Meath celebrate Camogie anniversary in style

TOM GANNON

There was a fantastic atmosphere at Pairc Tailteann on Wednesday last to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Camogie Association.

Celebrations were held up and down the country to commemorate the occasion, however, the event organised by Meath Camogie was particularly special because of the significance of the venue.

It is reported that the first game of “Ladies Hurling” was played on the Hill of Tara in 1898. However, in 1904, the Navan branch of the Gaelic League organised the first-ever official game of Camogie at Pairc Tailteann. The match itself was contested by two Dublin clubs, Keatings and Cuchullains with Keatings coming out on top in the contest by 1-0 to 0-0.

120 years on from that day, Meath Camogie organised a fantastic day to commemorate that match along with the formation of the association.

Throughout the day various clubs from all over Leinster competed in a blitz. This was followed by a celebration parade which saw the Cortown 1972 team, the 2024 Navan O’Mahonys u15 Feile winning side, winners from the ‘Design a Flag’ competition, along with representatives from various camogie clubs in Meath presented to the buzzing crowd.

Then it was the turn of various Meath camogie stars, present and past, to take to the field for the Commemorative game. Played in great spirit, John Davis’s ‘Green Team’ came out on top in the contest. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 1965 Leinster Junior winning Meath team to the crowd at half-time of the exhibition match.

Meath Camogie’s Orla Crocock spoke of the importance of the event in the sport's history.

“It’s a very special day here at Pairc Tailteann. You can't mention history in Camogie without referencing Navan where the first game was played. It has put us on the map within the history of Camogie,” said Crocock.

“I spoke to one of the members of the 1965 team earlier. We sat out in the dugout and she was watching some of the young teams playing. She said she would give anything to be back out there playing. It was something that she was so passionate about."

Crocock also wanted to recognise the achievement of the Navan O’Mahonys u-15 Feile winning side along with the dedication the girls playing in the exhibition game have given to Meath Camogie over the years.

“The achievement of the Navan O’Mahonys Feile team was fantastic, they made their own bit of history and it is fantastic that they made it in the 120th anniversary of the sport. The girls that played in the commemorative match tonight have given so much to Meath Camogie. There was a mixture out there of girls between past and present players.”

Dolores Donohoe was a member of the 1965 Meath side that was recognised during proceedings. The Kilmessan woman was delighted to catch up with her old team mates and reminisce about times gone by.

“It is great to see everyone again. We wouldn’t have seen each other for a long time. It's great to see all the different clubs being represented here today. I think there was only 10 clubs when the Meath County Board was formed. We had some great battles over the years with the clubs. Ourselves (Kilmessan), Dunboyne and Boardsmill had some fantastic battles over the years.”

Speaking about the 1965 win, Dolores remembers that she was unfortunate to miss some of the post-match celebrations.

“The year before in 1964, Kildare beat us. I remember being brought in for a meal after and the cup was there and we hadn’t got it. So we were playing Kildare in the final in '65. We won by two goals to one.

I got a bang in the head towards the end and had to be brought off to be stitched up. While that was taking place all the pictures were taking place with the cup. So I missed all the craic there.”