The 1956 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship was the high point of the 1956 season in

Camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

. The championship was won by Antrim who defeated

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

by a four-point margin in the final, having created a major surprise by defeating serial champions Dublin in the semi-final, and interrupting what would otherwise have been a run of 19 championships in a row by Dublin. The championship featured what were reportedly two of the best

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

matches in the history of the game in its 12-a-side phase, the final and the semi-final between Antrim and Dublin.

Structure

Mayo refused to play Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final because of concerns about the polio outbreak there. The semi-final between Dublin and Antrim prevented a run of 19 Al Ireland finals in succession for Dublin.

Maeve Gilroy Maeve Gilroy is a former camogie player, winner of the Cuchulainn award in 1966 and of All Ireland medals in 1956 and 1967. Career Gilroy was already regarded as one of the country’s best playersIrish Independent July 6, 1955 page 9 when sh ...

scored 2-2 and Grace Connolly two goals, Mairead Rainey and Marian Kearns a goal each in Antrim’s 6-2 to 6-1 victory. The Irish News described it as

“what was generally voted the greatest camogie game ever played in Ulster. The game was characterised by spates of clever play on both side, with Dublin on the whole the more finished in accurate ground and overhead stickwork. At the three quarter stage they led 5-0 to 4-2 only to fall two points behind when Antrim scored their fifth goal. Dublin however regained the lead with their sixth goal a few minutes later. In a great rally, amid tense excitement, the Ulster champions fought back with great determination for Ita O'Reilly to place Marian Kearns, who crashed home what proved to the match winning goal with a magnificent cross-shot, which caught the Dublin defence out of position and their goalkeeper unsighted.

Final

Teresa Kearns, the 14-year-old Antrim goalkeeper from Cloughmills, made a huge contribution to victory, stopping an array of shots from the Cork attack, including a memorable save from Noreen Duggan. Mitchel Cogley wrote in the

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

The youngest player on the field made probably the most significant contribution to Antrim’s victory. This was the 14-tyear-old Theresa Kearns, who with Antrim leading 4-3 to 4-2 and Cork pressing desperately, brought off a save from star Cork forward
Noreen Duggan Noreen, or BID 590, was an off-line one-time tape cipher machine of British origin. Usage As well as being used by the United Kingdom, Noreen was used by Canada. It was widely used in diplomatic stations. According to the display note on a s ...
which equaled that of Art Foley from Christy Ring the previous week. The parallel went further for, from this escape, Antrim swept away for their fifth goal, which lcinched the issue and brought the title up north. There was nothing between two teams in fleetness of foot, skilful stickwork and length of striking, but Antrim’s defence was the sounder under heavy pressure and the positional play of the forwards was better than that of the Cork girls.Report of final in Irish Independent, October 1, 1956

Final stages

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MATCH RULES *50 minutes *Replay if scores level *Maximum of 3 substitutions

References

External links

Camogie Association

Historical reports of All Ireland finals

Camogie on facebook

{{All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship

Structure

Final

Final stages

See also

References

External links