Waterford boss Fergal O'Brien is furious with the Camogie Association, claiming that the 2020 All Ireland series isn’t a level playing field and that his players feel like second class citizens.
O’Brien, who took over this season alongside Dan Shanahan and Pauline Cunningham, could only have six days to prepare with a full squad for their championship opener against Kilkenny on October 17 due to Munster club commitments for Gailltir and Dungarvan. Ten players are involved in provincial semi finals on Sunday with the finals fixed for October 11.
The Leinster club championship doesn't start until the New Year and O'Brien believes that the black and amber have an unfair advantage.
“I’m absolutely fuming about the decision,” O’Brien told WLR’s Lár Na Páirce show. “September 14 was the inter county window and we now find ourselves in a situation where a Munster club competition is taking place this Sunday. All anyone asks for in any sport is a level playing field. That’s not the case. The Leinster championship is not beginning until next January. We’ve a situation where our opponents Kilkenny, who have been in the last three All Ireland finals, don’t have to worry about their preparations in the next three weeks. All their club players are with the county team. I’ve a situation where this week and possibly next week, I could be down up to ten players. It’s totally unfair and totally disrespectful to the fantastic bunch of players that represent Waterford. We talk about 20×20 and equality between men and women. That to me is absolute nonsense because it doesn’t exist. We’ll prepare them to the best of our ability but I’d call into question the whole integrity of the All Ireland series. How can the Camogie Association stand over a situation where one team has a clear run in, because the Leinster championship isn't on until the New Year, and the other teams in Munster are without their players because they're with their clubs. Your club is your club. It's not the fault of the Gailltir girls or the Dungarvan girls, they must play with their clubs. I accept that, one hundred per cent. They should not be put in this position. It's totally unfair."
Munster chairperson Marion Graham claimed yesterday that the Waterford county board were aware of the provincial club fixtures since a Zoom meeting on August 13 where Limerick were the only county to raise an issue. “This weekend, Munster Camogie are giving at least 250 camogie players the opportunity to represent their clubs who otherwise would not get this chance until January 2021,” she added. “Their momentum would be gone and you can imagine what the weather might be like in January.” The Déise board voted against the proposed fixtures at a provincial meeting on September 10.
A spokesperson for the Camogie Association stated that “the responsibility of scheduling Provincial Club Championships rests with Provincial Boards. In this instance, Munster Camogie Board have decided to run their Club Competitions prior to the beginning of the 2020 All Ireland Championships following a vote which involved all Munster Counties including Waterford.”
Waterford trained with seventeen players on Tuesday night after postponing a challenge match with Wexford due to a lack of numbers. “The players are upset, there's no point saying otherwise. This would not happen in the men's game, let's call a spade, a spade. Look at Aishling Moloney last week and her situation in Tipperary. That's another typical example of the way women are being treated in sport. They want to play for Waterford, I can't stress that enough. They're passionate about their county, they're passionate about camogie. They're the best in terms of everything that they do. They're upset, they're angry, they're frustrated. They feel that they are being treated like second class citizens by the national Camogie Association.”
O’Brien previously served as physical trainer with the Déise hurlers under Derek McGrath. “Myself and Dan Shanahan were involved with the hurlers and I can tell you now that those girls put in as much effort, if not more, in terms of their nutrition, their time in the gym, the sacrifices in their social life, travelling down, they don’t get any expenses. They do it because they love playing camogie and they love playing for Waterford. In my opinion, they are being treated abysmally by the Camogie Association at national level.”
Listen back to the full interview with Fergal O'Brien from WLR's weekly GAA show Lár Na Páirce.
