The new season for the Dublin Senior Camogie squad gets underway in eleven days time away to All Ireland runners up Cork on the 18th of February.
A new season, a new squad and a new manager in charge in the shape of David Herity, a five All Ireland Hurling championship winner with Kilkenny.
David was part of the Dublin Senior Camogie back room team last year, but he took over reigns when Shane O’Brien stepped down from the post after Dublin agonisingly lost out on a place in the quarter finals of the championship on score difference.
David immediately got to work searching for new talent during the Dublin club championship and after a string of trial games picked his squad for the upcoming Littlewoods National Camogie League.
Speaking at the launch of AIG Insurances new home insurance offer, Dublin Senior Camogie star Ali Twomey spoke about how David has made a big impact on the players and has raised their confidence and standards.
“It’s great to have David on board this year as manager. He was involved last year but obviously, he has a much bigger role this year”.
“David’s standards are so high so we’re constantly improving, constantly trying to meet those standards and when we do, the bar is raised again and he just raises the standards again”.
Dublin have been very close to making that big breakthrough in the championship over the past two seasons.
They entered the last group game in the championship last season needing to win by 26 points against Derry to reach the quarter finals and besides a brilliant attacking display came up shy by just three points, it was a cruel way to go out.
The 2015 season is probably best remembered by most for the ‘Coin Gate’ incident, Dublin and Clare finished level on points and score difference.
Both sides were told by the association their championship fate would be decided by a toss of a coin, with one team going to the quarter finals and the others season ending.
After much adverse reaction by fans on social media and on radio, TV and the press, the association decided to have a play-off between the sides on the Saturday of the August bank holiday weekend.
Dublin won the play-off but unfairly had to play their All Ireland championship quarter final against Wexford only 48 hours later, so much for player welfare.
Besides the short turnaround Dublin gave a really good account of themselves on the day and were unlucky to lose in the end.
The girls in blue had turned around a four point half time deficit to just a single point, but they unsurprisingly they tired down the home straight and picked up injuries to key players during the game to eventually lose by three points.
Ali Twomey and her Dublin teammates are determined that they will go even further in both the league and championship in 2017.
“It’s great that we’re pushing on and everyone’s really determined to have a good year” said Twomey.
Exciting times ahead indeed for Dublin Camogie this season and the journey begins on Saturday week.
