For somebody visiting the Big Apple for the first time Cork's Amy O'Connor was unfazed by some of the most recognizable sights in the world, going about her business in the Bronx with masterful ease.
Playing for the 2019 class of All-Stars as they took on the best of 2018 the Cork star played a starring role, scoring 3-5 in a player-of-the-match display. Speaking after the game she acknowledged that the experience was a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity, though she hoped it wouldn't be her last time playing in such an atmosphere..
"It's unbelievable," she said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity really. We may never get there again.
Huge congratulations to Amy O’Connor who received player of the match for the Camogie All-Star Exhibition match in Gaelic Park. @irishvoicegp #NYCamogieAllStars @officialcamogie @NewYorkGAA pic.twitter.com/LTMUCB0abL
— Liberty Insurance (@LibertyIRL) November 23, 2019
"You'd often see the men's All-Stars teams doing things like that and coming to the US, but this is a first for the ladies. Hopefully it won't be once-in-a-lifetime, but at the moment it does feel like that.
"I'm after falling in love with the place. I can't wait to get home and get my boyfriend to come again. Definitely going to come back here as soon as I can."
O'Connor wasn't the sole Leesider on the trip, though she was the only Cork player on the winning side. Among her county teammates on the 2018 team was goalkeeper Aoife Murray and after scoring three goals the player-of-the-match joked that she was anticipating revenge back on the training pitch early next year.
It's not going to go down very well. She'll clock me a few times at training but she saved a good few as well.
It's nice to play with others and spend a little bit of time with them in the dressing room to see what they're like as people. Obviously I enjoyed playing with the likes of Niamh Kilkenny - she plays a running game like me.
And other players like Beth Carton and Niamh Mulcahy. It's nice to play with different people. It was nice to go out and play with a little freedom - with no tactics. It was a spacious pitch so it was nice to get on the ball an awful lot.
Now the hope is camogie can continue to expand. While last night's star-player appreciates winning the personal accolade that enabled her to cross the Atlantic for the exhibition match she, too, knows the effects showcasing the best of the sport to new audiences can have.
For those that turned up last night to experience the sport for the first time, they were treated to a night to remember.
⭐ All set to go here in Gaelic Park in the Bronx for the @LibertyIRL Camogie All-Stars Tour Exhibition Match!#NYCamogieAllStars 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/orfSGy4WWP
— The Camogie Association (@OfficialCamogie) November 23, 2019
"Obviously it's a great achievement to win an All-Star but at the beginning of the year you don't go out to say you want to win an All-Star. It's more about focussing on the team and how you want to go out a win an All-Ireland. We play a team sport and it's all about the team. But at the end of the day it's nice to win one as well.
"Maybe camogie can become worldwide and it's nice to see that it is spreading. And it's brilliant to be able to come to New York and show them exactly what camogie is all about."
