13 Nov 19 – AFTER compiling the Limerick club hurling and football teams of the decade in this column in recent times I was challenged to do likewise for camogie.
Just like Santa, I enlisted the help of some elves with a greater experience than me in the respective codes.
Where possible, players are selected in positions that they played in and longevity was a big consideration given it’s the Team of the Decade.
My selection is largely one to spark debate and I’ve no doubt there are players who have sparkled in recent seasons that will leave a huge legacy but aren’t included here and some that dominated in the previous decade and didn’t feature strongly into the past 10 years.
It was a decade that saw Limerick camogie promoted back up into the senior ranks with a Croke Park All-Ireland intermediate title win in 2014.
The year previous Limerick lost the same final to Galway in a year that also saw a Division Two league title won.
The promotion up senior was timely with a 2014 All-Ireland minor A title win – three years after an All-Ireland minor B title.
Up senior, Limerick made a break through in 2019 when reaching the knockout stages for the first time in 15 years.
On the club scene, five different clubs won county senior camogie championship titles across the decade; 2010-’19.
Granagh-Ballingarry lead the way with six titles; including a 5-in-a-row from 2013-17. There was a title each for Ballyagran and Killeedy at the start of the decade and then Ahane and Newcastle West at the end of the decade.
This Limerick Camogie Team of the Decade contains players from nine different clubs. Ahane and Granagh-Ballingarry lead the way with three players each. Newcastle West and Killeedy have two representatives, while there is one each for Cappamore, Bruff, Knockaderry, Adare and Galbally.
TEAM: Sile Moynihan (Ahane); Fiona Hickey (Granagh-Ballingarry), Michelle Casey (Killeedy), Muireann Creamer (Cappamore); Mairead Ryan (Galbally), Sarah Carey (Granagh-Ballingarry), Judith Mulcahy (Ahane); Karen O’Leary (Newcastle West), Rebecca Delee (Newcastle West); Caoimhe Costelloe (Adare), Mary O’Callaghan (Bruff), Niamh Mulcahy (Ahane); Deborah Murphy (Knockaderry), Aoife Sheehan (Granagh-Ballingarry), Dymphna O’Brien (Killeedy).