Mary Fennelly (Máire Ní Fhionnalaigh) was the 19th president of 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 ...

Family background

She is first cousin of the Fennelly family from

Ballyhale Ballyhale () is a village in the south east of Ireland. Located in the south of County Kilkenny, south of the city of Kilkenny and roughly halfway to Waterford city. The sport of hurling is popular in the area, and the local Gaelic Athletic ...

, of whose seven brothers four played together to win the 1989

Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and conte ...

and four (

Kevin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

Seán Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

, Ger and

Liam Liam is a short form of the Irish name Uilliam or the old Germanic name William. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these elem ...

) played together in the All Ireland hurling

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Career

She won three All Ireland medals with Kilkenny in 1974, 1976 (when she captained the team), and 1977 (when she won the Kilkenny camogie sports star award) and All Ireland club medals with St Paul's. She won colleges medals with

Presentation Secondary School, Kilkenny The Presentation Secondary School, Kilkenny is an all girls secondary school catering for students between the ages of 12-19 around the Kilkenny city, and the surrounding areas. The school has a Catholic ethos and falls under the Trusteeship of C ...

in the first two years of the competition, 1968 and 1969. In the early 1970s, while in Dublin, she played with Naomh Aoife. She retired as a player in 1980.

Administration

She first chaired the Kilkenny camogie board while still a player in 1976, seeing affiliations in the county grow at all levels and organising

Féile na nGael Féile na nGael (; Irish for "Festival of the Gaels") is an annual tournament comprising the sports of hurling, camogie and handball organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Its stated aim is to bond communities, forge friendships, provi ...

in Kilkenny in 1978 and 1979. She organised the centenary golf event of the

in 2004.Irish Independent 5 July 2004
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References

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Presidents of the Camogie Association Kilkenny camogie players Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Place of birth missing (living people) {{Kilkenny-camogie-bio-stub