Armagh skipper Ciara enjoying the big step up

By Niall Gartland

ARMAGH skipper Ciara Hill believes that they have acclimatised well to the demands of Division 2A camogie, even if their results haven’t necessarily shown it.

The Orchard camogs badly need a positive result against Kerry this Saturday if they’re to have a shout of staying up, having lost their three matches to date.

But their captain Ciara Hill thinks they aren’t a million miles off the pace and that they’ve done well considering some of their leading members aren’t part of the set-up this year.

“We were unfortunate not to get a win in our first three matches, the scorelines probably don’t reflect how the matches have gone. At half-time we were in all those matches.

“It’s a big step up from Division Three, we’re learning a lot. We’ve lost a few experienced players like Ciara and Leanne [Donnelly] and Jennifer O’Leary, but a lot of young girls have moved into the team and are getting game-time.”

Asked what exactly is different about playing Division Two camogie, she added: “You don’t have as much room for mistakes now. We’ve been chatting among ourselves at training and we’ve found that the physicality is a big step up too. I think we’ve performed well, we’re not a million miles away, but it’s definitely a big jump up.”

Ciara missed two years at county level having ruptured her ACL in 2022. Her first target was getting back on the field of play, and then she started back up again at club level with Granemore, with whom she won back-to-back Ulster Junior titles and last year’s All-Ireland title, also at Junior level.

“I decided to focus on the club for a while, as I didn’t want to put too much strain on my body. It was a challenging period between reconstructive surgery and rehab, and then I came back into Granemore and was lucky we had a great period of success.

“I’m happy to be back in with Armagh now and I’m privileged to be captain as well, that really took me by surprise. I’m really enjoying it and the management team are fantastic as well, I’m really enjoying the training.”

It’s a big ask to get the better of Kerry in their penultimate league clash this Saturday, but it’s probably their best opportunity of getting a win as they face table-toppers Offaly on the final day. Whatever happens, playing at this high level should set them in good stead for their All-Ireland campaign, where they still operate at Junior level.

“We’re getting used to playing alongside each other as there’s a lot of new girls. It’s a work-in-progress but we’re building on it. We want to play well in the league and then set our sights on the summer months.”