skip to main content

Amy O'Connor appreciating Cork's camogie drive even more

Amy O'Connor celebrates finding the net in the 2023 All-Ireland final against Waterford
Amy O'Connor celebrates finding the net in the 2023 All-Ireland final against Waterford

It's a few days on from Cork claiming the Very Camogie League Division 1A title and also a few days out from the Rebels' Munster Championship semi-final against Clare.

Games are coming thick and fast, with the All-Ireland series commencing on the second last weekend in May.

And Amy O'Connor would have it no other way. After spending over seven months on the sidelines because of a Lisfranc injury (a severe foot injury where the metatarsal bones in the forefoot are displaced from the tarsal bones in the midfoot), she returned to play a first full 60 minutes in last Sunday's league success. Another piece of silverware to add to the six All-Ireland titles already won.

O'Connor started out many playing many sports and even represented Ireland in soccer during her teenage years. She was part of the squad that reached the European U-19 semi-finals in 2014. Despite opportunities to further her association football career, the lure of camogie would win out.

And she has no regrets.

Speaking at the launch of the the 2025 Kellogg's GAA Cúl Camps, for which she is an ambassador, O'Connor remarked: "Every now and then I love the kick of a ball but all I wanted to do was play camogie."

That said, her experience in playing the other code, has aided her career with the hurl and sliotar.

"I'm a better camogie player because I played soccer," she added.

"Equally if I played soccer, I think I'd be a better player because I played camogie. I would encourage young boys and young girls to play as much sport as they can. There are so many transferable skills between the sports that if you play one sport you'll end up being better at that sport because of those transferable skills. That is just my own experience. I tried everything as a child but I absolutely love camogie now."

O'Connor pictured at the Kellogg's GAA Cúl Camps launch at Croke Park

It's very much a case of satisfaction guaranteed for the three-time All-Star, who is also relishing the leadership role she now shares with others in the Cork set-up.

"The enjoyment for me is definitely still there, I love it even more now and you appreciate it even more as you get older," the 28-year-old remarked.

"I get a lot of fulfilment with playing for Cork. The effort you put in is reflected in what you get back from the sport.

"I picked up a bit of an injury last year in the All-Ireland final and I was out for seven and a half months. It definitely made me more hungry to get back, to be better than ever, so that put things into perspective for me.

"It was hard. The end goal is getting back doing what you love. That was it. It took longer than I was hoping for initially but it was all about getting back to do the thing I love the most. Sunday was my first full-game back after all that. It got so much enjoyment out of being back.

"This is my 12th year now, so you're a bit more experienced and you've been around a bit. You've played in the bigger games. You step into those leadership roles you may not have had when you first came into the panel.

"We know we're not the finished article but we'll continue to build and hopefully continue to progress"

"There is a good group of us there that all came in around the same time: myself, Méabh Cahalane, Laura Treacy, Libby Coppinger, Hannah Looney and a couple more have all been there a while. We are now the leaders of the group and when we came in it was the likes of Breege Corkery, Germma O'Connor and Aoife Murray, so you do step into a new role."

Cork are going for a hat-trick of All-Ireland titles later in the summer but O'Connor insist there is still room for improvement and that she feels will be what is required to head off those counties gunning for their crown.

"When I came onto the panel we won two [All-Irelands] on the trot, then lost one, won another two and then went another couple of years without winning at all. Sometimes you have to have the bad days to have the good days. It took a long time to build what we have now and we'll continue to build on that.

"We know we're not the finished article but we'll continue to build and hopefully continue to progress.

O'Connor, right, and Laura Treacy of celebrate winning the 2024 All-Ireland camogie title

"We played Galway two weeks ago and we didn't perform at all, we didn't turn up on the day and they were much hungrier. We made it our business not to let that happen again. I wouldn't say it was easy [in the league final], we just happened to play well on the day. I think Galway will be disappointed with their own performance, there is never anything between ourselves and Galway. I expect if we were to play them in the morning it would be a close encounter.

"If we go out and are the same as last year we won't win. We have to improve year on year because every other team is improving year on year. Other teams will study what we're doing and try and implement things to stop how we're going to play.

"You have to bring in new players all the time to improve the group. Clodagh Finn came on as a sub last year but she has started all our league games this year. That's brilliant for the group and brilliant for the team.

"I count myself very luck to have been part of great Cork group or groups over the years. If you get ahead of yourself that's when you'll take your eye off the ball and lose. It's about being grounded and focused on the next game.

"Any of the teams could win the All-Ireland at the end of the day, that is Galway, Tipp, Kilkenny, Waterford. Clare are putting in a huge effort."


Watch Kilkenny v Galway in the Leinster Hurling Championship on Saturday from 3.15pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

Watch Clare v Cork in the Munster Hurling Championship on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

Watch The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates from around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

Read Next