Helen Murphy has a tough choice to make this Saturday.
She must choose between playing for Tara Camogie Club in the All Britain Camogie final and Kingdom Kerry Gaels in the Intermediate All Britain final.
The reason: the games have been scheduled for the same day and at the same time. They will also be played 200 miles apart.
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Helen, who is the sister of Kilkenny goalkeeper Eoin Murphy, wrote on Facebook:
"I should be really focused; I should be excited; I should be eager for Saturday to arrive. But instead, the thought of Saturday fills me with dread.
"Why? Well I have been put in the inexcusable position of being forced to choose between representing Tara Camogie Club on Saturday in Ruislip (London) at 1pm in the All Britain Camogie final or representing the Kingdom Kerry Gaels Ladies Football Club in the Intermediate All Britain Final in York at 12:30pm on Saturday.
"The reason why the games are fixed on the same day at nearly the exact same time but 200 miles apart- a complete lack of cooperation between the governing boards.
"Despite, Camogie Board Britain reaching out to the Football board to resolve this conflict or find a suitable compromise, there has been no response from football."
My sister is due to play 2 provincial finals with her clubs @Tara_Camogie_UK and @KKGLondon .. unfortunately both are fixed on the same day, same time nearly 200 miles apart. Wonder will @WomensGPA @LadiesFootball @OfficialCamogie get involved? pic.twitter.com/c7lv1T3RpJ
— Eoin Murphy (@eoinscruff) October 9, 2018
Helen is not the only player with a decision to make.
Sarah McNicholl and Lucy Hawkes have to make the choice. We have been forced this week to have the conversation about what we might do: football or camogie?
This is my tenth year representing Tara; I am vice-captain this year. We have the honour of competing for our tenth title in a row on Saturday. I have represented London camogie team a few years back; I have coached youth teams and I have also refereed games.
I have played with KKG for nine years and captained them also over a number of years. Lucy and I have both played with London footballers.
Lucy has spent many years of the boards of camogie and London football board. Sarah is captain of Tara and top scorer for KKG this year.
Yet when you add up all of this, it doesn’t seem to matter. We are in our first football Intermediate Provincial Final as a club but Sarah, Lucy and I are faced with the reality that the three of us may not line out together on Saturday.
For now, I sit weighing up my options: big ball or small ball? I am finding it an impossible question to answer.
Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
