'These girls were born to play in Croke Park'- Camross' Arien Delaney looks ahead to All-Ireland final

Camross Camogie Club secured a historic breakthrough on Sunday afternoon, sealing their first ever appearance at Croke Park on All-Ireland club final day after overcoming Galway outfit Killimor.

Manager Arien Delaney could scarcely process the moment when the final whistle sounded, describing it as surreal. He also reflected on the generations of players who helped build the club to this point, as well as those who will follow in the years ahead.

“Sure, you can't describe it. Not in my lifetime did I see Camross get to Croke Park. Well, maybe they did when I was a baby, but anyway, it's brilliant. For the Camogie girls themselves, they've never been there, it's a first, uncharted territory. To be honest with you, I'm so super, super happy for those ladies, not just those girls in that dressing room, but all the Camross ladies that have played Camogie down through the years. That have come before and that are going to come again. It's a first and it's going to be a great day, win or lose. For the club, what an occasion to look forward to. A couple of weeks’ time nearer to Christmas, and hopefully our Christmas comes early,” he said.

At half-time, only Erin Walsh’s early goal separated the sides, with precious little space between them. Delaney said his message during the interval was simply to take control of the contest, and the team responded with a blistering run of 1-4 without reply to open the second half.

“I just told them to be themselves because we were expecting a battle, and we got a battle. In fairness to Killimor, they were very, very good and very, very tough and they were tactically smart. We knew that coming in and we said we just have to battle through that. I said now, the battle is what we say, and we set the terms in the second-half. Then you really did see glimpses of the real Camross, not firing 100%, but that's a semi-final. The semi-final is there to be won, and we won, so we're happy,” Delaney admitted.

Their preparations were helped by a valuable two-week breather following their Laois championship success at the end of October, time Delaney believes made a noticeable difference in both freshness and sharpness.

“Oh, it was massive. They were able to go on the beer for two days, we’ll give them one day this time. We did a bit of recovery, and we went training. Not over and above because look there’s 23 girls. There's not a massive, big panel and we're just trying to avoid injuries just keep them ticking over. But the break was massive, you could see it in them all week. They were buzzing, you know what I mean? They were full of energy, which is great,” he added.

Some of the current squad have had the chance to play on the Croke Park turf before, while others will be stepping onto it for the first time. Either way, Delaney believes his team are well-suited to the grand stage.

“Ah these girls were born to play in Croke Park. We prepare like we always do, as best we possibly can, and we'll see what happens on the day. It is on the day, it’s 50-50, a two-horse race, obviously enough. I saw Ballincollig in the Munster final, they were exceptional. We have a big challenge ahead of us and we know that, but at the same time, we're just going to enjoy today, and we'll worry about two weeks’ time tomorrow,” Delaney commented.

A strong Camross crowd made the trip to Trim GAA for the semi-final, something Delaney deeply appreciated. Still, he voiced frustration with the venue choice, feeling it placed an unnecessary travel burden on both sets of supporters.

“That's one thing that's really driving the group is we know the support we have and how everyone's got behind us. There are people young and old, they’re wearing black and amber coming into December.

“ Just a little bugbear I have and I'm not going to let the day go without saying it. We've come up here to Trim, there's nothing wrong with Trim. It’s a fine pitch, fine grounds, everything 100%, but to take Killimor and to take Camross and put them on a bus for an hour and 40 minutes and then to ask our supporters to travel up. We'll travel to Belfast if it means to go and play a semi-final of an All-Ireland, 100%. But I'm not thinking about that, I'm thinking of our supporters. I think a bit of fairness and a bit of cop on would have been really, really more advised, shall we say. But I couldn't let it go today without saying that. In fairness, that's why I'm full of admiration for our support, the way they've travelled here in numbers, which is brilliant,” he said.

Looking ahead to December 14, Delaney hopes the black-and-amber wave will once more fill the stands at GAA headquarters.

“That's the plan. If you’re any way related to someone from Camross come to Croke Park and even if you’re not, come for the day out anyway,” he concluded.

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