by Daragh Ó Conchúir  

She was a long time gone but the game never left her. Home couldn’t be extracted from the DNA. 

So Karen McMullan came back. Ironically, her job as PE teacher at St. Mary’s Secondary School in Glasnevin has taken the Liatroim Fontenoys star away once more, but that hurdle is a mere trifling to a 33-year-old heart and soul that is wedded to the red and black. 

The reward for what has often been a thrice-weekly commute is a place for Down in the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship Final against old rivals Antrim, at 3.45pm in Kingspan Breffni tomorrow. 

Croke Park would have suited better, but headquarters is unavailable and McMullan insists that the venue is not a consideration. The players know how fortunate they are. 

“We’re well aware there’s people out there that have lost lives, people that aren’t working, have lost their livelihoods for reasons outside of their control,” reasons McMullan. “So we have qualified for an All-Ireland Final and are going to try do our best to win. 

“Of course it’s a disappointment not being in Croke Park but it’s something we can’t control and we knew about it months ago. It’s an All-Ireland Final and we’re absolutely privileged and honoured to be there to represent our county.” 

She probably thought she had consigned that part of her life to history when after completing a Junior Camogie and Intermediate ladies’ football double with Down, McMullan decided to expand her horizons.  

“I’d been on the Senior (Camogie) team since I was 17. Previous to the 2014 Final, we’d got beaten in the past two Junior Finals at Croke Park. At the third time we finally got it, and the football too so after that, in 2015, I decided to take a career break, to go off and travel.  

“I thought I might take a break from both sports but the GAA follows you and I ended up playing for Michael Cusacks in Sydney!  

“I was always a homebird. I’d say my family didn’t think I’d last as long as I did. Initially I was going for a year but that turned into two, then three, then three and a half. Family is a big thing for me. My sister had a few children and I missed being at home. I’d done everything I wanted to do in Australia, I’d seen different parts of the world. Home is always home and I knew I would always come back to where I would grow up. 

“So I watched the Final in 2018 from Sydney. I didn’t think I’d be back in the county team. When I came back, I got a phone call to ask about going back for the Ulster Championship last year. So I said I’d see how it would go but I slotted in as if I’d never been away. I’ve been loving it. I suppose you’d call it a semi-retirement in Australia but I’m enjoying being back with the girls.” 

Being based in Dublin has made the return less straightforward but she removes the negativity. Indeed, the requirements of county involvement now has showcased for her the mind-boggling advances in Camogie during her four-season absence.  

“When I think back to 2014, when I went to Australia and when I came back, the difference in preparation – strength and conditioning, your nutrition, analysis – it just went completely up a different level, which is brilliant for the sport itself but it’s really time-consuming. I’m just lucky the school have been fantastic with me in terms of going up the road for training.  

“It is hard in terms of just doing that commute but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s my choice to do it. I’m enjoying it. No matter where the training would be, I would be up the road and coming back down and hopefully continuing to play as well. 

“The management have been brilliant. If they feel I don’t need to come up both the Tuesday and Thursday, they say to stay in Dublin, find a ball wall and do a bit of a skills session. So that’s great.” 

Far from being a chore, Camogie has been an invaluable pressure valve, particularly when teaching in the current climate. 

“It’s been very difficult. Camogie has been a saviour for me in terms of having an opportunity not to be worried about the school or stressed about COVID. It’s been a great outlet. Anyone who’s playing in a team at the minute, I’d say everyone is saying the same. It’s a chance to switch off from the normality of the minute. It’s been a godsend. 

“And having a goal and focus every week, has got us through September, November and now December. It’s been great.” 

That first season ended in an agonising one-point defeat by Westmeath but seeing the Lakesiders take Limerick’s scalp in the Senior Championship this term was a boost. 

“It took a long while for all of us to get over it. It’s difficult circumstances to lose a Semi-Final by a point and then Westmeath went on to win it. On the day, we went away with a lot of regrets as we felt we didn’t perform. 

“Seeing Westmeath this year and how well they did, it definitely did give us hope. We knew we weren’t far off it if we knuckled down and learned from the mistakes. After defeat, you have to learn from it.” 

Familiar faces will inhabit the opposition dressing room. 

“The rivalry goes back for years. And people you would have played against, people you would have went to college with as well and played with in interprovincial teams. Whatever team comes out of Antrim is going to be very skilful. Their management is very experienced as well. 

“As the saying goes, it’s anyone’s game. On the day, you don’t know what’s going to happen. We have seen in the football, with Tipperary and Cavan, anything can happen in a Final. Antrim deserve to be there as much as ourselves. We’ll both be going in to do our best and that’s all you can do at the end of the day.” 

Ulster GAA have confirmed re-fixture details for the provincial minor football championship which resumes on December 20 with the four quarter-finals taking place on the Sunday afternoon.

The final will be played on the weekend of 9/10 January. All games throw-in at 1pm and will be streamed live by Páirc TV.

Ulster MFC

Sunday 20 December

Quarter-finals
Donegal v Tyrone, MacCumhaill Park, 1pm
Derry v Armagh, Owenbeg, 1pm
Fermanagh v Down, Brewster Park, 1pm
Antrim v Monaghan, Corrigan Park, 1pm

Saturday 2/Sunday 3 January TBC

Semi-finals
Donegal or Tyrone v Derry or Armagh, TBC, 1pm
Fermanagh or Down v Antrim or Monaghan, TBC, 1pm

Saturday 9/Sunday 10 January TBC

Final
Donegal or Tyrone or Derry or Armagh v Fermanagh or Down or Antrim or Monaghan, TBC, 1pm

THERE may be an exclusive window for the GAA's club championships to take place in the first half of next year due to concerns about crowd restrictions on the inter-county Championships.

