Armagh reaping rewards of smart dual approach to football and camogie, admits Saffrons legend Jane Adams

Speaking ahead of the Electric Ireland Camogie Minor All-Ireland Finals that will see Tyrone play Mayo in the 'C’ Final and Armagh take on Kildare in the ‘B’ decider, Adams underlined the importance of having county boards promote both codes rather than just one.

“I think that is very important, I think maybe in the past, that has been lost among county boards,” she said.

“I do feel like whatever you put out there is what you are going to get in abundance. We have to be mindful that it is an amateur sport, and it’s up to the players to decide what they want to play.

“If managers and county boards want the young ladies and fellows to continue to play, then they have to have a wee bit of openness; see through the eyes of the players, what they want to do and how they want to do it.

“When both codes work together, it is so much better because when they don’t, then it creates problems that don’t need to exist.

“Look at Caroline O’Hanlon, who is playing for the Armagh senior footballers but also plays netball and is also a doctor, so it can be done when Associations work together.”

The Armagh senior football team are flying at the moment, and now, they have this talented crop of camogie players on the brink of winning an All-Ireland, so things are certainly being done right there.

Adams wants to see young girls stay involved with sports, regardless of what it is, and believes that when you give them ultimatums or put pressure on them to choose one over the other, you are just driving them away altogether.

She elaborates: “From my own experience, I remember back in 2008, we were in an All-Ireland Semi-Final with O’Donovan Rossa in camogie, and that was always my ultimate dream, to become the first Ulster team to win in its 40-year history, but I also played football for St Paul’s, which is a different club.

“I made it very clear at the start that when we started progressing and I had to choose between the two, then I would be pulling out of the St Paul’s game.

“When we were preparing for the All-Ireland Camogie Final with Rossa, we had also reached an Intermediate Ulster Final with St Paul’s, and we were given the opportunity to make that decision ourselves.

“I decided that I wasn’t going to play for St Paul’s, and they never held it against me, and the choice was on me which made it so much easier, even though it was a hard decision.

“That was down to the management, the players and the connection that we had, and because of that openness, it was able to be done.”

Electric Ireland will be livestreaming the Electric Ireland Camogie All-Ireland Championships Minor Finals on their YouTube page, with live clips being shared across Electric Ireland’s Twitter channel @ElectricIreland over the weekend.