‘All we wanted was that cup’ – Collier leads Camross to glory

CAMROSS captain Aoife Collier admitted it was an “unbelievable” feeling to lift the Laois Intermediate Camogie Championship for the second year in a row at Laois Hire O’Moore Park on Saturday afternoon.

Having already enjoyed a historic 2025 season in which Camross won the Laois, Leinster and All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championships, their focus this year was firmly on retaining their county crown.

They achieved that goal with another victory over St Brigid’s in the final, having defeated the same opposition in last year’s decider.

For Collier, leading Camross up the steps of Laois Hire O’Moore Park and lifting the trophy again was the culmination of everything the group had worked towards throughout 2026.

“Unbelievable, it’s all we ever wanted this year. We didn’t care about anything else, only getting here to this occasion and retaining that cup again. It’s an unbelievable feeling to go up there and bring back it back to Camross,” she said.

Camross had an exceptionally long 2025 campaign, going all the way through to December as they completed their remarkable run to All-Ireland glory.

That meant the club took a longer break than usual before returning to training in March, but Collier explained that the group decided not to overcomplicate matters after everything had gone so well the previous year.

“It was tough, but it was an advantage in one way as it’s very rare that we play until December with the club. We gave ourselves a little bit longer of a break than you would normally. We weren’t back until March, but like that, we took the exact same approach. We just did all the small things right. Last year went so well for us and all the fundamentals were done right, so we just built on those again and just did the exact same thing because why try and fix something that’s not broken?” she commented.

St Brigid’s put Camross under serious pressure in the first half of Saturday’s final, leading by 1-4 to 0-2 with 22 minutes played.

However, Camross gradually worked their way back into the contest and had drawn level by half-time before Sarah Anne Fitzgerald found the net to give them a crucial advantage in the second half.

Having seen first-hand during their 2025 campaign just how important goals can be in tight games, Collier knew that Fitzgerald’s effort could prove decisive.

“We saw that in our campaign outside Laois. That goals really won it for us. We did try in the first half, but look, like you said, they’re a good side. They had a great defensive side to them there and we did try our best, but look, we cleaned the slate at half-time coming in and I suppose that’s the best we could have done. We didn’t perform fully in the first half and show ourselves, but look, we really dug deep in the second half there and came up to their level and just rose above it, thankfully, and just pipped them by that bit, but I wouldn’t take it from them, they’re a great side,” she said.

Camross will now turn their attention towards the Leinster Club Championship, which begins next weekend, but Collier was not interested in looking too far ahead as the celebrations began in O’Moore Park.

With Camross’ senior and minor teams also involved in county finals this weekend, the captain is hoping the Intermediate camogie victory can be the first part of a memorable weekend for the club.

“We’re not thinking about anything else at the moment. I don’t even know what’s ahead of us.

I think it’s a small turnaround, but look, we only care about celebrating tonight and hopefully celebrating tomorrow. Look, like that, it’s a massive weekend for Camross and we led the way here today. The first bit of silverware, so hopefully it’s the first of three,” Collier said.