‘We didn't turn up' admits Hehir as she reveals Clare out to ‘rectify' camogie league final loss in All-Ireland quarter
Clare face
Championship
quarter-final this afternoon.
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Most of the Déise side are used to the big stage, having made it all the way to the O'Duffy Cup decider in 2023.
But ahead of today's televised clash, Banner full-back Hehir insists her crew have also enjoyed memorable moments at
Sinéad O'Keeffe, Niamh Mulqueen, Caoimhe Cahill, Jennifer Daly, Ellen Casey, Cliodhna Queally and Grace Carmody were involved when the juniors won the All-Ireland just two years ago.
Last December, Truagh Clonlara were the first Clare team to reach an All-Ireland senior club final. And while Galway's Sarsfields were too strong, it was an invaluable experience for Áine O'Loughlin, Róisín Begley and Michelle Powell ahead of today's outing.
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Hehir's memories are from further back — 13 years ago.
The Inagh-Kilnamona defender revealed: 'Myself and Andrea O'Keefe would have played in a Féile final there when we were 14.
'We played De La Salle of Waterford. So it's
funny
to be meeting them again.'
Waterford forward Beth Carton and goalkeeper Brianna O'Regan lined out that day and will take the field again this afternoon.
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Clare's last quarter-final appearance was a 2021 trip to
And Hehir warned that her team-mates must not let the occasion — they are playing in front of the cameras in the curtain-raiser to a sold-out All-Ireland SHC semi-final at Croker — get to them.
Palestine GAA players watch camogie match on laptop
She said: 'It's not like no one has ever touched the grass there before and that's a help.
'It's just about not letting the occasion get to you, as much as you do want to enjoy it as well, because not everyone gets to play there.'
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Having been relegated from Division 1A of the Very League last season — when Hehir was absent after taking a year out to go travelling — Clare showed signs of improvement, reaching this year's Division 1B final, which they lost to Antrim.
Hehir believes that making the All-Ireland last six is another signal that things are getting better for the Banner.
She said: 'The league was good, a lot of girls got a lot of game time.
'Two championship wins was great. You saw a lot of girls stepping up to the plate who would be leaders on the team this year. There was a lot of learnings from the league final. There would have been a lot of us who wouldn't make finals too often with Clare camogie.
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'And maybe that occasion might have got to us or we didn't turn up on the day.
'So that's something we want to rectify and we want to put in a good performance.'
With Waterford standing in the way of a last-four berth, Hehir, 27, says the Clare squad will be giving it their best shot.
She added: 'We definitely won't be sitting back and admiring them.
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'Their improvement over the last few years is something we would obviously have liked to have done ourselves.
'And I suppose that this could be the day to start that.'
1
Saoirse McCarthy of Cork is tackled by Clare Hehir of Clare during the Munster Senior Camogie Championship semi-final match
Credit: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
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