BY MICHAEL O’LEARY
Last week, Danielle Morrissey was nominated for Intermediate Camogie Player of the Year following her outstanding performances in helping Kilkenny reach the All-Ireland Final.
Unfortunately for Danielle and her Kilkenny teammates, they suffered heartbreak in losing the All-Ireland Final by a point to Cork, but her efforts throughout the year have seen her rewarded for her performances, as she returned to action earlier in the year following a lengthy lay-off.
Following a disappointing League campaign, Danielle’s return to action improved Kilkenny’s fortunes greatly and they went on a winning run during the group stages of the Championship, before qualifying for an All-Ireland Semi-Final showdown with Kerry in Semple Stadium, Thurles.
Danielle was Player of The Match in Kilkenny’s epic two point victory (2-14 to 2-12) against the Kingdom that went to extra-time as she scored 0-9(0-4 frees).
She was Kilkenny’s goalscorer in the All-Ireland Final against Cork as they held a two point lead heading towards the final 10 minutes, but a late Cork rally denied Kilkenny as they came up short by a solitary point.
Danielle plays her Club Camogie with Conahy Shamrocks and she won the Camogie Skills competition at the Féile na nGael in 2013, and she would progress onto the Inter-County set-up over the next few years before making her Senior Inter-County debut in 2017.
She was captain of the Kilkenny Team that won the Leinster Minor Championship in 2017 after Conahy Shamrocks won their first Minor Roinn A title the previous year in 2016, while also in 2017 she was named in the starting 15 and scored a point as Kilkenny defended their National League title with victory against Cork.
Unfortunately for Danielle and her Kilkenny Teammates, they suffered heartbreak as a winning point deep into stoppage time by Julia White gave Cork the O’Duffy Cup.
However, the year would end on a high for Danielle as she gave a Player Of The Match performance to inspire Conahy Shamrocks to win the Junior Final against Blacks and Whites.
Danielle scored 3-11 in an exceptional individual performance as part of an exceptional team performance, as the Conahy girls made amends for losing the final to Young Irelands Gowran the previous year.
She made a late appearance as a substitute as Kilkenny won the National League Final against Cork in 2018 in Nowlan Park, but further disappointments followed in The All-Ireland Finals in 2018 and 2019.
However, 2020 was a year to remember on the playing field as Danielle was part of the Conahy Shamrocks team that won the Intermediate Camogie Final against St. Annes, while she was part of the Kilkenny Panel that won The O’Duffy Cup following three consecutive years of All-Ireland Finals defeat.
Having returned to the Inter-County set-up last year, disaster struck as she suffered a cruciate ligament injury in June of last year while playing with the County Seniors, but she bounced back a year on from that setback and she proved that she lost none of her sharpness from previously.
With her outstanding performances for the Kilkenny Intermediates this year resulting in a Player of the Year nomination, a recall to the County Seniors is an increasing possibility ahead of 2025.
