Cork camogie: Ciara Hurley keeping up family tradition at Croke Park

Every girl and boy who holds a hurley and pucks a sliotar dreams of playing in an All-Ireland final and wearing their county colours on the big stage in Croke Park. 

And when your mother and sister have already been there and done that, you certainly want to follow in their footsteps.

Cork intermediate goalkeeper Ciara Hurley already has an impressive CV, including an All-Ireland U16 medal to her credit from 2019, under the guidance of current intermediate manager Donie Daly.

She's now eager to make it a family treble of intermediate medals on Sunday afternoon in Croke Park. Brother Shane was guarding the goal in 2018 as Cork defeated Kilkenny in Nowlan Park. Their sister Eimear was understudy to Amy Lee as Cork took the intermediate title defeating Down the same year and the following year 2019 added a minor medal when Cork overcame the Cats.

Coming from a family steeped in Gaelic Games it is easy to see how Ciara Hurley quickly became obsessed with camogie. Her grandmother Kitty (Barry Murphy) won senior county championship honours with South Presentation Past Pupils and lined out at senior level with Cork in the late '60s. Grandfather Donie Hurley was a footballer of note with the St Finbarr's club and gave a lifetime of service there. 

Her mother Colette (Cronin) won an All-Ireland junior medal in 1996 and her father Diarmuid has, like his late father Donie, given Trojan service to the Barrs.

I think once I could walk I had a hurley in my hand and we were always down the pitch with Mam or Dad at matches or watching my sister and brother training. 

"My mother Colette played with the club and continued as a mentor and my dad Diarmuid was hugely involved in the football club and so we all just naturally played. 

"Eimear, Shane and I would have known nothing else really I suppose our whole life revolved around matches and training but sure we love it."

Now she can't wait to run out at Croke Park.

"I am really looking forward to playing in the final, I was on the panel in 2022 when Stefanie Beausang was in goal and now she is the goalkeeping coach with us her experience on the line with us is huge and she is a great help with preparations, it really is superb to have people like her motivation and guiding us." 

DOUBLE 

Cork collected the league already this year.

"We had to battle to the finish to win the league and that has stood to us through championship, in the semi-final against Offaly we were really under pressure but we showed huge determination to get there and we will be determined to do that same again next Sunday."

Looking at Sunday's opposition, she has huge respect for Kilkenny.

“Kilkenny are like Cork they live and breathe hurling and camogie and like us they will be hungry for success. They came through extra time against a very good Kerry side to make it to the final and they were hugely motivated to see it through.

It’s an All-Ireland final and they like us are there on merit and we will have to be at our very best to beat them." 

Whatever about Kilkenny being motivated there will be no shortage of motivation for Ciara Hurley as she and her teammates bid for Cork's fifth intermediate title.