Naomh Treasa Camogs back on the national stage

NAOMH Treasa joint-captain Marian Barker is determined to make the most of a prized opportunity when they take on Wicklow side Annacurra in Saturday’s All-Ireland Junior B Club semi-final at Kinnegad.

Barker and Cara Little had the honour of holding aloft the provincial title nearly three weeks ago when the Dungannon-based side claimed a hard-fought but deserved victory over Middletown.

And now they can draw upon their previous experience of excelling on the national stage when they look ahead to Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final, having won the competition outright in the delayed 2020 final.

Barker commented: “The chance of reaching the All-Ireland final doesn’t come around too often. It’s a massive honour to play at this level, so we’re hoping to make the most of the opportunity.

“We’re keeping our heads down and working hard. We really want to get through this particular game but it won’t be easy and we need to be at our very best.”

It’s a big weekend across the board for Tyrone teams as Eglish step into an All-Ireland Intermediate semi-final while Éire Ógs, Carrickmore go in search of a first ever Bridie McMenamin title when they take on Greenlough in Sunday’s postponed final. A rising tide lifts all boats, as Barker is happy to acknowledge.

“There’s a lot of people with Tyrone and Ulster camogie, the likes of Deirdre Fitzgerald. The levels are rising all the time and some of our our girls had brilliant seasons with Tyrone.

“The promotion of the game has improved as well, we were invited to the Giant’s Causeway for a recent publicity shoot and it was great to see the likes of the Loughgiel girls who are starring at senior level, it’s really inspiring.”

Closer to home, Naomh Treasa have gone from strength to strength and they have some seriously talented performers in their ranks who have stepped up to the mark at both club and county level down the years. The hope is that their success will continue further down the line, and Barker says that a lot of time and effort is being put in at underage level from committed club people.

“We’d a really good win with our U14s, they won the Féile and they’ll build on that hopefully. The likes of Deirdre Barker, Mary McLaughlin, Dean McParland, Cormac Toner, we couldn’t do this without them. A lot of their hard work is paying off as there’s really good younger girls coming through.”

Bridie McMenamin Final rescheduled

THE Bridie McMenamin final, featuring Éire Óg Carrickmore and Greenlough, will go ahead at the second time of asking this Sunday after it was postponed last weekend due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Originally pencilled in for last Saturday, it was called off a few hours beforehand due to the effects of Storm Bert.

The rescheduled game will take place at Éire Óg’s clubgrounds and the Carrickmore side and their Derry opponents Greenlough are aiming to win their first ever Ulster Junior title.