This article is from page 71 of the 2007-11-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 71 JPG
BELIEF, structure and organisa- tion were the predominant threads which emerged from the “Together, Raising the Banner’ camogie forum on Saturday. Held in the conference room of the Auburn Lodge Hotel and chaired by Sponsorship and Finance manager of the Camogie Associa- tion, Sinead O’Connor, the five hour seminar was the most ambitious and Open camogie discussion ever to take place in the county and boasted a distinguished and legendary line-up from the GAA and camogie world. First to address the large attend-
ence was secretary of the Clare county board, Pat Fitzgerald who outlined the need for camogie to regularly interact and communicate with all county boards in Clare in order to ensure fixtures can be ar- ranged smoothly. The Sixmiulebri- dge man also stressed that equitable competition was needed along with a firm fixture list and that fairness was a priority when dealing with clubs across the county.
Trust, belief and honesty was Cyril Farrell’s advise to Clare camogie. Speaking openly about his past ex- periences as manager of both the Galway senior hurling team who won two All-Irelands under his leadership as well as the St Raphel’s schools camogie side who captured eight All-Ireland Senior A camogie championship titles, the current RTE pundit entertained the crowd with stories and guidance emphasising the need to find the right blend of tactics suitable for the team in order to pro- duce the best results.
Former All-Ireland winning player and manager Donal O’Grady high- lighted the importance of the role of the coach and manager in manufac- turing successful teams and advised the use of a liason officer to ease the burden placed on current managers in the modern game.
After a break, the forum then switched to the past experiences of currnet players and managers in cam- ogie and GAA. Dual Cork player and director of camogie Mary O’Connor spoke about what ingredients are
necessary to become an inter-county player while also dwelling on her background as a dual inter-county player which is particularly relevant to the current crop of Clare players. Five time All-Ireland winner Emily Hayden compared Tipperary’s rise through the ranks to Clare’s present situation while current All-Ireland winning Wexford manager Stella Sinnott spoke of Wexford’s march to the title this year after several fruit- TASS (ore Dace
Former Clare player Seanie McMa- hon drew upon his experience with the Clare senior hurling team while Catherine O’Loughlin and organiser Deirdre Murphy spoke of Clare cam- ogie’s immediate future and provided suggestions for the progression of the game in Clare.
The closing address was provided by the President of the Camogie As- sociation, Liz Howard who along with summarising the main points of the seminar, highlighted that or- ganisation and belief were key to success and reiterated Seanie McMa- hon’s statement that if the county is to move forward that everything has to take a back seat to the Clare team winning. A fitting end to an original and successful venture and more improtantly, major food for thought ahead of the Clare camogie AGM in mid December.