NUI Galway holds camogie’s intervarsity tournaments, the Ashbourne and Purcell cups, this weekend which will see the host club in action on Saturday.
NUIG, who lost out to tournament favourites and reigning champions WIT in the quarter-final, open the tournament against UUJ in the Shield semi-final.
That game takes place at 11am on Saturday in Dangan, and NUIG will be hoping home advantage swings it for their side. Although UUJ suffered a comprehensive defeat to UL, they will not be easy targets for the Galway outfit. The management team of NUI Galway includes Richard McNicholas, who has been involved at underage intercounty level management and u-21 hurler of the year Seamus Hennessy, who is a current scholarship student in NUI Galway.
The winners of this match will meet either Athlone IT or Cork IT in the final. Their semi-final takes place at 1pm on Saturday with both sides having suffered heavy defeats in their quarter finals .
The Ashbourne Cup semi-finals will take centre stage at 12 noon and 2pm. First up is the meeting of UCC and UCD in a repeat of last year’s semi-final which went Cork’s way by a single point. The Dublin college is captained this year by Tipperary’s Mairead Luttrell and includes Kilkenny’s Leann Fenneally and Galway’s Sandra Tannion. UCC are captained by Waterford’s Grainne Kenneally, and boasts Cork star Orla Cotter.
At 2pm holders Waterford take on UL, who lost to the current champions during the league. However UL will be in confident form after a comprehensive victory over UUJ, and they should push the favourites, who boast 2010 All Star Katrina Parrock, all the way.
The final will take place at Pearse Stadium on Sunday (3pm ), preceded by the Purcell Cup final at 1pm.
Offaly star Michaela Morkan, who captains the NUIG side, says NUI Galway Camogie Club is delighted to host the “blue riband of third level camogie, an event that is second only to the All Ireland Senior Camogie title race”.
Last year the college hosted the Fitzgibbon 2010, which NUIG won after a 30-years wait.
