Amy eyes All-Ireland title hat trick
After seven months out injured, Cork camogie superstar Amy O’Connor is back in action with her sights firmly set on retaining Munster and All-Ireland titles for Cork.
On Sunday, O’Connor played her first full game since she was injured in Cork’s victorious 2024 All-Ireland camogie final against Galway.
Fittingly, last Sunday’s game saw the Rebel County brush aside a lacklustre Galway team to lift Cork’s first senior league title since 2013.
In a press conference yesterday, the talented corner forward said she is on the other side of the injury and is “feeling great” as Cork set their sights on a third All-Ireland title in a row.
She said: “I’ve been on the panel for 12 years and we’ve never won the league.
“We were delighted, it’s always great to get silverware. We’ve tried in the past and failed to win the league, so it was great to get over the line.
“That (injury) definitely made me more hungry to get back in and hopefully be better than ever.
“It probably took longer than I was hoping initially but it was all about getting back to doing the thing I love the most,” O’Connor added.
She said the injury was a complete accident during last year’s final, caused by someone falling on her. She revealed that she had received what’s known as a Lisfranc injury which affects bones and ligaments in the midfoot.
“To be honest, if I tried to do it again, I probably wouldn’t be able to,” she joked.
“It was a total accident in the All-Ireland Final – someone just fell on me. I probably didn’t realise the extent of the injury at the time.”
She said: “I spent 12 weeks in a boot after the final. I’m definitely on the other side of it now and I feel great. I’ve been lucky in the 12-13 years that I’ve been on the senior panel, I don’t think I’ve ever really been injured.”
Having beaten Galway in last year’s All-Ireland final, and Waterford the year before, a win this year would be one for the history books.
Cork now face Limerick on 24 May in an All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 1 Round 1 clash followed by Tipperary on 31 May in round 2.
Though Cork are looking stronger every year, she feels they still need to improve if they are to remain competitive year in, year out: “If we go out and we’re the same as last year, we won’t win.
“We’ve put in a lot of effort, and 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.”
The press conference was held as part of the launch of the Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps new Cúl and Curious initiative which invites children from migrant families to experience the joy of GAA and foster a sense of belonging within the community.