‘It’s like a dream and we are living it’

PAUL FITZPATRICK met some of the individuals driving on the camogie revolution in Denn.

In Denn, camogie is very much a family business. The club's close-knit young team, with an average age of just over 18 years, have been a revelation this season and their achievement in winning county and provincial titles – with a national final to come – has been built on a close bond.
The Cavan intermediate champions have already toppled Monaghan giants Clontibret and experienced Westmeath side Cullion, overcoming adversity along the way. Their performances have belied their age profile. They may be rookies at adult level but they've played like veterans and have grown in belief as the year has progressed.
“They're some group of girls here and to be joint-captain with Shanise [Fitzsimons] is a pleasure,” said joint-captain Sophie Slowey.
“We're all so close, we are like sisters. It's a second family.”
That thread is interwoven throughout the group. Friendship and family ties bind the panel and camogie gives them a means to express it.
Most of the team are either in school or starting out in college and the sport offers them a chance to meet up with their friends, train hard and achieve their goals. 
“What do I like about camogie? I love coming to training and seeing the girls, when you come home from college at the weekend, it's great craic,” said Slowey, smiling.
Winning games, though, is serious. Denn have impressed onlookers with their grit and tenacity thus far, grinding out results against fancied opposition at every turn. Successive victories have brought them now to an All-Ireland final, a rare achievement for a Cavan side in any Gaelic code.
“Against Clontibret in the Ulster final, we were down by four points at half-time and we knew we had to go out and give it everything. Everyone just put everything on the line in the second half and we just pushed on," said Sophie.
The latest camogie revolution in Denn has been built on the back of outstanding underage development work in recent years but the game has had a presence in the area for many decades. Camogie teams have emerged and faded away but while the flame may have flickered, it was never allowed to die out. And now, it's turning into a blaze.
“There's always been a tradition, there's a history of camogie here going back to 1934,” explains PRO Bernard Smith.
“Teams have come and gone but the bar has been raised now. A rising tide lifts all boats and this is great for the club in general. You can see the bunting and the flags around the village, there is a lot of excitement about the place.”

No-one moreso than selector Tina Fitzsimons, one of the architects of this success alongside the likes of Andrea Lynch and manager Mark McEntee. Tina, a former county camóg, grew up with a hurley in her hand and passed the game on to her daughters Hannah, Rebecca and the aforementioned top scorer, Shanise. She played for many years and when her daughters graduated to the team and she was able to hang up the camán, she simply crossed the whitewash and started again in a new role.
“I am a Denn woman all my life,” said Tina, who described herself as “a proud mammy as well as a proud Denn lady”. 
“I always played camogie, there was no ladies football when I was growing up. Then when I stopped playing I started helping out. I played with Rebecca and Shanise in the junior final in 2016, then I retired on a high!”
Ladies football exploded on to the national sporting consciousness in the last decade and when the smoke cleared, camogie had lost ground. In recent years, though, thanks to smart planning and a vision from Croke Park down to club level, the small ball game is beginning to re-establish itself, she feels.
“Ladies football takes a lot of players away from camogie but luckily for us in Denn, we have a lot of dual players. Camogie is getting a lot of recognition now. It's brilliant that there is a Cavan senior camogie team back now because the talent is there.”
Tina's daughter Shanise is just one example. A Business and Accounting student in Maynooth University, she is the team's go-to attacker and has been in superb form to date. Naturally, she excels in football with club and county too but camogie is all-rounder Shanise's first love.
“The majority of girls here play both football and camogie,” says Shanise, who talks with the calm confidence and humility common to most high-achieving athletes.
“I think the girls really love that challenge of balancing both of them. Camogie has definitely been on the rise in the last few years and with the 20x20 campaign, it's really come on.”
From the outset, the dymanic half-forward felt Denn could enjoy a successful campaign.
“Definitely, because the group of girls that are there are so hard-working. Our fitness has really stood to us. At the start of the year, we were positive about our chances and hopefully we can push on again next year.
“Camogie is on the up, we have a county camogie senior team back up and running in Cavan and our underage numbers here in Denn are phenomenal. It's going really well.”
Asked to describe the team's style of play, Slowey summed it up succinctly.
“We are a fast team, a fit young team. We play a quick game, we try to get the ball to Shanise and she puts it over the bar or in the net!”
“No,” laughs Shanise, “the girls do all the work and I just get into position to put them over!”
Regardless of what happens this Sunday against the Mayo champions, Denn can be proud of their achievements this season to date. The club is now on the national camogie map and with a young, talented and committed squad, the future could not be brighter.
“I can't even believe that we're this far,” says Tina Fitzsimons with a shake of the head.
“It's like a dream and we are living it.”