AMY O’Connor can’t ever remember a losing run like it. Between March 26th and June 3rd, Cork lost four games in a row across three competitions. Challenging times for the Rebels.
There were three defeats to Galway, including the Division 1 league final and the opening group game of the All-Ireland championship, as well as a shock Munster loss to Sunday’s All-Ireland final opponents, Waterford.
The darkest hour came before the dawn of a Cork team that has since knocked out reigning All-Ireland champions Kilkenny and bogey team Galway en route to Sunday’s showdown with the Déise (5pm).
‘I don’t think we ever had that in my time with Cork camogie,’ O’Connor says. ‘This is my tenth season and we have never lost that many games in a row or even in a season.’
But Cork didn’t buckle. Instead, they pulled together.
‘We always kept the faith and we alway knew what we were trying to achieve,’ the Cork captain told this week’s Star Sport Podcast.
‘Even in those games we didn’t play too poorly at all; in the championship first-round game against Galway we were exceptional for the first 20 minutes so we knew we were on the right track.
‘The important thing was not to panic. As a group we trust our management team and they trust us as players. We didn’t want to peak in the middle of May, we want to be where we are now.’
To emerge from that period and then embark on a run that has seen Cork reel off wins against Down, Clare, Kilkenny and Galway highlights the resilience in this group. O’Connor points out, too, the injuries the Cork camp had at the time, but it all seems to be coming together at the right moment. The injuries have cleared up; just look at the subs Cork brought on in the semi-final against Galway – Cliona Healy, Laura Hayes, Orla Cronin, Ashling Thompson and Orlaith Cahalane. It feels like this jigsaw is coming together.
‘It is a building process, it hasn't happened overnight, we have been working towards this for a long time now,’ four-time All-Ireland winner O’Connor explains, ‘but there are exceptional people in the dressing-room, exceptional characters, brilliant players and all-round good people and it's nice to be part of a group like that. Everyone has that one goal.’
It’s been a journey these last few years, with Cork losing the last two All-Ireland finals, and the last two league deciders also, so to be back within touching distance of the game’s biggest prize is a nod to the character of O’Connor and Co. Leading the charge is the Knocknaheeney woman with an infectious love for the game.
‘It’s a pure and utter love for the game. I know that might sound like a cliche but I just love playing camogie. I love playing with Cork because everyone is on the same page and everyone has the same goals, and that’s what I enjoy,’ says Cork’s top-scoring forward in this championship campaign with 4-33.
Her experience is key. She has lived the build-up to an All-Ireland final seven times before so can take it all in her stride. This week feels familiar, and she’ll stick to her routine. O’Connor plans to work up to Friday evening; she is a senior project manager at Workvivo, an internal communication platform recently acquired by Zoom. On the All-Ireland final day itself she knows it inside-out, too. She’s relaxed, confident in the work and experience this Cork team has threaded together.
‘Against Galway and Kilkenny they were two very different games against two very different teams with two very different styles so it’s nice to know you have that work in the bank,’ she says. The feeling after those games was relief, two important steps that see O’Connor one win away from a fifth All-Ireland senior medal.
