Pictures: Knocknaheeny welcomes camogie heroes home

Following the fantastic reception the Cork senior camogie team got in Cork city centre last Monday night, they made their way up to Knocknaheeny to the club of the captain Amy O’Connor.

“Despite it being a very wet evening, there were people on Cathedral Road waiting to greet the bus and team,” PRO of St Vincent’s Hurling and Football club, Mick Nugent, told The Echo.

The bus also stopped en route to Hollymount House at Ascension Heights, where Amy is from, and her family and friends had gathered there to meet the team.

The bus then pulled in at St Vincent’s clubhouse on Blarney Road, and the team were greeted by a guard of honour made up of young players from the club.

“It was a fantastic night and I think everybody involved in the Cork setup remarked on the welcome they got,” Mr Nugent said.

He also praised those who helped organize the evening, from both the camogie and hurling and football sides of the club. People were able to enjoy music, as well as food and ice cream.

There were a number of speakers on the night, including the Lord Mayor, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, Cork Camogie Manager Matthew Twomey, Don O’Sullivan chair of St Vincent’s camogie club, and Captain Amy O’Connor spoke herself, among others.

Mr Nugent explained that Amy spoke about her pride in being from the northside, and in being from St Vincent’s.

“It was fantastic,” Mr Nugent said. “It was packed to the rafters. The party went on until late in the night and everybody thoroughly enjoyed it. There were a lot of young players, boys and girls, there and Amy is such an inspiration to them,” Mr Nugent said.

“The club is doing a ferocious amount of work in the academy now, we’re hoping that people will follow Amy’s example,” he added.

Amy is the second high-profile sportsperson from the area who has been in the news in recent weeks. Denise O’Sullivan was on the team that represented Ireland in the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

“They’re role models for the community and hopefully more will follow their example,” Mr Nugent said.