Meath…3-11

Cork…1-11

It was difficult not to feel the camogie players of Antrim and Tipperary missed a trick by rowing back on stated protest plans prior to Saturday’s All Ireland SCC quarter final at Croke Park. As Ursula Jacob said on The Saturday Game Live That was the day to go all out. In the nation’s greatest stadium with national television coverage in tow. But instead of wearing shorts instead of skorts and t-shirts instead of jerseys, all they did was the t-shirts before the match and to delay the start by less than 10 minutes.

A glorious opportunity coughed up. While all lady GAA players absolutely deserve commensurate treatment to their male counterparts, in Meath we have a glorious example of why drastic change is rapidly required. Dunderry dynamo Aoife Minogue was again central to another noteworthy result for the county’s GAA ladies, but as a dual player her endurance and tether are being tested even more.

It’s not right and, cliched or not, it would not be allowed transpire with male dual players. Though on that score it was at least heartening to see the captains of all senior inter county men’s hurling and football teams signatories to a statement released in solidarity with the lady Gaels. Mind you, it’s worth noting that not all that long ago this situation was even worse.

Remember, not all that long ago, mention was made of an occasion on which Megan Thynne had to play two half games in one day as a dual player. That such has changed to one day after the next and is considered progress glves an indication of how far there is still to go on the equality journey.

Whatever about that voyage, Meath’s increasing status in camogie is tipping away nicely. Don’t let anyone fob you off with the “It was their second team” bull… Any day you overcome any Cork GAA team merits a sizable deposit in the credit column.

A goal from team captain Ellen Burke of Dunboyne meant Brendan Skehan’s side only trailed by a point, 1-06 to 1-07, before they changed ends at Semple Stadium. Thereafter, the Leinster side upped their game considerably.

Minogue in particular grew in influence in the second half and when she and Abbye Donnelly also filled the Rebel onion bag it sealed another momentous day for the girls in green.

Scorers – Meath: A. Minogue (1-5), E. Burke & A. Donnelly (1-0 each), G. Coleman (0-3), A. Gaffney (0-2), C. Foley (0-1).