great everyone’s talking about the game on Sunday.
“I’m not sure what more we can do, only try and promote the game more. Media, that kind of stuff. During the year, when games are on, there wouldn’t even be much previews, compared to the men’s game, so that’s definitely an area that we could go after.
“Definitely, it has to start at the beginning of the season. In fairness, we’ve come a long way, we’re doing really well, but we’ve a long way to go still.”
The Galway team, including Aoife Donohue, 12, celebrate with the O'Duffy Cup after the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship final match between Cork and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile.
Donohue has now been involved in four of the five All-Ireland Camogie Finals that Galway have won and this year’s victory over a Cork team chasing a three-in-a-row might just be the sweetest one yet.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but Jesus, it was an unbelievable All-Ireland final,” she says. “When you’re out there, you don’t really think about it too much, but the intensity, the tackles, and the scores, it had everything.
“They’re all very special in their own ways. But after the defeat last year, and just the way we performed on Sunday, it was hugely satisfying. It’s a sweet one.”