Croke Park has been very gender neutral through the business end of the GAA season with six big Sundays in a row divided equally between Men’s and Women’s semi finals and Finals.
This Sunday it is the turn of Camogie to take over the stadium and the surrounding area with the staging of the Liberty Insurance All Ireland Camogie Finals Day.
There will be new names on each of this year’s All-Ireland trophies in what has been a thrilling season that has seen new teams emerge across all three grades.
Fans are being urged to play their part as the Camogie Association aims for an attendance of over 25,000 this year.
The attendance at this year’s Semi Finals was up this year and the TV audience for the thriller between Cork and Galway hit a peak of over 118,000.
Galway came out on top by a single point and will now face Kilkenny in the senior final. The sides will be meeting for the third time this year with one win apiece so far – Galway claiming the National League Division 1 title when the sides met in Croke Park in March.
The Cats won when the sides met on the opening weekend of this year’s Championship and will hope to avenge back-to-back Final defeats to claim a 14th O’Duffy Cup. Galway are looking for their first Senior title since 2013 and their third overall.
Galway will also contest the Intermediate Final which could set up the first part of an Intermediate-Senior double for the Tribeswomen which they also achieved in 2013. They face a Westmeath side aiming for their first Intermediate crown with the added incentive of promotion to the Senior ranks in 2019 should they win.
Many of this Westmeath side were part of the Premier Junior side which tasted All-Ireland glory in Croke Park in 2017.
The Premier Junior Final meanwhile is an all-Munster affair which sees Kerry looking to avenge their 2018 All-Ireland Final defeat to Dublin as they continue to search for their first Premier Junior title. Their opponents Limerick are hoping to claim their first Premier Junior title since 1995.
“It’s been a thrilling Championship so far with a changing of the guard across all three grades,” said Camogie Association President Kathleen Woods.
“We are in store for a thrilling day on Sunday with each side hoping to end the day by climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand.”
“This is the biggest day of the Camogie calendar and the pinnacle of any player’s career. I urge all Camogie members, fans of Gaelic Games and of women’s sport to join in on the experience and to ‘Go Together’ to our Finals by bringing friends, family and new supporters with them.”
“We are aiming to break the 25,000 mark for this year’s attendance, and I can guarantee that anyone attending will not be disappointed in what is always an amazing occasion.”
Tickets are on sale for Sunday’s triple-header, with pre-purchase discounts for adults, children, families, Senior Citizens and students as well as fantastic group offers available. Full ticketing information is available here.
“Liberty Insurance has been a proud sponsor of the All-Ireland Camogie Championships since 2014,” added Ann Marie Collins of Liberty.
“Camogie is in a very healthy place right now. The underage and senior game is thriving at both club and intercounty level and we continue to see a year-on-year growth in attendances on All-Ireland Finals day. We expect this year’s Finals to be no different.”
“As we begin the countdown to the 2019 All-Ireland Championship finals, we encourage all supporters to come along to Croke Park to sample the atmosphere, support their county and lend their voice to what will no doubt prove an electrifying exhibition of Camogie.”
In another landmark all three Finals will be broadcast live on RTÉ 2 as they broadcast the Premier Junior Final live for the first very time. Coverage will begin at 11.50am on the day and all three matches will also available live online worldwide via the RTÉ Player International.
On Monday, September 9th Sport for Business and Liberty Insurance will commence the naming of 50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport for the seventh successive year. This will herald the start of a series of features building up to the Annual Sport for Business Women in Sport Conference taking place at the studios of RTÉ on Wednesday, November 13th.
Image Credits: Ryan Byrne, Inpho.ie
