CAPTAIN CLODAGH READY FOR NEW YEAR
Richard Bullick
She enjoyed a fairytale first season as Orchard captain but Clodagh McCambridge knows previous success guarantees nothing going into the new inter-county campaign which starts this weekend.
Armagh get their National League title defence underway with the toughest of opening games away to All Ireland champions Kerry in Tralee this Saturday (1.30pm, TG4) and McCambridge is savouring the prospect of another blockbuster battle.
Last season, the orangewomen won the regular league game between these teams in the Athletic Grounds and also overthrew the Kingdom in the Orchard outfit’s first NFL final at Croke Park before Kerry produced a revenge victory in July’s All Ireland semi.
So the forthcoming clash will be the latest instalment in an absorbing rivalry, though both teams are under new management with Joe Feeney and Darnell Parkinson replacing Greg McGonigle at the Orchard helm and a fresh start for their hosts too.
Declan Quill and Darragh Long stood down after steering the Kingdom to their first All Ireland title in more than three decades while marquee forward Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh has hung up her boots after finally achieving the holy grail.
By contrast, Armagh’s hunger hasn’t been sated as they continue to seek the sport’s top prize and indeed McCambridge has found herself on the losing side in three All Ireland semi-finals in the space of 12 months.
Either side of that Orchard disappointment, her other team in orange, Clann Eireann, have been beaten at the last four stage of the All Ireland Senior Club Championship the first Sunday in December both of the past two years.
In addition to the heartache, it has been a busy schedule for the 27-year-old, with little break between seasons, but McCambridge isn’t complaining about being part of successful sides jostling for the ultimate honours in their respective spheres.
“It’s great having the success, and these are really enjoyable journeys when you’re in the middle of them, always striving to take the next step. Clann Eireann spent so long trying to make an impact in Ulster so to now win two titles back-to-back has been great,” she reflects.
“Our All Ireland semi wasn’t until early December but Joe and Darnell have given the Clann Eireann contingent a break before getting back in with Armagh so I’m feeling refreshed and ready to go, energised by the prospect of building on what we did last season.”
This time last year, McCambridge had just been made captain by new manager McGonigle, taking over the mantle from long-serving skipper Kelly Mallon who had led Armagh to three Ulster title triumphs in four seasons.
Meanwhile, Armagh were about to embark upon their first top flight league campaign since 2017 having spent six seasons in Division Two before finally securing promotion by beating Laois in Croke Park the previous April.
They began with an absolute bang, reeling off six consecutive victories to secure their ticket to that historic NFL final, in which they dethroned holders Kerry before reclaiming their provincial crown by defeating Donegal in May’s Ulster Senior Championship showpiece.
McCambridge became just the fourth woman in Orchard history to captain Armagh to an Ulster title triumph, putting the seal on a special afternoon in Clones as it was also her 100th Orchard appearance!
Following two cameo outings off the bench in the summer of 2015, McCambridge has started 102 of the last 103 Armagh matches with the exception being when she missed the 2018 All Ireland quarter-final defeat to Donegal due to being on holiday.
There were no All Stars awarded for the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season but McCambridge made the alternative Team of the Senior Championship and she’s been shortlisted the past two years albeit being unable to attend the Dublin banquet due to Clann Eireann going deep.
In recent years, she’s played every minute of every Armagh match, making it more difficult for the team to cope when she had to leave the field briefly for running repairs after getting her face split open in last summer’s All Ireland semi in Tullamore.
The Kingdom grabbed the game’s only goal during those fateful few minutes before going on to beat Galway in the final a week after an Armagh men’s team starring Clodagh’s younger brother Barry McCambridge achieved All Ireland glory.
Both those triumphs fuelled a sense of what might have been for the Orchard ladies, with Clodagh’s trio of Armagh vice-captains – Lauren McConville and the Mackin sisters – each having family members in Kieran McGeeney’s victorious squad too.
But these things – the Orchard men’s success, that first NFL title for their female counterparts, Clann Eireann ladies doing well at club level – all add to the sense of Armagh as a strong gaelic footballing county who can hold their own with anyone.
McCambridge’s Armagh go into this new National League campaign as title holders with three of their first four fixtures selected as TG4’s match of the round to be televised live so they’re definitely no longer under the radar after being last year’s surprise package.
“It’s probably a different scenario alright to last January, when we’d just come up to Division One after a number of years and were excited about the new challenge ahead but our approach was just to take it one game at a time and in that sense not much has changed.
“There’s maybe more pressure of external expectation on us now but, just like last season, it’s about going out every week with the aim of trying to perform well and see where that takes us. Nobody has a single point on the table at this stage and they have to be earned.
“We can take confidence from last season in terms of knowing we can compete with all these top teams, and particularly from winning quite a number of tight games, which is what they tend to be at this level.
“All those experiences from last season should stand to us over the coming months but there’s nothing guaranteed. All we can control is how we prepare, which hopefully feeds into how we perform and give ourselves the best chance of getting the results we want.”
The renowned McGonigle leaves big boots to fill at the Orchard helm but both Feeney and Parkinson were part of his management team last season so there’s significant continuity in the set-up along with an element of freshness which Clodagh hopes can prove valuable.
