New Connemara camogie club overcoming its geographical isolation

THERE has always been a great love of hurling in Connemara, but, quite often, its geography – particularly, in the deeper areas, where the distances required to travel to compete is far greater – has often been an impediment in the development of clubs and teams.

In recent times, hurling clubs like Moycullen, An Spidéal, Micheál Breathnach and Barna/Furbo have represented the West with great distinction while, in camogie circles, Cois Fharraige and Moycullen have also proudly flown the flag.

Yet, despite the vast distances those teams have to travel to play, they are still shorter than those that Galway’s newest camogie club, Atlantic, must make. Set up in 2018, Atlantic Camogie Club is based in Clifden, with a number of its players also hailing from other outposts such as Ballyconneely, Carna and Letterfrack.

Club Chairman Kevin Barry says not having other camogie clubs within an easy drive limits the opportunities available to their players, who, like any youngsters, relish the challenge of playing against other clubs.

“That’s what they love,” he states. “It is great training, but they don’t want to be playing against one another all the time. They love pulling on the jersey and playing alongside their pals. The handiest thing is if you have another club to play nearby, but for us to play another club, the day is gone.

“Whereas, if you take somewhere like Clarinbridge or Abbeyknockmoy, where there is another club or pitch every two miles, it is so handy for them to play other teams. We are really envious of that. We’d love to see another club somewhere within 10 miles of us; that would be so helpful to us.”

Yet, what Atlantic Camogie Club, which boasts teams from U12 to minor,  has shown in its infancy is a hunger to succeed. Barry believes the reason for this is down to the young players themselves. It was they – rather than adults – who pushed for a new camogie club in Clifden and its surrounds.

“The girls rang up and said, ‘would you do camogie?’ We held a meeting in the GAA club to see who was interested and 25 of them turned up. We were quite astonished. They were all ages,” recalls Barry, who previously coached young hurlers in Clifden for a brief period.

“Now, not all the 25 stuck – two or three didn’t – but then another five or six joined. That was literally how it started.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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