Taken from Irish News

www.irishnews.com/sport/2020/11/30/news/club-may-now-come-before-county-for-gaa-headquarters-2145454/

When the GAA's management committee met on Saturday, it was expected to sign off on a calendar that would see the 2021 Championships completed by July. Instead, the Central Council won't now take a decision on next year's fixtures schedule until next month as they consider the possibility of starting the club season before the county one.

The Central Competitions Controls Committee presented plans on Friday night for the inter-county Championships to begin in April with no provision included for a Super8 series in the football. Other major changes expected to be given the green light were for National League divisions to be split into two groups, on a regional basis initially, in an attempt to limit travel in the context of the pandemic. Pre-season tournaments, including the McKenna Cup, were to be put on ice for the year, with the leagues beginning at the end of February.

Now, however, with the prospect of Covid-related restrictions on spectator sport stretching well into 2021, club may finally come before county for Headquarters. While the Twenty-Six Counties are to move to Level 3 restrictions from tomorrow and plans for a mass vaccination program are being put in place, even Level 1 restrictions would limit crowds at games to 200 people.

And in the unlikely event that restrictions were to be lowered far enough to allow a token number of fans into Croke Park for December's All-Ireland finals, Waterford hurling manager Liam Cahill wouldn't like to see it.

“I don't foresee crowds. I don't think it would be right either,” Cahill said following the Déise's thrilling victory over Kilkenny in Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final.

“Where do you start or who do you allow in? To be fair, our games are about community, about everybody. It's hard enough to have restrictions. If you put restrictions on who you are letting in, I don't think that's what our games are about or the GAA is about.”

Meanwhile, appearing on RTÉ radio yesterday, Dublin health minister Stephen Donnelly warned the GAA there could be no “exuberant” mass celebrations following next month's finals.

“It needs to not happen,” Donnelly said.

“The GAA, I think, is taking this very seriously, and measures have already been put in place.”

With the association making a range of cuts and requiring a government grant to stage this year's Championships, the issue of gate receipts is a considerable factor in future planning. Delaying the inter-county season until such time as supporters can go to games in something approaching normal numbers may consequently be decided upon.

While the Club Players' Association had already backed the CCCC's proposal to roll the county competitions out before club contests, a number of prominent figures, including Tipperary senior hurling manager Liam Sheedy, have supported the clubs going first.

The GAA hopes to receive more information about when they can stage the outstanding U20 football final, the U20 hurling championship and both minor championships from the government early this week.

The GAA has announced that Ciaran Branagan is to referee the Cavan Dublin All-Ireland Semi Final on Saturday evening.  David Gought from Meath will be on duty when on SUnday afternoon in teh other semi final between Mayo and Tipperary.

All Ireland SFC Semi-Finals
Saturday December 5
Cavan v Dublin, Croke Park, 5.30pm
Referee: Ciaran Branagan (Down)

Sunday December 6
Mayo v Tipperary, Croke Park, 3.30pm
Referee: David Gough (Meath)

A decision on what the GAA 2021 season will look like fixtures-wise has been delayed by the GAA’s Management Committee.

It was widely expected that a meeting of the Management Committee over the weekend would give the green light to inter-county games being run off in the first half of the new year with club action taking centre stage after that.

But the Association’s top brass decided that further consideration would be given to that proposal in light of the ever-changing Covid-19 climate.

RTE.ie is reporting that the expectation that games will still have to be played behind closed doors heavily influenced the decision given the costs attached to fielding inter-county teams.

There is an argument for club games to go first, followed by inter-county, given the possibility of a Covid-19 vaccine coming on stream.

The Management Committee agreed that it would meet again in mid-December to make a final call on the GAA calendar for 2021 and that would also allow them to factor in any up-to-date recommendations from NPHET.

The Camogie Association have confirmed that the 2020 Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate and Premier Junior Championships Finals will once more be broadcast live on the RTÉ News Channel and also on the RTÉ Player International.

With four Ulster sides competing on Saturday December 5th, the Finals will also be broadcast live via the BBC iPlayer.

The day will begin with the Premier Junior Final at 1.45pm where Armagh will be seeking their first title at this level since 1993, where they face recently crowned Nancy Murray Cup champions Cavan who are looking to lift the Kay Mills Cup for the first time.

The Intermediate Final throws-in at 3.45pm which sees Antrim chasing their first Intermediate title since 2003, where they face a Down side looking to bridge a gap since their last title win in 1998.

Saturday December 5th

Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship Final
Armagh v Cavan, Kingspan Breffni, Co. Cavan @ 1.45pm

Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Final
Antrim v Down, Kingspan Breffni, Co. Cavan @ 3.45pm

The GAA are set to sign off on plans for a new shortened season that will see no pre-season, provincial hurling round-robin games or football Super 8s in 2021.

RTE Sport reports that the GAA will see a February return next year with the Allianz Hurling and Football Leagues and the All-Ireland championships set to be pencilled in between the months of April and July.

It is understood that the qualifiers in both championships will go ahead, with a secondary Tailteann Cup competition still set to take place in football.

It is planned that the inter-county season will be completed by the third week in July, after which club competitions will see an uninterrupted flow of games.

The drafted plan by the Central Competitions Control Committee is set to be examined by Central Council this weekend.

Down GAA would like to place on record our thanks to Conor Deegan for his commitment over the past four years in the post and to thank his Backroom Team of Brendan Coulter, Paddy Hardy, Martin McKibbin, and John McAteer for their dedication to their roles. To Steven and Kieran who acted as Kitmen and to Michael Walsh and Bernie Ruane who were previously part of the Management during that time we also say Thank you.

Involvement with the Under 20s has been a good experience for a lot of our young players and hopefully in time the good work that was done will help bring future success to our County.