Róisín Black looking to teach new lessons as Galway captain

For the past four years, Róisín Black has been a teacher at Scoil Mhuire, the same primary school she attended in her hometown of Oranmore.

It might have been surreal at times - being a colleague of some people that taught her as a child - but she loves everything about it. The profession itself, of course, but the familiarity of the surroundings and its denizens, who have been welcoming and encouraging.

They threw a party when she concluded last season with a deserved All-Star.

They might have another after yesterday's announcement that the Oranmore-Maree defender would be captain of the Galway camogie squad for 2024, starting off with the launch of their Very League Division 1A title defence against neighbours Clare at Cusack Park today [2pm throw-in].

She succeeds Shauna Healy and before her, Sarah Dervan, in the role and the similarities are impossible to resist.

Staunch defenders, the terror of opposition forwards with that invaluable incredible knack of winning possession in tight spaces before bursting out of the pack to clear or win a free.

Black’s progression as a player has been gradual rather than electric, having first come into the county panel in 2016 after skippering the minors to an All-Ireland final, just before sitting her Leaving Cert, but only established herself as a starter in 2022.

An All-Star nomination provided confirmation of her impact and 12 months later, she left the end-of-year function with the prized gong.

Having taken time to fully comprehend what was required in that environment and endured the slings and arrows of elite level sport, the 25-year-old now has absolute clarity about what she must do to flourish in such a rarefied atmosphere.

Last week’s call from Murray about the captaincy came out