“There’s a good balance of continuity with Joe and Darnell, because we’ve a lot of firm foundations from last season to build upon and are used to working with them, and then Barry Grimes and Chris Rafferty coming in with fresh eyes to add something more.”
Two of Armagh’s main rivals are under new management for the forthcoming campaign, Mark Bourke taking charge of Kerry, and Mick Bohan handing over the reigns after a very productive eight years as Dublin boss to Paul Casey and Derek Murray.
League champions Armagh are away to both those teams in the first three rounds of fixtures either side of hosting neighbours Tyrone, who are back in Division One for the first time since being whitewashed in 2016, at St Paul’s in Lurgan on Sunday week.
Armagh host the other newly-promoted team Kildare and travel to Waterford between visits from recent All Ireland champions Meath and familiar foes Mayo, both of whom will be out to avenge double defeat at Orchard hands last season.
The Orchard team thumped their former manager Shane McCormack’s Meath by double-digits in their Ashbourne backyard in February before edging Mayo in Ballina on St Patrick’s Day to secure their ticket to the NFL final.
Both those sides then left Ireland’s ecclesiastical capital empty-handed during the summer, Meath losing an All Ireland group game against Armagh at the Athletic Grounds and Mayo being beaten in the same stadium in the subsequent quarter-final.
“I’m sure neither Meath nor Mayo will need much motivation coming to play us after last season’s outcomes. We have home advantage against both but they’ll feel that they can emulate our away wins in the corresponding games last year,” reflects Clodagh.
“Those should be great contests and that’s the thing about Division One, you’re playing all the country’s top teams one after the other and that’s something to really look forward to, not just for ourselves but the supporters too.”
At face value, the first division has a little less depth this year with relegated big guns Galway and Cork being replaced by Kildare and Tyrone – and with home advantage Armagh will be firm favourites to beat both – but McCambridge isn’t counting chickens.
“I think the standard in Division Two is really high so whoever comes up should be formidable. Donegal didn’t get promotion last season yet our Ulster final against them went right to the wire and I’m sure it will be no different this year.”
Right now though Armagh aren’t looking beyond this Saturday’s mouthwatering opening game against Kerry and, although it’s a long journey to Tralee, having that trip and overnight stay at the start of the season could be beneficial from a team bonding perspective.
“Especially with new management and some new players, it will be good to spend time together. It’s obviously a tough opening game, away to the All Ireland champions, but we’ve had great battles with them last year and even over recent seasons.
“So we’re under no illusions about the strength of opposition, but it’s important that we back our own ability too. We won twice against them last year and even that All Ireland semi-final, although it was seen as a deserved victory for Kerry, we had our opportunities to win it.
“Both teams will want to start their season well and it’s an exciting challenge. There a big buzz around Armagh football at present, and my own club Clann Eireann, so there’s a real appetite to keep pushing on and maintain that positive vibe.”
Unusually, five of Armagh’s seven NFL fixtures are on Saturdays this season, with throw-ins ranging from lunchtime to 7.30pm, but McCambridge expects the team to take that break from routine in their stride.
“It was something that I picked up on when the fixtures came out but there shouldn’t be any negative impact. You just adjust your schedule depending upon what time a match is starting and we’ve actually been training on Saturday mornings recently so it’s no big deal.
“More matches have been streamed over recent years but being involved in actual televised games is particularly positive exposure and good profile for Armagh ladies football, helping the efforts of Sinead (Reel) and the County Board who have backed us so strongly.”
Already regarded as a magnificent full back, McCambridge has blossomed as an excellent captain since being given the responsibility by McGonigle, an exemplary young woman who fulfils her responsibilities willingly, graciously and very capably.
Her unscripted captain’s speeches after the NFL final and Ulster showpiece were really excellent and, despite being of a naturally modest disposition, she is very accommodating towards interview requests and comfortable facilitating photoshoots.
One daily newspaper correspondent noted that ‘nothing’s too much trouble for Clodagh McCambridge’, and she also made herself available for a number of media days last season which involved being filmed and snapped in some eye-catching locations and poses.
She isn’t someone to crave the attention for its own sake but the typically pleasant and agreeable Clodagh isn’t odd or awkward either, just going with the flow for the greater good as she understands the bigger picture and the need for ladies footballers to be evangelists.
“Those photoshoots weren’t the sort of thing I’d be doing every day, but I don’t mind. I’ll generally try to do whatever I’m asked to help promote our sport and represent Armagh. It’s great seeing support increase and especially so many little girls coming to our matches.
“You start recognising some of the same wee faces and it’s lovely to see their excitement. We want to inspire young girls and the interaction is important along with what we can achieve on the field,” says Clodagh, a great ambassador and role model.
Despite the change in Armagh management, confirmation that she’ll continue as county captain for a second season was widely expected on the back of lifting two trophies in her first year and doing everything else which goes with the job so diligently and well.
“It was a brilliant season and I really enjoyed it. It’s an added responsibility but I was very ably supported by (vice-captains) Lauren, Aimee and Blaithin along with the backing from management so it’s a role I want to keep giving my best to and developing in,” she says.
