Crusheen present double trouble for Parteen-Meelick

Junior A Camogie Championship Cup Final
Crusheen v Parteen-Meelick at Fr McNamara Park Ennis, Saturday at 4pm (Kevin Walsh, Wolfe Tones)

Momentum is the clear driving force as heavyweights Crusheen and Parteen-Meelick finally meet in earnest to decide the Junior A Camogie Championship honours.
I say finally as they were forced into a dress rehearsal final group decider a fortnight ago but as expected it was merely a shadow-boxing exercise especially on the red half of the divide as Parteen-Meelick eased to a 9-27 to 0-07 win.
Don’t expect the same in Fr. McNamara Park on Saturday afternoon as Crusheen, off the back of their commanding Junior A Ladies Football Final triumph over Cúil Gaels last Sunday will be determined to achieve a historic double.
Parteen-Meelick were pencilled in for a ladies football final too last Saturday but being a Junior B Shield Final, they opted to put their full focus on this prestigious decider.
There’s no shortage of camogie final experience in either trench as having resurrected their adult camogie wing in 2022, an immediate Junior B title was followed by a Junior A Shield twelve months ago.
Parteen-Meelick’s trajectory has been more gradual, having been forced to pay their dues at Junior B level as it took four final appearances including a 2022 reverse to Crusheen, before relievedly getting over the line against Wolfe Tones last October.
It’s still been a meteoric rise that shows no signs of stopping either as despite being their first taste of Junior A action, they are the only side with a perfect record thus far in the campaign, having already exacted revenge for their previous Junior B Final reverses against Scariff-Ogonnelloe and Truagh-Clonlara.
Completing the hat-trick will be far from straight-forward though as despite the Clare Junior experience of Aisling Cooney and Maeve Millea, Crusheen also have strong inter-county junior representation with Mary Hanrahan and Maeve Stankard.
In terms of overall balance however, Crusheen seemed to have the slight edge on experience and with the soaring confidence of last weekend’s ladies football winning exploits still coursing through their veins, they will be difficult to stop.
Verdict: Crusheen

Family focus foremost in Parteen-Meelick’s rise

‘Club is family’ is an old GAA slogan that springs immediately to mind when looking at Parteen-Meelick’s historic Junior A path to the final this year.
After all, four of the management team have daughters playing on the panel, with Niamh Cooney being All-Ireland Premier Junior winner Aisling’s mother, Ken Kinsella’s daughter Molly is also part of the team while Caroline O’Driscoll is the mother of Lauren.
The biggest familial connection however are sisters Aoife and Maeve Millea whose father Tom plays an integral part in motivating the side, according to captain Aoife.
“The family connections mean a lot. Even in my own home with my dad and sister also involved with the team, the support is crazy.
“We are all used to it by now but I suppose to have so many of the management team having daughters playing is extra special. It has definitely brought an extra determination to our set-up as the motivation in training is insane especially as the mentors and coaches are our parents.”
It’s all down to the players in Fr. McNamara Park on Saturday though as only those that cross the white lines can influence matters on the scoreboard.
However, while it has taken Parteen-Meelick a while to get to Junior A, they are eager to make it a short stint as they possess lofty aspirations for their burgeoning club that also has a second team competing at Junior C level.
“There’s really high hopes for the club after building over the past few years. We’ve put in the hard work and time so we’re hoping that it all pays off for us, starting on Saturday evening.
“To be honest, we went into every game this year with our heads held high. We won the Junior B last year so we made the step up to Junior A with a strong attitude and thankfully it has worked out in our favour so far and hopefully that can continue this weekend.
“We are extremely thankful to the support who have been excellent over the past few years so we hope to give them something to shout about on Sunday.
“Winning would mean moving up to Intermediate but while that would definitely be a challenge and a massive step up especially as we were only in Junior B last year, I think the fact that we’ve hit the ground running at Junior A says enough about our ambition and drive to better ourselves and keep progressing.
“Look, this is a very hard-working group so I feel that we’re more than capable of moving up the grades just as we did this year but our full concentration is on Crusheen as we know how good they are and we also know that we will have to be firing on all cylinders to come out on top.”

No let up as Crusheen are determined to maintain successful resurgence

Making up for lost time is a burning ambition for Crusheen’s more experienced players as they bid to garner their third successive title since their reintroduction to adult camogie level in 2022.
Having finished at intermediate level in 2013, two years after capturing their sole Junior A crown, the wheel would fitting turn full circle on Saturday evening if they were able to reclaim their status in the second tier according to joint-captain Sinead Mullins.
“Until 2022 we hadn’t had an adult team in Crusheen in almost ten years. 2013 was the last time that we had a flagship side and unfortunately with girls having other commitments and emigrating etc, there wasn’t enough to field a team.
“So any remaining players had to play elsewhere. Some played with Killanena, some with Ruan or Corofin which was a great experience but of course you want to play for your own club so the goal was always to have an adult team back in Crusheen again.
“Now we didn’t rush into anything as it had to be a strong team to meet the demands of the younger girls growing up who were playing at a very high standard of camogie.
“So it all came together in 2022 and we were lucky to recruit a few girls that had played on the last adult team nine years earlier like Jacinta O’Grady, Anne-Marie McMahon, Aislinn Dillon and Carina Roseingrave who is now a mentor with us.
“Having four players with such experience really, really drove the team on and in that first season, we were lucky enough to win the Division 5 League along with the Junior B County Final and since then we have kept progressing, winning the Junior A Shield Final last year as well as the Division 4 League.
“So here we are now preparing for a Junior A Cup Final and we’re really looking forward to it. We may have a very young team but even within that we have a lot of girls who have represented the county at Under 16 and Minor in the past few years along with other girls like myself gaining experience with other adult teams in the county, all of which has provided the foundations to get to this final.
“The goal is to keep driving it on now and hopefully keep moving through the levels as the ultimate objective has to be to compete at senior level.”
First things first though as while it had been a series of high for Mullins and Co., Crusheen are also wary of a Parteen-Meelick side that are equally ambitious and gunning for intermediate camogie in 2025.
“Up along we didn’t know what to expect so every step has been one into the unknown really. We’ve had a relatively laid back approach to it but also a very dedicated and focused one come match-day as we have now build up a lot of confidence and understanding playing on the field together.
“I have no doubt that we will leave everything on the field on Saturday. We don’t want to have any regrets of what might have been.
“So while I’m sure there are some nerves on the team, there’s just as much excitement and motivation as we’re fully aware of where we’ve come from and equally where we want to get to.
“Saturday is where we’re only focused on though as we will need a big performance if we are to get over the line.”