Fiona Keating enthused for future of Cork camogie and integration

There have been many tributes for Pa Finn after the great hurling and camogie coach was buried last Monday.

An All-Ireland winner as coach/selector with his club St Finbarr's in 1978, and then as manager of the Cork camogie team in 2002, Finn was quite rightly lauded for his phenomenal success.

One decision when he took charge of the Rebels 22 years ago has had an enduring legacy; namely, his insistence that as a Cork team, they should dispense the white jersey with red trim that had traditionally been worn by the camogie team, exchanging it for the red one that has been retained ever since.

Around 48 hours after Finn was laid to rest, camogie president Hilda Breslin sat side-by-side with LGFA counterpart Micheál Naughton and Larry McCarthy, whose term as GAA uachtarán concludes today, as the former president of Ireland Mary McAleese, in her role as chairperson of the steering group for the integration of the three associations, announced that the process would be completed by 2027.

McAleese called it "the most historic development in Gaelic games," which seems right.

This is a development in keeping with Finn’s thinking when making that jersey change 22 years ago. One club. One county. One association. Cork is Cork. Cork is red. Male or female, that should never change.

The midweek announcement was very broadly welcomed and it is no surprise to find Cork camogie star, Fiona Keating singing a similar tune ahead of this afternoon’s All-Ireland final rematch with Waterford, in round two of the Very National League at SETU Arena (2pm).

"It’s great to see and it will be beneficial in so many areas and can only be good for all the games," says Keating.

"Sponsorship will be a huge advantage for the three codes – and we’re lucky we