By Niall Gartland

PJ O’MULLAN is embarking on an exciting new challenge as manager of the Armagh senior inter-county camogie team.

His crowning achievement was guiding his native Loughgiel to All-Ireland glory in 2012, that famous day where Liam Watson ran riot on the hallowed turf of Croke Park.

But it was only two years ago that he added another All-Ireland to his CV, this time spearheading Derry camogie’s charge to an All-Ireland Intermediate title, overcoming Meath after a replay.

So he knows a thing or two about winning and his managerial mantra at Armagh is offering them the best possible opportunity to improve.

He’s taken the decision to throw them into this year’s Ulster Senior Championship, though they were always going to play in Division 2B after last year’s long-awaited Division 3A title triumph.

They get their 2B campaign underway against Meath this Saturday, and he firmly believes that playing at a high level will benefit Armagh in the long run.

“That’s the beauty of being in Division 2B, Armagh are still playing in the All-Ireland Junior Championship so hopefully playing in this league will stand to us later in the year.

“We’ve also decided to play in the Ulster Senior Championship. You can win the Ulster Junior every year, but you’re not learning anything from that, and if you’re not learning, you’re not improving.

“We’re hoping to open our eyes to better teams, and we’ve already played Dublin, Antrim, Down and Queen’s in challenge matches.

“We thought that would give us a better insight into the levels we have to reach and while we took a bit of a beating in the second half against Antrim, on the whole I think they’ve adapted really well. It’s about continual improvement and the only way you can improve is playing the better teams.”

Armagh, who will be captained this year by Granemore star Ciara Hill, have trained hard in the off-season but there has been one sticking point – access to pitches.

“When I came in, I didn’t really know anybody bar a couple of the girls, I’d played against Granemore a couple of times so I knew those.

“There’s a sprinkling who have been involved before but it’s a very young squad and they’ve been working really hard, attendance at training has been excellent.

“The big problem in Armagh is that it’s very difficult to get a grass pitch twice a week to play on and it’s actually a problem.

“The girls deserve better from everyone and it’s nothing to do with the county board, they’ve been working extremely hard to source pitches, but it’s been difficult, and it’s something that maybe needs looked at in Armagh generally. Four or five clubs have been very good to us but the club scene is starting and they need their pitches and I can’t argue with that.”

First in the firing line is a Meath side that O’Mullan came up against in his previous role as Derry manager in the 2023 All-Ireland Intermediate final, a replay settling matters in the Oak Leafer’s favour.

“I’ve played against these teams in the last number of years and without a doubt it’s going to be difficult, but the key thing is Armagh are trying to improve. They’ve worked hard over the years to get to Division Two and it’s now our job to try and sustain that. I believe we’re good enough to stay up and we’re looking forward to it.”