Amy O'Connor is aware of how lucky she is as a Cork camogie player, amid the United for Equality protests which took place this summer.
Prior to games in the Ladies Football and Camogie All-Ireland Championships, players donned t-shirts with the slogan United for Equality as part of the fight for equal rights across the men's and women's side of Gaelic Games.
Cork were crowned All-Ireland camogie champions earlier this month, and while O'Connor recognises the need for improvement across the land, she is grateful for the facilities that her county has access to.
O'Connor's three-goal performance in the All-Ireland Final victory over Waterford earned her the PwC GPA Women's Player of the Month – Final award, and she spoke to Balls.ie and the Irish media about the importance of the United for Equality protests when it comes to making positive changes for female players.
Amy O'Connor: "We're blessed in Cork"
"Obviously progress was made with the United for Equality protest," said the St. Vincent's star at the PwC offices in Dublin earlier this week, where she picked up her award.
"The organisations are willing to talk to one another now. The sooner integration happens the better.
"Going into those protests, I was always aware that we're very lucky in Cork to be treated the way we're treated. We train sometimes at Pairc Ui Chaoimh, we train a lot in Pairc Ui Rinn, we have our own camogie pitch where we can train whenever we want.
"We always have a gym available for us in Pairc Ui Chaoimh at different sessions throughout the week. We have as good a strength and conditioning coach as you could possibly want. We're fed after every single training session.
"I could go on and on. We're blessed in Cork. I was very aware of that going to those different protests. We were protesting on behalf of our colleagues around the country who are not treated as well. In Cork we're very aware of how lucky we actually are but it was important for us to stand united."
23 August 2023; Cork camogie player Amy O'Connor with her Player of the Month Finals award at the PwC offices in Dublin. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Sporting friendship
O'Connor comes from the Cork suburb of Knocknaheeny, which isn't short on sporting talent, none more notable currently than Ireland's Women's World Cup star Denise O'Sullivan.
In fact, had O'Connor chosen a different path, she could well have flown to Australia alongside her neighbour, as she actually represented Ireland at underage level.
In doing so, she played at the 2014 U19 European Championships alongside O'Sullivan's current teammates Katie McCabe and Chloe Mustaki.
The pair's families know each other well, and while O'Sullivan has gone on to carve out successful career in professional soccer, O'Connor stated that she was happy to cheer Ireland on from afar.
26 July 2023; Denise O'Sullivan of Republic of Ireland during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Group B match between Canada and Republic of Ireland at Perth Rectangular Stadium in Perth, Australia. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Amy O'Connor: "It's brilliant for our area"
"It was nice to watch," she said when asked about Ireland's exploits Down Under. "It was brilliant to see. Everywhere you looked, you saw an Irish soccer player. My thoughts are focused solely on camogie, I made that decision a long time ago and it's a decision that I'm very happy with.
"I suppose there were times when I sat down and watched the games, I'd be having a chat with my mam and my dad saying 'what if' but I'm very happy with my decision.
"My mam and Denise's mam would talk on a daily basis. My mam works in the SuperValu that Denise's mam shops in so they'd see each other very regularly.
"They'd always be chatting about how Denise is getting on and how I'm getting on. It's just brilliant for our area to see Denise on the world stage, showing the talent that she has, and for us to go on and win the All-Ireland, it was just brilliant for the area."
6 August 2022; Amy O'Connor of Cork shoots to score her side's fourth goal, and her hat-trick, under pressure from Laoise Forrest of Waterford, right, during the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Camogie Championship Premier Senior Final match between Waterford and Cork at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Cork's All-Ireland victory this year was their first since 2018, but a record-extending 29th overall.
The aim now will be to maintain a period of dominance for the Rebels, just like in the 2000s and 2010s, and captain O'Connor is sure to be at the forefront of that challenge.
