The 1945

All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship The All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship is a competition for inter-county teams in the women's field sport of game of camogie played in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Camogie Association and are played during the summer mo ...

was the high point of the 1945 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

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

by a six-point margin in the final.

Structure

Because of the splits in the Association and the disaffiliation of the Leinster counties only three teams entered the championship from outside Ulster. Waterford won the Munster championship for the first time when they defeated Tipperary 4–1 to 2–1 and received a bye to the All-Ireland final as Leinster had withdrawn from the

Camogie Association The Camogie Association ( ga, An Cumann Camógaíochta, formerly ga, Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael) organises and promotes the sport of camogie in Ireland and around the world. The association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Associati ...

Final

Antrim's team travelled by five cars in wartime to Waterford for the final.

Final stages

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;Match Rules *50 minutes *Replay if scores level *Maximum of 3 substitutions

Alternative All-Ireland final

A complex series of disagreements, splits in the

, the foundation of two new bodies, and other altercations between the years 1939 and 1952 had a series impact on the

and led to the absence of the two most prominent camogie-playing counties

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 ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

among several others.

missed the All Ireland championships of

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

, 1945 and

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

, in a dispute over the ban on

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

players and was represented by a one club selection in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, the CIÉ Club. As a result of a separate dispute over male officials

missed the eight championships between

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. On the first year both were non participants they staged an "alternative" All Ireland final. From the outset events in the

did not follow the normal course of events in sporting disputes.

Alternative All-Ireland final: Dublin

When

proposed that the ban on

players be removed in 1939 a special delegate conference was called. Ulster Council wanted a single delegate per county at this conference, in effect enabling them to outvote Dublin, which had three quarters of the members and half the registered clubs of the association at the time. Ulster Council then organised a boycott of the special delegate conference at which the

and

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

delegates unanimously removed the ban on hockey players. The rest of the affiliated counties seceded en masse as did the Central Council of the

, but not, crucially the president

Máire Gill Máire ‘Molly’ Gill (Máire Ní Ghiolla) (1891–1977) was a political activist who became third and longest-serving president of the Camogie Association and captained a Dublin team to an All Ireland championship while serving as president o ...

or the secretary Esther Ryan. The Dublin-based

life president

Agnes O'Farrelly Agnes O'Farrelly (born Agnes Winifred Farrelly; 24 June 1874 – 5 November 1951) ( ga, Úna Ní Fhaircheallaigh; nom-de-plume 'Uan Uladh'), was an academic and Professor of Irish at University College Dublin (UCD).Ríona Nic Congáil, ''Úna Ní ...

and the energetic national organiser

Sean O'Duffy Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish language, Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (Anglicisation of names, anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn (giv ...

kept contact with both sides. This left

and its client clubs in Leinster as the only remaining members of the "old association" while the rest discussed a "new" National Camógaíocht Association at Jury's Hotel in Dublin on 23 July 1939. It was established soon afterwards at a meeting in Jury's Hotel on 26 August, at which Rosemary Marron of Antrim presided, with Jean Condon from Ashbourne as its president. Delegates attended from Wexford, Meath and Cork as well as the Ulster counties and letters of support were read from Galway, Louth and a few Dublin clubs that were in favour of the retention of the ban. They sought the help of the GAA to further their objectives and expected to stage their All-Ireland final at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

on the first Sunday that the ground was available in November. Dublin's strong league structure and access to playing fields in the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

enabled it to carry on as normal without any change to practice. In the meantime the National Camógaíocht Association organised the All Ireland championships in

and

, albeit without the

O'Duffy Cup The O'Duffy Cup ( ga, Corn Uí Dúbhthaigh) is the prize presented to the winners of the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship. The cup is named after Seán O'Duffy, a member and administrator of the Kilmacud Crokes club in Dublin, who present ...

, which remained in Dublin custody. In

the CIÉ Club affiliated to the Central Council and qualified for the All Ireland semi-final, setting an important precedent and putting Dublin's position of isolation under pressure. In October 1941

Pádraig Ó Caoimh Pádraig Ó Caoimh (Patrick "Paddy" O'Keeffe) was an Irish soldier and long-time administrator of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the home of the Cork GAA, is named after him. Early life Ó Caoimh was born in Roscomm ...

