Low-key O'Brien an ace in the Déise pack
Ask your general camogie supporter to name Waterford players and names will trip off the tongue.
Beth Carton, Niamh Rockett, Lorraine Bray, Brianna O'Regan. High calibre operators, the first three All-Stars, the latter an annual nominee somehow still awaiting the coveted individual recognition.
It is no reflection on Mairéad O'Brien's talent or influence that she seems to fly under the radar. Nor does it bother her one iota. It takes a lot more to knock the laidback Modeligo sharpshooter out of her equilibrium.
The 22-year-old's feat of concluding the National League as the leading scorer from play in Division 1A with 3-4 escaped the attention of many. Given Waterford only won two games, it was a notable achievement.
It is particularly so when O'Brien is such a team player, powerful in the air and over the sliotar, happy to get down and dirty to supply those around her. But the nose for a goal has been showcased ever since Derek Lyons called her into the senior panel.
Despite her youth, she nabbed three goals in the group stages alone as Waterford moved onto a first All-Ireland senior final in 78 years in 2023. That knack has continued unabated.
Today, the Suirsiders get their Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship Group 2 campaign under way against neighbours Kilkenny, who already have a win under their belt, at UPMC Nowlan Park (12.30pm) and O'Brien cannot wait.
She hit the Cats for a brace of goals on the way to defeat in the League in March, so Tommy Shefflin and co will be forewarned about her threat. Even if they weren't, the likes of Caoimhe Keher Murtagh would inform them. Keher Murtagh was a colleague of O'Brien's as UL retained the Ashbourne Cup and both were named in the third level team of the year.
It has been a period of upheaval for Waterford since the conclusion of the League, with manager Jerry Wallace departing and Mick Boland stepping in.
There was the entire skorts discourse, with Waterford playing a brave and central role in the campaign that included the postponement of their Munster final with Cork and ultimately led to the alteration of the rule.
"We were definitely delighted," says O'Brien. "We got the news at training, and we were just about to do our running block. I swear we've never run so fast all year!
'It is a massive step. There was an issue with comfort levels but the players was listened to, and the results were pretty significant. And any step forward for keeping younger girls involved is great.
'It was frustrating to have the Munster final postponed 16 hours before when all the preparations had been made to optimise our performance. We had been training well and had a good win over Tipp to get there.
'There was a change (of manager), but all the rest of the management are still on board. And suppose as a group, we're just driving it forward and just focusing on the championship now. And I think the management team we have currently is phenomenal.
"The commitment they've shown is as much as the girls'. We're all just kind of working together and pushing forward as a group and trying to get the best out of each other.'
A former dual operator, O'Brien stepped away from Waterford's ladies football squad this year as she was completing her final year at UL in physio. She is looking forward to getting the professional phase of her life under way, perhaps in the autumn.
Everything right now is zoned in on Waterford camogie and this date with the Stripeywomen.
'They beat us in the League but we would be looking to improve our performance from then. We got off to a good start but in the second half we didn't maintain it. I don't think we've ever actually beaten them in championship so hopefully we will put that right this time.
'We've got quite a competitive group (completed by Galway, Dublin and so it's definitely going to be a challenge to get out of it, but at the end of the day, it's a challenge we're looking forward to as well.'
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RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
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Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Armagh give wasteful Dublin a hard lesson in the new world order
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From the moment Rian O'Neill dropped a two-pointer over the bar at the start of the second half to push the margin to six, Dublin never got closer than five and the margin extended to eight at one stage. READ MORE The result was enough to guarantee top spot in Group 4 with a match to go. Their last match in the group comes against Galway , who they beat in last year's All-Ireland final. McGeeney pointed to Dublin's profligacy as a concern for him, as more accurate finishing on their part might have changed the complexion of the game. Dublin manager Dessie Farrell sighed when asked about his team's extravagant rate of wides - 18 plus four dropped short. Farrell said: 'I think in the first quarter we were quite clinical, but then lost our way for some reason and we never really regained our composure. [We] struggled to get momentum, outside of a period in the second half where we got at the Armagh kickout. 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Rory Grugan, who had an excellent match, kicked a two-pointer, Conaty, O'Neill and Conor Turbitt also got in on the act and they finished the half strongly to lead by four at the break, 0-13 to 0-9. Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney (left) shakes hands with Dublin counterpart Dessie Farrell after the game. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Already, it looked a steep climb for Dublin, particularly given their inaccuracies. Farrell's men did little to help themselves. The second half was marked by three breaches of the 4v3 rule, which handed an already superior Armagh the equivalent of a goal. 'It just shouldn't be happening,' said Farrell. 'Whether they're marginal calls or not, we shouldn't be putting ourselves in that position.' He added a different technical breach, after a mark, had cost them a further two points. Armagh were superior in how they stitched together moves and above all, in how they finished them. 