Niamh Ní Chonchúir eyeing forward Kingdom strides

Kerry footballer Niamh Ní Chonchúir has lent her voice to the growing calls for an amalgamation between the GAA, the LGFA and the Camogie Association.

Ní Chonchúir has her sights set on promotion from Division 2A of the Lidl National League with the Kingdom this spring, but longer-term she's hoping a unification of the organisations can benefit all counties and players down the line.

The Gaelic Players Association (GPA) has submitted a motion for consideration at Saturday's GAA Congress to bring in full integration.

"I think it'd be a great thing if they all did join together," Ní Chonchúir said at the launch of the Comórtas Peile Páidi Ó Sé, which takes place this weekend.

"We're struggling at the moment to find pitches to train on.

"This time of year, I suppose not a lot of clubs want to give their fields to us when they're just going to get dug up and ruined for the club teams that are trying to train on them. We've had a few clubs that have been really good: Kerins O'Rahillys, Legion, Fossa - they've been really generous with their fields."

Kerry's clash with Clare in Doonbeg last Saturday was postponed on the morning of the game [which was scheduled to throw in at 3pm] because of the inclement weather; a frustrating cancellation that left some players in limbo.

Kingdom co-manager Declan Quill aired his annoyance about the situation on social media, and Ní Chonchúir highlighted the logistical implications of the call.

"I was travelling with my mam," she said. "We were gone out the road when we got a phone call saying to come back to Tralee. The whole team was waiting on the bus. The team found out through Twitter.

"The biggest thing was how long it took to postpone the game. We knew ourselves that Doonbeg wasn't going to be