Rebels rise once more

It was a mixed month for Cork camogie, as the senior camogie panel struck late to claim the 2017 Liberty Insurance All Ireland Senior Camogie title at Croke Park earlier this month, while the intermediates will have to do it all over again.In what was another rolling victory for the conveyer belt of talent on Leeside, Cork Ladies camogie leapfrogged Dublin with their 27 Liberty Insurance All Ireland Senior Camogie Championship titles. At the death Cork snatched the title back from the Black Cats as Gemma O’Connor equalised for the Rebelettes, while Julia White pounced late on to send Cork into euphoria deep into added time. By a single point Cork beat old rivals Kilkenny 0-10 to 0-9.This was an extra sweet victory for White; as the Cork captain overcame a tumultuous two years which kept her weighed on the sidelines with an Achilles tendon injury. It was an extra special victory for University College Cork, as Cork’s premier institution bore fifteen names on the team sheet at Croke Park. Leading the list are Quercus Scholarship students Amy O’Connor and Hannah Looney. Included on the list are Orla Cronin, Meabh Cahalane, Katrina and Pamela Mackey, Niamh McCarthy, Chloe Sigerson, Ashling Thompson, Keeva McCarthy, Libby Coppinger, Maeve McCarthy, Haley Ryan, Lauren Callanan and Rebecca Sheehan. In management UCC have also been represented by Dr. Wesley O’Brien and Sean Cremin. Following the heart-stopping final, UCC’s Orla Cronin was named player of the match. This achievement rounded off a remarkable 2017 for O’Connor, as she already won the 2017 UCC Camogie Sports Star Award.