There aren’t too many players that have O’Connor and Ashbourne Cup medals but Kate Kenny has both.
The Ferbane sensation was part of the DCU camogie team that won the Ashbourne last year and 12 months on, she went and did the double.
DCÚ Dóchas Éireann beat UL in the O’Connor Cup final on Saturday and Kenny was the star of the show. The Naomh Ciaran footballer lit the Connacht GAA dome out of it, running UL ragged with 1-10, including a stunning 1-4 from open play.
Earlier in the week, the former All-Ireland winning camogie player with St Rynaghs had been named on this year’s Ashbourne Cup camogie team of the year – it was her second season in a row to make it.
She’ll duly make the O’Connor All-Star line-up too.
A Biomedical engineering in DCU, Kenny has a fairly stacked time-table but she’s not complaining, and she told SportsJOE today about how she balances it all.
1-10 for Offaly dual star Kate Kenny in DCU's win against UL in the O'Connor Cup final.
Player of the game in All-Ireland Club Camogie and Ladies Football finals and an O'Connor Cup final.
Named on the Ashbourne Cup team of the year and will be on the O'Connor Cup team too. pic.twitter.com/SzCbkKhZ8E
— Will O'Callaghan (@willocallaghan) March 11, 2023
“I find when you get to mix and match the codes, it does keep you fresh, and you’d be looking forward even more to going back to playing the other code, whatever it is.
“I don’t have a preference though, I’m equally happy playing both,” says the 21-year-old.
“There was great communication here in DCU, so it was made very easy for me and any player who played both. So say if it’s a football week, you might focus on that and vice versa.
Kenny started playing camogie and ladies football when she was just six years of age – and hasn’t looked back since.
“I played with my local hurling club Belmont until I was under-12. I couldn’t play anymore so then went to play hurling with St Rynaghs. Them girls were so welcoming to me and I’ve been part of the club ever since and really enjoy it.
“It was sweet to get the win on Saturday,” she adds.
“We lost out last year in the O’Connor Cup, so that made it extra special to get over the line this year.”
Kenny raised the roof of the Bekan dome with two of the sweetest points you could ever hope to see. Modest as they come, she puts it down to the calm conditions inside.
“That was my first time ever playing in the dome.
“It was a really great experience.
“The ball was orange but I didn’t really pass any remarks on that to be honest, once you got into the game it didn’t matter.
“The calm conditions definitely helps too when you’re taking shots. There’s no wind so it’s a bit of a forward’s dream in there.
Sit back and enjoy.
DCU’s Kate Kenny raised the air-dome roof with the two scores of the weekend @SportTG4 🎥
Spoke to her about her performance and playing dual for SportsJOE today ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/5XLMjd33Qk
— Niall McIntyre (@NiallMcintyre) March 13, 2023
“The surface and the conditions were really nice to play in. I think it was snowing at the time so we were glad to be inside, not to have to be out in the cold. The closed top definitely builds the atmosphere too. It can be quite humid and tough to catch your breath in there but I did love it in there.”
“It was instinct to be fair. But kicking off the outside of the boot is something I have practiced a bit of. It came off that time, they often don’t so I was just glad it went through the posts. If it was windy and snowy now I don’t think I’d be trying something like that!”
Having won player-of-the-match awards in club football and camogie finals, as well as a college’s final, Kenny is definitely a big day performer. Typically, she passes all the limelight onto her team-mates.
“I was hitting frees on Saturday, so that was the majority of the scores. Look, I do enjoy the finals, but I think everyone does. When you’ve played in a few, you do learn to deal with the nerves. But it was a brilliant standard, maybe it was because it was in the dome, but it was so quick and much quicker than any football game I’ve ever been involved in.
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