Emma Laverty and Antrim looking forward to Croke Park debut

Last September, Emma Laverty was a maelstrom of emotion. There was some happiness for her friends but the prevailing feeling was one of devastation.

She had been an integral part of the rebuilding of Antrim camogie, one of the more senior players providing the necessary glue as prodigious, nascent talent poured forth from the underage and schools' systems.

Reaching the All-Ireland intermediate final in 2020 seemed merely a rung on the ladder to inevitable progression and Laverty began the following season committed to that cause.

But while Maeve Kelly and Róisín McCormick were taking to Croke Park as to the manor born, Laverty was in civvies.

Making the decision to step away had been difficult, nay heart-wrenching. She was accustomed to spending a lot of time with the same group of people that she would now not see much of and she knew that she might be giving up on something she had dreamed of in the saffron jersey.

But the increased commitment required as Antrim looked to beef up their conditioning programme on the back of coming off second best in the physical exchanges against Down was a problem.

She had been part of the collective agreement that it was necessary but as an interior architect at Belfast-based firm Todd Architects, it meant an increase in mileage. She tried to make it work but the demands began to take their toll on mind and body. Inevitably, her form suffered, so she made the call to step away and get back to enjoying her camogie with Ballycastle.

After Antrim defeated Kilkenny to secure senior status, it was decided that perhaps it would be a good time to field a second team to help blood emerging players and keep others just on the periphery involved.

Brian Kearney and Mark McFadden were appointed managers.