After 13 years with Cork, Amy O’Connor has been part of plenty of good and bad days with the Rebels.
A six-time All-Ireland Camogie winner, O’Connor has been a key part of Cork’s success, including a hat-trick in their 2023 triumph.
However, the last-second final loss to Galway last August shows that success should not be taken for granted.
At the age of 30, O’Connor is still enjoying every moment as much as she did when she was 17.
“I probably do appreciate it a bit more now. You know, thinking back to the 2014 All-Ireland final or the 2015 All-Ireland final… I was only 17, 18, just going with the flow. I probably didn’t appreciate it enough. Whereas now, I literally appreciate every game.
“I suppose there’s definitely that level of hurt there [over last year’s final defeat], obviously it’s really upsetting,” she said.
O’Connor also spoke about tearing her hamstring in the lead-up to the 2025 All-Ireland final.
“I probably didn’t have the best lead-up to the All-Ireland final, I came off in the final…it probably wasn’t the best experience.
“As I’ve gotten older, I definitely just remember that there’s so much worse things going on in the world than losing a match,” she said.
“Obviously, you look back on the game and you’re like, ‘OK, where can I improve?’ You look back on the year – ‘Where can I improve?’
“But you can’t focus on it too much because that’s just sport. There’s highs and there’s lows, and you just have to go with it. I’ve been very fortunate, blessed to have probably been born at the right time and have been involved in such good teams. I’ve had probably more highs than lows in my sporting career.”
This season started with challenges for Cork, with several players leaving the panel from last season.
After a difficult league and Munster campaign, Cork have responded with wins over All-Ireland champions Galway and Tipperary, with Waterford coming up this Sunday.
This year’s group format has the four semi-finalists in one group, with the top two straight to the semi-finals, and third and fourth in the quarter-finals.
In a season of new faces, O’Connor says this format shows where Cork stand as they face the toughest tests.
“It is good to know where you are at. It is not that the league and Munster didn’t go to plan. Obviously, we want to go out and win every game, but we had to be realistic where we were at we lost 14 from last year.
“Getting the opportunity to play the top team, it really shows where we are at.
“I think there’s nothing between the four teams in our group, which is class because you’re getting such quality games every week. You’re always kind of figuring out where you’re actually at, from very early on,” O’Connor said.
“Going out against Waterford now, the first two games will mean nothing if we don’t put in a good performance against Waterford, and obviously, they’ll be really tough opposition.
“They had a good win the first day against Tipp and were very close to Galway last week.”
