Cross’ camogs bidding for famous double

By Niall Gartland

WHY stop now? Crossmaglen camogs recently claimed their first Armagh Senior Championship title in 22 years with victory over standard-bearers Granemore, and now they’re bidding for success on the provincial front.

They’ll take on Tyrone representatives Eglish – another team in the same mould as Granemore – but Cross’ captain Riona McConville says there’s no shortage of belief among those donning the black and amber.

Two years ago they enjoyed provincial success at Junior ‘B’ level, a run that culminated in defeat on All-Ireland final day, and to say they’ve continued to make strides would be selling them short.

McConville said: “We were very young two years ago. I was only 21 myself. I think we’ve matured as players and we have such a good foundation in the club between ladies football and camogie.

“We’ve trained together, girls are getting stronger and there’s stiffer competition for places.

“We felt there was nothing stopping us from winning the Armagh championship – the only team that was going to beat us was ourselves, so it’s all about having that belief really.”

Granemore were strong favourite to nail down the four in-a-row but Crossmaglen had something to say about that, racing into a commanding lead and holding firm in the face of the inevitable fightback to prevail.

It was a seminal moment for the team.

“It was massive”, said Riona. “I’ve been on the senior team for about a decade and it’s what we were always aiming for.

“Initially we were junior and we’ve been up and down. Three years ago we were back down in Intermediate [in Armagh] and ended up in an All-Ireland final.

Management changes happened, and we sat down with the new set-up and said the goal was a senior championship.

“It’s been in our heads for the last number of years, and this season we pushed on and for us, there was no way we weren’t going to end up with the trophy in our hands.”

Their provincial final opponents Eglish aren’t entirely new to Crossmaglen – until this year, the Tyrone side fielded in the Armagh leagues.

Riona acknowledges it’s bonus territory of sorts, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to go out and give it absolutely everything with an Ulster title up for grabs.

“We’ve played against Eglish down the years, but I’m not sure how relevant that is as they seem to have changed quite a few players this year.

“Winning Armagh was the big goal – it was as big an achievement as we wanted.

“So yes, Ulster is bonus territory but our attitude is to just go for it and see what happens.”