01-07-2025
Tipperary's Mairead Eviston relishing big occasion on Sunday against Kilkenny
Tipperary's Mairead Eviston is hoping the county can rise to the occasion of Sunday's Camogie All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final with Kilkenny, in what will be on the biggest stage the Premier County have performed on in some years.
Croke Park will host the last eight encounter as part of a double-header with the men's game between the same counties, meaning there will be a sizeable audience for both games.
Eviston said fans of both counties are in for a treat.
She told RTÉ Sport: "It's incredible. When you're growing up, everyone sees your county camogie players or your county hurlers playing in Croke Park and that's where you want to be.
"To get the opportunity to play there on Sunday in quarter-final, but especially when it's a double-header with Tipp and Kilkenny playing after, it's a special day.
"There's a real good buzz around Tipperary with it as well, so there's good enjoyment leading up this week. I know there's going to be high energy. Hopefully it will be a fantastic day in Dublin."
Tipp finished second place in Group 1 of the O'Duffy Cup, with a heavy defeat to Cork signalling they still must improve significantly to be champions comes the end of the year.
Eviston believes there is enough talent for the Premier women to reach a semi-final and possibly go further.
"We're really lucky to have great leaders on the team. Karen Kennedy, our captain, playing at midfield, she really sets the tone, and Grace O'Brien is after stepping up into our free-taking role this year. I think she's nearly taken her performance to a whole new level with that as well. They will really set the mark for the rest of the team.
"Any time you play Kilkenny, it's going to be a mega challenge. They always bring a ferocious energy and right from the start we're going to have to go at them and be ruthless.
"It looks like we will have very competitive quarter-finals and it's a good thing for a camogie having that.
"You've got Galway and Cork sitting in the grass waiting for whoever comes out. We've had a few disappointing years, but we're ready to right our wrongs this year now and go hell for leather for this quarter-final."
That loss to the Rebel County is still on the minds of the players, knowing they must go up some levels.
She feels it could inspire them to victory this weekend.
"There's definitely more in the tank," Eviston stated.
"We're building as we go.
"We played Cork in the first round and they gave us a little bit of a learning that day. But look, we've bounced back. We're building our performances every game since.
"We'll take it one game at a time. We haven't got to an All-Ireland final in a few years. And we've fallen short in All-Ireland semis, marginally. So there's a hunger there, there's a hurt.
"And I think if we bring that, it'll come into our energy. It'll come into our aggression levels. And I think if we focus on that area, we will be able to hurl strong all over the field.
"This is going to be a 60-minute battle. Kilkenny, you're never going to get anything easy. So that's kind of the attitude we're going in with, that we're going to fight."
Watch the All-Ireland Camogie Championship quarter-finals with RTÉ Sport. Waterford v Clare on Saturday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and Tipperary v Kilkenny on Sunday from 1.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
