The Electric Ireland CCAO finals will take place this weekend in the UCD sports ground with semi-finals taking place on Saturday and the finals taking place on Sunday
Third-level camogie is broken into five divisions, four of which already have names. The Ashbourne Cup is for division 1, division 2 is contested for the Purcell Club (including by SETU Carlow), the Fr Meaghair Cup goes to the winners of division 3, the Uí Mhaolagainn Cup to those sitting on top of division 4 leaving the division 5 cup without a name. That will all change this weekend as the CCAO honour the memory of the late Ashling Murphy from the Kilcormac/Killoughey club.
Ashling was jogging along the Royal Canal in Tullamore, Co. Offaly on January 12, 2022 when she was murdered in broad daylight. Her death shook the entire country, her story dominating the airwaves, front pages and social media sites in the weeks following.
See also: Camán Caint season 4, episode 1 out now
The school teacher trained in Mary Immaculate College and would have played camogie during her time in Limerick. The college have donated the new cup in Ashling’s memory with the blessing from the Murphy family.
Uachtarán an Cumann Camógaíochta, Hilda Breslin, thanked the Murphy family, CCAO and Mary Immaculate College.
“Ashling’s tragic death was deeply felt by the camogie community, most especially by her teammates, club, county and Mary Immaculate College where she had played. Our thoughts will always be with Ashling’s family, friends, club and wider community”, said Breslin on Tuesday.
“Since Ashling’s death, her family with great courage and dignity have sought to raise both the issue of violence towards women but also celebrate the wonderful life of Ashling. Ashling’s accomplishments, her generosity of spirit and her love of Irish culture touched so many, the naming of the CCAO cup in her honour is a fitting tribute. It will also continue to highlight the responsibility of all of us within society to ensure a safe environment for women.”
You can hear more on this story and get the latest on the CCAO’s Ashbourne weekend with CCAO chair Jack Dunphy on this week’s edition of the award-winning Camán Caint podcast. Find it above or pick it up wherever you do your podcast listening.
