ST MARTIN’S CAMOGIE captain Katie O’Connor has always been surrounded by good mentors in sport.
At present, she shares a dressing room with Wexford camogie royalty.
Her teammates at the St Martin’s club are four-time All-Ireland winners Mags D’Arcy and Noeleen Lambert, players she idolised during her youth.
At just 22, she sometimes struggles to comprehend that she is leading such stalwarts of the game into an All-Ireland senior club final this weekend.
“To be captaining women that I would always have looked up to: Mags and Noeleen they were my childhood heroes,” she says, still stunned by the privileged position she’s in.
I would have had their autographs on the back of my jersey when they were winning their All-Irelands, now I’m there playing with them. It’s a real privilege.”
O’Connor might be the official team captain, but the leadership of Lambert and D’Arcy is still integral to the team.
Many of the St Martin’s players, including O’Connor, have never played in Croke Park before, and being able to draw from the experience of the seasoned duo is a huge benefit to their squad.
And they’re always on hand for the St Martin’s players to turn to for guidance in any situation.
“Noeleen was away last year having a baby but she’s back this year with us,” O’Connor explains.
“So, it’s great to have her back. She brings a lot of experience to the team. She knows how to win. To have her back this year teaching us was great. It certainly helped us to win the Leinster title alright.
“It’s so important, especially coming up to days like this, the All-Ireland. The majority of us, the younger players, wouldn’t have had any experience with big matchdays like this. Especially days out in Croke Park.
“If anyone ever has a problem, Mags would always be more than welcoming to every player, to help them if they are stuck with anything or if they are nervous; Mags or Noeleen would always be there with advice.”
The St Martin’s manager is JJ Doyle, a former Wexford manager who masterminded three of those All-Ireland titles that D’Arcy and Lambert were involved in between 2010 and 2012.
She briefly questioned his decision to appoint her as the team skipper at the start of this season, but she’s honoured to have been asked to fulfill the role by someone of his calibre.
While other teams might occasionally invite a high profile coach to come in and host guest training sessions, O’Connor insists that Doyle is the best motivator for her.
“JJ has been there before and done this. He did it with the women when they were winning their All-Irelands. He was over the U21 boys when they were winning their Leinsters. JJ has great experience when it comes to big days like this.
I was asked before if we had anyone in talking to us for extra advice and we haven’t because JJ has everything that we need and he gives us all the advice that we could possibly ask for.”
The small ball game has always been central to O’Connor’s home life too. Her cousins Jack and Rory are currently part of Davy Fitzgerald’s Wexford panel while her father and uncles all played the sport as well.
Naturally, there were plenty of matches played among the O’Connor relatives at home, where dogged battles often ensued.
“It was great,” the St Martin’s star recalls with a smile.
“There were slaps every now and again, a few stitches. Those were actually from the girl cousins – Aisling, she’s on the team, she’s playing corner-back for us. We were certainly toughened up.”
St Martin’s are back-to-back Wexford champions, and after picking up their first provincial title at this grade earlier this year, they’re now preparing for a maiden All-Ireland final appearance at Croke Park.
They will face a considerable task when they take to the field on Sunday, taking on an experienced Slaughtneil outfit who are aiming to complete a three-in-a-row.
The local bunting has been visible since their county success over the legendary club Oulart The Ballagh back in October, and there’s plans to add more even more colour before the weekend.
According to O’Connor, Doyle always preached that “the potential is there” during the years when St Martin’s were evolving into senior contenders.
If they can harness that potential correctly on Sunday afternoon, they can dethrone Slaughtneil and create history for the club.
“There was talk of painting the road, but I don’t know if they’ll be allowed to do that,” says O’Connor of the incredible support they’re getting at home.
“They did it ’96 for the hurlers but they were different times. I don’t know if they’ll be allowed to do that but it’s going ahead anyway.
“It’s a massive day for the whole club. Croke Park were down there on Tuesday night, they came down to sell tickets and they nearly sold 500. That’s a great confidence boost for us, to know that we have all those people behind us on the day.”
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