Countdown is on to the start of the camogie races
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The Na Fianna players will be aiming to make it five Senior A Camogie titles in succession in 2026. Gerry ShanahanImage 2 of 3
Aoife Minogue's return from Australia is a huge boost for her club Dunderry. David Mullen www.cyberimages.netImage 3 of 3
Amy Gaffney will return to the small game with her club Ratoath after playing for Meath Ladies during the Spring and early Summer. David MullenANNA GARDINER & MAE FAHY
Cork were crowned All-Ireland camogie champions recently and all eyes now turn to the club action.
In Meath, 16 clubs will field teams in what is set to be a highly-competitive championship.
The league in the spring gave us lots of exciting camogie and while we must commend the winners, one can only read so much into the results.
As for the summer league, take what you will from the outcomes of a competition played with small goals on shortened pitches.
Championship is a different story altogether and the sides that line out over the next few weeks can look very different to the teams we saw earlier on in the year.
Clubs will now be back to their full complement of players and focus is firmly on the championship. Every side will be seeking county glory in 2026.
There are five titles up for grabs - Senior A and B, Intermediate and Junior A and B.
Six sides compete in each of the top four grades, with the exception of Intermediate which has just five.
In the group stages, all teams play each other once and after that, semi-finals are determined by standing.
Junior B operates differently. It will see seven teams split into two groups - one of three, one of four.
A team must finish in the top two in their group to progress. The round-robin format allows every team to get plenty of championship camogie under their belt before the knock-out stages and, in general, as long as a team wins two group games, they will make-it to a semi-final.
As the club championships in both camogie and football get underway, dual players face into a very busy few months.
The turnaround between games is short. Ratoath’s ladies footballers have their first game this Friday and the camogie team is in action on Monday night, just three days later.
Balancing commitments to two separate teams, often two separate clubs can be a challenge, and players go from teammates one week to rivals the next.
Girls who play football together for Summerhill will be on opposite sides when Kiltale take on Na Fianna in Senior B.
Conversely, Navan O’Mahonys camogie team will have representatives playing for both Walterstown and Simonstown when they meet in the Intermediate football championship.
Despite the fact that the sliotar tends to be overshadowed by the big ball in this county, the skill level and intensity on display in the camogie championship is easily equal to that of the football competition.
There are some cracking matches in store this autumn, so get out and see some club camogie!