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[ The Schemozzle: Tiered hurling system sending ill-prepared counties round in circles Opens in new window ] [ Monaghan turn seven-point deficit around to beat Clare in Clones Opens in new window ] McGeeney reflected on the recovery from losing a third successive Ulster final and suggested that as All-Ireland holders, their priorities may have been re-ordered. 'Was it easier than last year? It depends. The provincial titles for me meant a lot when I was playing. They were hard coming, they were the big things. I think things have changed. I do think people are pushing for the big one. When you get it, you're looking for another one. 'I know all the players wanted to win that [Ulster] final when we were there. They still want to win one, but they still know that in sport it's always about the big prize. That's what you're pushing for the whole time.' Farrell's views carried a more bleak tone. 'We were chasing them and that becomes too hard,' he said. 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Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Final games of SFC round-robin format will be more fun than a piñata at a children's party
It's time to mention the J word. No, not Jimmy's winning matches again. Or Joyce's Galway salvaging a draw from the clutches of championship elimination. Or Jarly Óg kicking points against the Dubs in Croker. No, the J word. Jeopardy. You wanted it, you got it. The final round of games in what is to be the last iteration of this All-Ireland senior football championship round-robin format will be stuffed with as much excitement as a piñata at a kids' birthday party. READ MORE The permutations and possibilities at play for the round-three matches in two weeks are a number-cruncher's fantasy – for peril awaits behind the gates of all the neutral venues that will host these fixtures. Armagh , the 2024 All-Ireland champions, are safe. Kerry , the 2025 All-Ireland favourites, are also safe. Monaghan , Down and Meath are also assured of a place in the knock-out stages. For the remaining 11 teams, a plethora of outcomes remain on the table. Mostly, though, the dice will be rolled for progression or elimination. This format in which three teams from each group progress has generated justifiable criticism, but there is no denying the shake-out leaves so much up for grabs in the last round of games. Group one is as tight as a sailor's knot. All four teams – Donegal , Mayo , Tyrone , Cavan – are tied on two points. In the final round of matches Donegal will play Mayo while Tyrone face Cavan. 'It's a huge game, absolutely huge,' Jim McGuinness, the Donegal manager, said when asked about the prospect of facing a previously dead but now resurrected Mayo side. That 'huge game' won't be an outlier. There will be knock-out football taking place all across the four groups in a fortnight. Take this season's group of death, group four. Galway , last year's beaten All-Ireland finalists, were on Sunday within seconds of becoming the only team with nothing left to play for in the competition. Had they succumbed to Derry at Celtic Park, coupled with Armagh's victory over Dublin , the Connacht champions would have been cut adrift from finishing in the top three. With Derry and Dublin playing in the final round of games, even a Galway victory over Armagh wouldn't have been enough to overtake Derry or the Dubs because of their head-to-head record. But Matthew Tierney's late goal has kept them alive, for now. Derry did subsequently get back down the field where Conor Doherty kicked an equaliser, but having hung over the cliff edge for so long in Derry, Galway were relieved to accept the salvation of a draw. Derry's Diarmuid Baker and Galway's Robert Finnerty at Celtic Park on Sunday. Photograph: Lorcan Doherty/INPHO 'Gladly take a point there the way we played in the game, to be honest,' Galway manager Pádraic Joyce said afterwards. 'Fair play to Derry, we knew they were going to bring a big fight and they did, they were really good. 'And I'm delighted to get out with a point because if we didn't get a point we'd be out of the championship, so at least we have something to play for in the last game. 'We're in the toughest group in it, there's no doubt about that. If we're not good enough to come out of the group we're not good enough to go on and do whatever we want to do in our own heads.' With Armagh (four points) already qualified, one wonders does manager Kieran McGeeney now rotate his squad? The game might be a repeat of last year's All-Ireland final, but it's a match for which the stakes are much greater for Galway than they are for Armagh. Galway have just one point after two games. And what now of the Dubs (2pts)? Derry (1pt) have shown signs of life again during this round-robin series. For both teams, everything is on the line in two weeks. 'That's the challenge for us now,' Dubs manager Dessie Farrell said. 'We're into knock-out football at this stage and that was always coming, maybe two weeks earlier than we would have liked. 'But that possibility was always there, so we're in it now and we just need to put the best foot forward and embrace the challenge.' As for group two, Kerry (4pts) will play Meath (3pts) in their final match while Roscommon (1pt) and Cork (zero points) will fight it out to see who joins them in the knock-out stages. In group three, Down (4pts) and Monaghan (4pts) will face off in a straight shoot-out for top spot. The carrot for the four table-toppers is direct advancement to the All-Ireland quarter-final stages, which comes with the added prize of a week's break after the round-three matches. The second and third-placed teams will play a preliminary quarter-final that weekend – meaning the successful sides there must deliver three weeks on the trot. At the other end of group two, Louth (zero points) and Clare (zero points) will contest an elimination match – winner stays on, loser goes home. Cavan suffered the heaviest defeat of any team over the weekend, a 19-point hammering, yet because of their surprise victory over Mayo two weeks ago they too remain standing 'Look, we live another day,' Cavan manager Raymond Galligan said. 'We have two weeks to get ourselves prepared. And, you know, so much is still possible.' Isn't that the truth.
