After all the fuss and uproar, the same question continues to swirl around the McCambridge household – Corrigan or Croker?
Clodagh McCambridge will captain the Armagh women’s team in Saturday’s Lidl Division One National Football League final against Kerry at Croke Park, with throw-in at 5pm.
Earlier that same afternoon her brother, Barry, will be part of the Armagh men’s squad travelling to Corrigan Park for their Ulster SFC quarter-final against Antrim, with that fixture starting at 12.30pm in Belfast.
The controversy over Corrigan Park as the venue for the provincial clash has dominated the build-up in recent months but finally in late March the Ulster Council agreed to fix the game for the 4,000 capacity ground.
Denis Walsh: GAA are failing to hit the beat when it comes to their musical choices
Cavan’s defensive record is overestimated by RTÉ’s Paul Flynn
Meath advance over Offaly after quintessential game of two halves
GAA Sunday as it happened: Dublin will face Meath in Leinster semi-final after victory over Wicklow
When confirming the fixture, Ulster GAA also explained the reason for the unusually early throw-in was to give Armagh fans the option of also travelling to Croke Park for the women’s league final, should they wish to do so.
And while Clodagh recognises the efforts made to facilitate Orchard supporters, the journey of just over 100 miles in such a narrow window of time is likely to make it a difficult sell to many fans.
“You would imagine that [scheduling the games on different days] would have been ideal but I suppose that is out of our control,” she says.
“It was probably something we were aware of, that in the eventuality we were to get to the Division One league final that there could potentially be a clash.
“Obviously it’s nice they have tried to accommodate it but at the same time it is still probably going to be tight for time, I know my family might have to choose between which game they go to.”
This is Clodagh’s second year as captain of the Armagh women’s team and in 2024 she managed to raise two trophies – the Division 1 league crown and the Ulster title.
However, Armagh’s push for All-Ireland silverware came undone at the semi-final stage last July when they lost 1-8 to 0-7 to Kerry in Tullamore. The Kingdom subsequently progressed to lift the Brendan Martin Cup.
Clodagh attended that All-Ireland decider and hopes Armagh can take belief from the fact Kerry ended the 2024 season as champions.
“I went to the final and I suppose you can look at it a number of ways but more than anything it’s motivation – we can take confidence from Kerry winning the All-Ireland because we know we are not far away.
“We were probably disappointed at the end of the semi-final last year with how we played. I would say there will be a big focus now on trying to push on, it’s about taking that next step.
“We did have a positive season last year, winning the National League and winning the Ulster championship so obviously you’d love to go one step further.”
The sides have already met this season with Armagh netting three late goals at Austin Stack Park in January to run out 3-11 to 1-13 winners in the opening round of the league.
Saturday’s game is a repeat of last year’s league final, which Armagh won 2-12 to 2-9 at Croke Park.
“But they obviously got the better of us in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final and they also beat us in a Division 2 league final (in 2022), so we have tended to match up well. Over the last couple of years we have had a lot of really tough games against each other, really good battles, and I’d expect Saturday’s game to be no different.”
Lidl LGFA National Football League finals
Saturday
Division 1: Armagh v Kerry, Croke Park, 5pm (Live on TG4)
Division 2: Cork v Galway, Croke Park, 3pm (Live on TG4)
Ticket prices: Adult – €20; Students/OAPs – €10; Juvenile – €5
Sunday
Division 3: Cavan v Wexford, GAA Grounds, Drogheda, 2pm (Live on Spórt TG4)
Division 4: Antrim v Fermanagh, St Tiernach’s Park, Clones, 3pm (Live on Spórt TG4)
Ticket prices: Adult – €10; Students/OAPs – €5; U18s – €2; U12s – free
