Galway's Higgins setting new standards after setbacks

Dervla Higgins has had a few swerve balls thrown her way in her bid to establish herself as a Galway player and while nothing is certain in an environment that emphasises equality of opportunity regardless of reputation, the Athenry defender is now one of the premier corner-backs in the land and a front runner for an All-Star when the awards are announced next month.

So Higgins celebrated her 25th birthday yesterday in a good place. She has identified a pathway for adding to her physiotherapy qualifications, while her club is in the process of creating history to be the first to develop its own camogie facility. She has climbed camogie's Everest and maintains an appetite to do it again and again.

All of that ties into the personal equilibrium. When Galway do get to begin their Littlewoods Ireland Camogie Leagues, Division 1 campaign (opening game against Offaly was cancelled), they will do so with a new jersey, courtesy of a ground-breaking five-year €250,000 sponsorship deal with Westwood Global.

It represents a commitment to the development of camogie in Galway from the academies upwards, ensuring high performance sports services are available to give young hopefuls the best chance of reaching their potential, to raise the bar even further. But there is a human element to it as well.

"It’s huge and there is a lot of publicity around it at the minute," notes Higgins.

"It’s all the way from U14 up until the senior squads, every single age-group that benefit from the deal. It’s going to be big for all players. It’s definitely a step in the right direction for female sport. It’s a benchmark, a starting point."

The new kit is an eye-catching one, complete with the LGBTQ+ rainbow colours representing inclusiveness. It follows in