BY MICHAEL O’LEARY
There is a large Kilkenny contingent plying their trade in London and playing with GAA Clubs in the English Capital, and over the past two months plenty of players from across the County have enjoyed success with London Clubs.
Tara Camogie featuring Grace O’Donnell from Gowran and Helen Murphy from Glenmore made it 16 in a row when they won The All Britain Senior Camogie Final against Thomas McCurtains, while St. Gabriels won The London County Hurling Final against Robert Emmetts as Danny Coyne from Bennettsbridge and Conor O’Carroll from Lisdowney played starring roles.
It was an incredible acheivement for Tara to win 16-in-a-row, and incredible in particular for Helen Murphy who was winning her 14th British title.
The Glenmore native who is the sister of Kilkenny Senior Hurlers Eoin, Alan and Shane Murphy has been a phenomenal servant to Tara, and in more recent seasons she has doubled up as player/manager.
Helen enjoyed a memorable day in Croke Park, when she was part of the Kilkenny Team that won The All-Ireland Junior Football Final against London in 2007.
Grace O’Donnell was named Player of The Match in the Britain Final win against Thomas McCurtains, and she played with the Inter-County Camogie Team for a few seasons.
Grace was part of the Kilkenny Squad that reached All-Ireland Finals from 2017-2019, while during that same period she featured in Kilkenny winning Leinster Finals all against Offaly.
In 2017, Grace scored the all important goal as Kilkenny won by a point against Offaly (1-14 to 1-13) while she also won County Junior and Intermediate Medals with Young Irelands in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
Her sister Sarah was joint captain of the Kilkenny Minor Camogie Team that won the All-Ireland Minor Final against Cork in 2021, and the O’Donnell family is centrally involved with horses both in Horse Racing and Equestrian circles.
Meanwhile, their was a very strong Kilkenny contingent in St. Gabriels comprehensive win in The London County Hurling Final. Danny Coyne scored 4-1, while Conor O’Carroll scored 1-5 and was named Man of The Match.
Both Danny and Conor have played in County Finals in Kilkenny, with Danny part of The Bennettsbridge panel that reached The Senior Final in 2018 while Conor was on the starting team as Lisdowney defeated Thomastown on penalties in the Intermediate County Final in 2020.
Robbie Murphy lined out at Midfield in the London County Final and he was on the Dicksboro Team that won the Kilkenny Senior Final in 2017, while Josh Tobin from Kilmacow was introduced as a sub.
Both Tom and Rory Lodge from Dunnamaggin were part of the St. Gabriels Panel, while Paddy Mullally from Glenmore was part of the management team.
Paddy has plenty of previous coaching experience in both Hurling and Camogie having worked with the Kilkenny and WIT camogie teams and Mullinavat hurling team, while more recently he joined up with his brother Tom as part of the Carlow Senior Hurling Management Team. Paddy is also Vice-Chairperson of St. Gabriels.
Kilkenny has most certainly played their part in answering London’s calling with plenty to celebrate in both Camogie and Hurling.