, General Secretary of the GAA mediated a settlement under which Dublin reaffiliated,

and Esther Ryan stood down,

Lil Kirby Elizabeth "Lil" Kirby ( ga, Éilís Ní Chiarbha; 1921–1987) was a camogie player who won six All Ireland medals and became fifth president of the Camogie Association. Early life She was the daughter of DW Kirby of Carrigpeter, Bishopstown Pa ...

was elected new president and Jean McHugh became new secretary of the

. The reaffiliated Dublin team met Cork in the All Ireland finals of

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

and

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

, re-establishing their hegemony as the two leading counties in the game.

Alternative All-Ireland final: Cork

Cork withdrew in 1944 over a separate issue, the debate over a females-only administration for

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 ...

. Their eight-year withdrawal from the championship has been characterised by the game's official historian as the act of an individual, Cork chairman Idé Bean Uí Shé. Mary Moran wrote in her 2011 history of camogie, ''A Game of Our Own'':

Readers must wonder how an individual could withdraw Cork from the Association and get away with it. I have put that question to camogie people of the time. The usual reply was 'we were unable to challenge her'. Idé Bean Uí Shé lectured in Irish at U.C.C. whereas many of the delegates that attended the Cork County Board had left school in their early teens. If someone disputed the point with her, she immediately switched to speaking Irish, leaving the delegate at a disadvantage. On the other hand, some delegates were happy to let Idé lead the way and they followed without question. The situation dragged on for years. Eventually, Old Aloysians came up with the idea of making her Life President of the Cork Board. She was delighted with the honour. A new chairperson was elected and Cork affiliated. 978-1-908591-00-5 Page 80

Cork defeated Dublin a week before Dublin won the

Championship, raising questions about Dublin's claim as All Ireland champions.

Alternative All-Ireland final: Dublin again

The peace in Dublin did not last either. The Leinster counties withdrew from the Association in May 1945, listing a catalogue of grievances, a time described by Mary Moran as "the darkest hour in the history of the Association". For the first time neither of the two strongest counties in Camogie were participants in the All Ireland champions and when they met in an "alternative" or "unofficial" All Ireland final it was played at

as opposed to the "official" All Ireland championship in Cappoquin.

Alternative All Ireland final: The matches

Dublin and Cork organised an alternative All Ireland final as a show of strength, showing their vastly superior playing numbers and support above that of the National Camógaíocht Association. They played at Croke Park on 14 October 1945, drawing 1–1 each. Dublin beat Cork 4–2 to 1–1 in the replay at the Mardyke on 18 November. It was a high profile event covered in the national newspapers, as opposed to the National Camógaíocht Association final in Cappoquin in which Antrim defeated Waterford with a smaller crowd and no national coverage. It is in effect Dublin's "missing" 27th All Ireland title. The winners received a set of hurleys presented by Denis Guiney, Managing Director of Clery & Co. Ltd.

;Match Rules *50 minutes *Replay if scores level *Maximum of 3 substitutions

Alternative All-Ireland: aftermath

The National Camógaíocht Association's All Ireland Championship was saved by the rise of Antrim and the revival of interest in camogie in Belfast city, which staged high-profile All Ireland finals in

and in

Corrigan Park Corrigan Park is a Gaelic games ground on the Whiterock Road in west Belfast that served as the main venue for GAA in Belfast until the opening of Casement Park in 1953. It is named in honour of Sean Corrigan, mentor of the Brian Óg club who we ...

. Another "unified" camogie body (the third) Comhaltas Camógaíochta na hÉireann was formed in Dublin on 21 April 1947, and Leinster Council disbanded. A new Leinster Council was formed but it was only able to attract two counties to affiliate. Once again CIÉ Club affiliated to the Central Council from Dublin in

and were able to qualify unopposed as Leinster champions and reach the All-Ireland final. They formed an alternative Dublin County Board on 30 September and went a step further in the

championship when they won the competition without assistance from any other Dublin clubs. The success opened the way for unity talks chaired by Síghle Nic an Ultaigh from Down, who persuaded Dublin and the Leinster counties to re-affiliate in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

. Cork re-affiliated in

after an eight-year absence from the championship.

References

External links

Camogie Association

Historical reports of All Ireland finals

Camogie on facebook

{{All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship 1945 in camogie

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...