Laura Murphy hopeful future looks bright for Kilkenny camogie

By John Harrington

After a relatively fallow period by their recent high standards, there are signs that Kilkenny camogie has a good crop coming.

A county senior team featuring lots of fresh faces missed out on qualification for the Centra League Division 1A final on score difference and has since won five matches from five in Group 2 of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Championship by an average of 10 points each.

The Marble County also made it back-to-back minor All-Ireland titles this year and lost the U16 Final narrowly to Galway after a replay.

Throw in the fact that Loreto Kilkenny completed a four-in-a-row of Senior A Schools Camogie titles his year and also won the All-Ireland Junior title, and it’s clear that there’s a very talented generation of young camogie players coming through in the county.

For experienced Kilkenny players like Laura Murphy, now in her 10^th season on the panel, the influx of young players is both exciting and energising as they prepare for Saturday's All-Ireland quarter-final against Waterford.

“The future is looking bright and I think we can already see that this year,” she says.

“The younger girls who have come into the panel have brought a freshness and energy with them that has been key to our performances so far this year and there's a good few coming behind them with the successful underage and schools teams in Kilkenny, so it is an exciting time.

“We have been working on that over the last number of years. A lot of girls have stepped away for whatever reason and when one door closes another opens for someone else.

“Those roles are there to be filled and those young girls have really stepped up to the plate this year which is very exciting.

“That's maybe one of the advantages of being in the Tier Two, that you can build that bit of momentum. There's great positivity and it's a great environment to be in at the moment.

“The girls are buzzing. I think that will probably stand to us as well.”

All-Ireland champions in 2022, Kilkenny have been beaten at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage for the last three years running.

The fact they’re in Group Two of the newly restructured Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Camogie Championship is reflective of how their stock has fallen.

Group One comprised of the top four teams in the country based on last year’s championship – Cork, Galway, Waterford, and Tipperary – with Kilkenny in Group Two with Clare, Limerick, Offaly, Dublin, and Wexford.

The top two teams in Group One – Cork and Galway – have qualified directly for the All-Ireland semi-finals with the top two teams in Group Two – Kilkenny and Clare – playing Waterford and Tipperary respectively in the quarter-finals.

Kilkenny looked very good in Group Two, but Murphy is keenly aware that Waterford have been tested at a higher level this year against three high-quality opponents.

The Déise performed well too, beating Tipperary and giving both Galway and Cork a decent run for their money.

“We'll probably be trying to reach a level of intensity that we haven't experienced yet this year when we play Waterford,” admits Murphy.

“That's definitely a strange aspect to the structure of this year's championship and we're aware that we have to up it another level going into next weekend because they've been competing at a very intense level for the past couple of weeks.

“We're conscious as well that we've maybe had a couple of more matches than they have, though we were lucky last weekend to have the opportunity to rest a couple of girls against Wexford and allow any niggles or knocks to clear up.

“I think the first 10 minutes will be helter-skelter. Everyone will be just trying to find their feet and get on the ball and settle into the game.

“Especially in Croke Park when the nerves are going to be the way they are, and especially for the younger girls, you want to just get on the ball early and settle into it.

“Waterford have been building for the last number of years and have really pushed on so much. It's exciting to be able to test ourselves against one of the top teams in the country.”

Murphy is at the point now in her career where she wants to squeeze every last drop out of it and savour the taste.

The 29-year-old knows there might not be too many more opportunities to play in matches of this consequence in Croke Park, and she’s determined to embrace them all with open arms.

“Your perspective definitely does change over time in terms of how you look at yourself,” she says.

“As you get a little bit older things have to change in terms of your preparation and recovery and how you prioritise them.

“You also maybe realise how short your career actually is and how every day you go out is an opportunity.

“Saturday is one of those opportunities to get to play in Croke Park. They're really special days and they don't come around all that often. You realise how privileged you are to be in this position.

“I look back on some of the days I have had with Kilkenny and I think, God, I wish I had paid more attention to the honour that it was to be wearing the jersey. So now you're just trying to make sure that every day you go out you're doing yourself justice and you're doing your team justice.

“An awful lot goes into it and you want to make sure that you can look back on those days with fond memories.”

Saturday, July 4

Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie quarter-final

Kilkenny v Waterford, Croke Park, 1pm (RTE)