Jane Adams | Veronica Curtin | Claire Doherty | Mags D'Arcy
Aisling Diamond | Shónagh Enright | Jessica Gill | Fiona Hahnefeld | Mary Lacey Ciara Lucey | Therese Maher | Mairin McAleenan | Eimear McDonnell
Sinéad Millea | Niamh Mulcahy | Eileen O'Brien | Mary O'Connor
Una O'Donaghue | Una O'Dwyer | Imelda Kennedy | Catherine O'Loughlin
Jen O'Leary | Joanne Ryan | Marie Dargan | Sinéad Cahalan
Tina Hannon | Trish Jackman

Una O’Donoghue had just turned 21 when she captained Cork to All-Ireland glory against Tipperary at Croke Park last September. The versatile UCC student scored 1-1 that day as Cork secured a 4-9 to 1-9 victory. Cork overcame their old rivals again recently to win the National League title. Now, Una concentrates on Cork’s bid to retain their championship crown.

What are your hopes for this year?
That’s an easy one. The big goal is to retain the All-Ireland title for 2003.

What was your greatest moment?
Being the captain and getting to lift the cup was great. But I think the best part of it all was bringing it back to Cork and seeing the welcome that we got. Some would say that camogie isn’t that popular but the reception we got proves that’s untrue. The train stopped in Mallow on the way down and we got a big welcome there. Then we were taken through Cork city centre on an open top bus. It was amazing.

Who is the toughest player you have ever played against?
That’s a hard one. No opponent is easy at county level, but I would rate Tipperary’s Una O’Dwyer as one of the hardest backs in the country to get away from.

Who was your childhood hero?
I always looked up to Roy Keane and Denis Irwin. In GAA, I thought Brian
Corcoran and Larry Tompkins were great players. But I have to say two of the people I had most respect for were Fiona O’Driscoll and Rory O’Connor who
trained me at minor level.

Is it difficult to balance your studies and camogie?
Yes it is difficult because both take up a lot of time. When I was doing my Leaving Cert I’d often take a break from studying and go out and practice for half an hour and go back with a clear head. I think it’s good to have something to do besides work and study and for me that’s camogie.

What advice do you give to young camogie players?
Keep up the training all the time and listen to your trainers. It’s not always easy to keep going, but with a bit of discipline you can achieve far more than you thought you were capable of. I think it’s also very important to believe in yourself, believe you can do it.

Did you always want to play on the Cork camogie team?
I guess that always was the dream. When I started with the Cork under-16s it really began to become the goal and as I moved on to play with the minors it seemed more and more possible. I was delighted when I got to play for the senior team.

© June 2003