NEW Cork ladies football manager Joe Carroll will do everything he can to make sure the county’s dual players get the chance to shine for both the football and camogie teams this season.
Dual players at senior inter-county level are becoming a rare sight, but the talented trio of Kealkill’s Libby Coppinger, Hannah Looney and Aoife Healy are keeping the tradition alive in Cork. Recent seasons have seen the difficulties facing dual players hit the headlines after fixture clashes force the players to choose one code over the other. Just last week, dual star Aoife Healy said: ‘The fixtures are announced so far in advance it is difficult to see why they cannot be changed.
‘The fact that they're clashing is really frustrating as a dual player because it makes it feel like dual players aren't wanted.
‘If the fixtures don't facilitate them, the dual players will drop off and you can see that already.’
The good news for Cork’s current dual players is that new football boss Joe Carroll will accommodate their desire to play both codes, and will work with Cork camogie manager Ger Manley to make life easier for Coppinger, Looney and Healy.
‘If anyone wants to play dual sports, isn’t it a great thing that they can?’ Carroll told The Southern Star.
‘I’ve been speaking with camogie manager Ger Manley and we are both on the same page, that the players don’t get overloaded and don’t get overworked, and that they are fresh for the games that we need them. We will constantly talk to each other and we’ll facilitate the players.
‘I’ve had Aoife Healy before, between the Cork minors and with UCC, and I do everything to accommodate her and she knows herself too when she needs a rest; that will be paramount to this because if they are out five, six nights a week, we won’t see the best of them. We’ll support them from both sides.’
