Mallon on a mission

By Éanna O'Reilly

Since joining the Galway senior camogie panel at the beginning of 2024, Niamh Mallon has had a rollercoaster ride in a maroon jersey. The Portaferry native has added huge quality to the Maroons’ forward line and will undoubtedly be one of their key players in Croke Park in tomorrow’s Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie final against Cork (5.15pm, live on RTÉ2).

Ahead of the clash with the champions, Mallon is eagerly anticipating the opportunity of being involved in camogie’s biggest occasion for the second year in a row.

"We’re really looking forward to it,” she says. “It’s been a long 12 months since we were in this position. An awful lot of work has gone in from everyone on and off the field. We can’t wait to just get out on the pitch at this stage.

“I definitely feel like we’re in a really good place as a group. We’ve been able to build as we’ve gone through the championship. We managed to go straight through to a semi-final, and we put in a really good performance (against Tipperary) that day. I think that performance has put us in a really good place coming into Sunday now.”

Mallon feels that Galway’s championship run has allowed the team to gel and that the Tribeswomen have played with more cohesion as the season has progressed.

“In our last two games in particular, I think we’ve come on a lot. We were playing against two very strong teams in Waterford and Tipp. The Waterford game was a straight shootout for a semi-final, and we played really well that day in bad conditions. Then we had the Tipp game, and I think that was our best performance of the year to be honest. It’s definitely given us a confidence boost as a team.”

When an opportunity arose seven years ago to work in Orreco, a sports technology company based in Galway city, Mallon made the move west, where she has since settled full time.

“I came to Galway in the summer of 2018; I started working for Orreco in Galway city and I’ve been here since. During Covid, I moved back home (to Portaferry) and was working from home, but after that I came back down to Galway again. Work is always busy, but its good.”

She continued to make the long commute north to represent her native Down, for whom she was a star player for 13 years. They won the All-Ireland intermediate championship in 2020 and Mallon maintained her spectacular scoring rate as the Mourne outfit maintained their senior status over the next few years.

At the beginning of 2024, however, with the long return trips for training and matches having taken their toll, she decided to link up with Cathal Murray’s Galway squad. Mallon has thoroughly enjoyed the experience and is a key member of the side.

“I’m very grateful to everybody for welcoming me in with open arms to be honest. I’m very fortunate that people have been so welcoming to me here, and I definitely don’t take that for granted. I’ve enjoyed this year even more than last year, I think I’m more settled here now and more familiar with everything.”

The success of her move to Galway was underlined when she was awarded her first All Star at the end of last season. From a team point of view, however, the year ended on a disappointing note, as the Tribeswomen were edged out by Cork in the All-Ireland final. Twelve months on, they face the same opponents in the O’Duffy Cup decider, and Cork are as formidable as ever, chasing a third title on the trot and having beaten Galway by 11 points in the Very League Division 1A final in April.

“They are a serious side, nobody’s doubting that. But we’ll take a lot of learnings from last year’s final, and the League final. Hopefully, we’ll be able to right a few wrongs. But look, we’re under no illusions about the task that’s in front of us.

“We have a bit of extra more motivation after the League final, and we’ve done a huge block of work since then. We’re definitely in a better place as a squad heading into Sunday now. A lot of players have had more game time since then and really stepped up. (The League final) was a big learning curve, but we feel we can use those learnings going into Sunday.”

Mallon was given in a new role in 2025, lining out in the half-forward line, a tactic first utilised in last year’s final. While the position is a relatively new one, she has enjoyed the switch and the opportunity to be more involved in play.

“It’s definitely something different, and it’s taken some getting used to. I haven’t played much in the half-forward line during my career, I’ve played nearly all of it inside. So, yeah, it’s different, in some ways you’re more involved, you get your hands on the ball that bit more. There’s a bit more work involved in some ways too, but that’s just part of it. I’m really enjoying playing there.”

As well as working with Orreco, Mallon is part of the Galway senior football set-up, where has operated as team nutritionist for the last two seasons. She is very happy to be a part of Pádraic Joyce’s backroom team and is learning a lot from the role.

“It’s been really enjoyable. I’ve definitely learned a lot from the experience. It’s been challenging in ways; ultimately, it’s a high-performance environment. They demand the best in everything and you’re just trying to add some value to it. You’re always trying to add something that might give the lads an extra couple of percent on the day of a game.”

It has certainly been a big 12 months in Niamh Mallon’s life. Getting married to her partner, Cushendall hurler Dominic Delargy in a gap week in the middle of the League, winning her first All Star, and playing in her first All-Ireland senior final. There could hardly be a better way to cap it all off than to lift the O’Duffy Cup at Croke Park this weekend at the second time of asking.

“It’s been a whirlwind couple of years, and to get over the line on Sunday would be absolutely massive. But look, it's massive for everyone; the players and management and everyone involved in the group. I think a lot of the girls have matured in the last 12 months, and hopefully we can finish it off now.”