Monaghan camogie are set to field at senior level for the first time in 15 years. Shaun Casey finds out more.

THE last time Monaghan fielded a camogie side at senior level, they won back-to-back All-Ireland titles, but this season will be the first time since then that the Farney County will be represented at the top level.

It’s been a long 15 years, but the groundwork has been done at underage level and now is the time to bring everything together and build from the bottom.

Saturday, 21 February will be a proud day for all involved when Monaghan line out for their first Division 3B league clash against Donegal while games against Louth and Mayo aren’t too far away either.

Dympna Hughes, who has been county chairperson for the last three years, was in England the last time Monaghan had a senior team but is relieved to play her part, alongside secretary Mary Murphy, in getting things up and running once again.

“I played camogie all my life and got involved with Castleblayney and we had nothing in Castleblayney when we were growing up, we only had camogie,” she explained “There were 32 pubs in Blayney at the time so, as my mother said, camogie kept me out of trouble!

“To see the u-14s coming through the last few years, it’s great to have a senior team now because it’s so important for the girls to have something to work for.

“Croke Park have been very helpful, we’re obviously one of the smaller counties and we’re not known for camogie, but we couldn’t have done it without Croke Park.

“It’s easy for us to say we’ll do it but getting the girls on board, getting the managers, it’s not just one thing but once we got the go ahead, then it was about getting the management team in place.”

That’s where Darragh Madden and Freddie Williams enter the conversation.

The pair had previously worked together at Laragh camogie club in Cavan and were hesitant about stepping up to inter-county level but have enjoyed the journey so far.

“Me and Darragh would have hurled together with the Cavan hurlers and the Pearse Óg hurling club so we would have got to know each other through that, and Laragh was our first job together,” Williams said.

Madden added: “Gavin Dooley contacted me one day, he does a lot of the underage coaching in Monaghan and asked me to take the job and I said no firstly. I had a think about and rang Freddie, and we were excited to take on the challenge.

“We’re starting from the ground up and Gavin Dooley has done great work, they’ve entered an u-16 team now for the first time in a couple of years. We know there’s good players there and we initial got 24 names, but we’ve added to that.

“We found girls that are playing (club camogie) in Armagh and Cavan who are from Monaghan and we got them in, so we have a nice panel there now and the girls are really buying into everything, they’re working hard and they’re really enjoying it.”

Eileen Cullen, the joint-captain of the team along with the experienced Marie Greenan, is one of those girls. Originally from Castleblayney, Cullen is currently playing club camogie in Armagh with Culloville but is delighted to be involved.

“I think that having a senior team this year, it gives young girls something to aspire to,” she said. “It’s not nice playing in a county where club level is the highest you’re going to get.

“I would have played underage with Monaghan, we had a minor team the last time I played at county level and then when I went off to college, that’s where we started to see the gap in the county senior team.

“I’m very excited and you can sense that at training, there is a good work rate, and we have a good panel there so everyone will be competing hard to get their spot. There’s a good buzz with the panel.”

While there’s a great group of talented underage players coming though, Madden and Williams can call on some older heads to lead the way as well. Greenan, Mary Meehan and Michelle Morgan all played the last time Monaghan fielded at senior level.

“Because the team hadn’t fielded in so long, it’s a chance to come in and build it up again and set the standard, set the culture. The last time Monaghan fielded, they won the championship in 2010 and 2011, and we still have a few players from that,” Williams continued.

“You have the likes of Mary Meehan (an All-Ireland winner with Armagh in 2020), Michelle Morgan, Marie Greenan, so there’s a good core of that group still there and a few younger players to bring into it so there’s a makings of a strong panel there.

“The physical side of things, we really need to focus on that and the confidence and belief side of it is a massive thing as well and so far, so good.

“We’re very happy with how the girls are going, their attitude and work rate has been great.”

On the older girls, Hughes added: “When you can hear those three voices at training, it’s great for the younger girls to listen to their experiences and the guidance. It’s lovely to hear those three voices at training and that’s what really stands out.”

The panel has been gathered, the training has been intense, now it’s about translating everything onto the pitch. That Donegal game is just around the corner, and the management team insist that Monaghan aren’t just there to make up the numbers.

“We’re very much looking forward to it because we don’t actually know where we are until we play a game,” Williams suggested. “We’ve Keady lined up for a challenge game on Friday so that’ll give us out first test out on the pitch.

“We’re really, really looking forward to it. It’s all about games, you can train all you want but games is where it’s at and everybody is excited to see the Monaghan girls take the pitch again.

“We were very clear to the girls at the start of the year; we’re not going to these matches to just fulfil a fixture and have the team back up and running again. We’re aiming to be super competitive, that’s number one.”

Madden echoed those thoughts: “They want to play and they want to prove themselves. There’s going to be places to fight for and we’ve had eight sessions now and it’s been very good.

“We’ve pushed them and we’re pushing them very hard. For a lot of the girls maybe it’s a bit of a culture shock but I’ve been very happy with it and when they get out on the
field and play, they’re just going to grow.

“We don’t want to just take part, we’re here to win and I sense that belief growing all the time. The more games we play, the girls will realise that we’re not one millions miles away from the teams we’re going to be playing.

“Donegal, Louth and Mayo, they’re all in the same boat. They haven’t played a lot of senior inter-county in the last couple of years so we’re not that far away. We know we have the players and we’re developing players too.

“Some of the girls mightn’t have had a lot of camogie over the past couple of years but they’re all coming on and there’s a lot of potential there so that’s a good sign.”