All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Round Three

Galway v Down

Saturday, Kenny Park, Athenry, 2pm

By Michael McMullan

CONCENTRATE on performance and everything else will take care of itself, insists Down camogie skipper Aimee McAleenan.

The Liatroim player, now in her tenth season of senior camogie with Down, is relishing a trip to All-Ireland champions Galway this weekend.

McAleenan backs up the ‘take one game at a time’ mantra of their new management team, headed up by Paul Donnelly who came on board this season.

“We set ourselves up for a performance against Kilkenny and, to some extent, we got that,” McAleenan said of a 1-23 to 1-10 defeat on a scoreline that didn’t do them justice, with discipline a takeaway point for improvement.

Down followed it up with a draw against Antrim with contentment at how they went about their business.

“We always try to focus on something from the game that we can improve on and work on,” McAleenan added.

“That’s our main focus this year, when you are playing at this level you have to be striving for a good performance.”

Despite losing all their group games in last year’s Senior Championship, they were competitive and a relegation play-off win over Westmeath ensured their top-flight status for 2023.

A two-point win over Offaly secured Division One league next season, helping Down get accustomed to a higher level.

“The ball moves quicker; you don’t get as much time on the ball and you are getting pressed,” she explained.

“Whenever you are getting into that number of games, you become accustomed to it…otherwise you’ll suffer.”

Down have had a consistent group of players over the past four or five seasons which has helped lay a foundation for future generations to build on.

Outside of some players taking time off to have children or to spend time travelling, they have stuck together through their rise from the intermediate grade.

“This wasn’t always the case for Down camogie where the turnover of players is typically quite high,” explained McAleenan, who also stressed they are not as reliant on “a few” players like in the past.

“It is now spread out a lot more,” she added. “Niamh Mallon is a huge player and she’d be a huge player in any team in the country.

“As a group, everyone has stepped up to the plate and taken that pressure off. We are working hard at pressing on as one group, that is something we have at the minute in our team and we are just buying into it.”

After three Ulster titles, an All-Ireland Intermediate Championship and winning Division Two of the National League, McAleenan says it’s an unprecedented period of camogie success in the county.

Now, it’s about building on it and staying at senior level is of paramount importance.

“Galway are obviously going to be a massive test,” she said of this weekend’s task.

“You look forward to going out and challenging yourself against the best, that’s why you want to be in the top division.”

McAleenan is also conscious of the bigger picture across the Ulster camogie landscape. Back-to-back wins for Derry at intermediate level didn’t go unnoticed.

“I have been keeping an eye on Derry and hoping they’ll drive on too because it can only be good for Ulster camogie if we can get three teams up to the top, you can drag each other up.

“You want everybody competing…I know Derry won three or four Ulsters in a row and nobody could compete with them.

“We came after them and now Antrim are doing really well.”