At Glenisk O'Connor Park · Tullamore, Co. Offaly
Camogie at its most competitive comes to Tullamore for this final Group 2 round of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship. Offaly welcome Clare to Glenisk O’Connor Park knowing a win could keep their quarter-final hopes alive, while Clare arrive in strong form after a solid championship campaign. If you have never watched senior inter-county camogie live, this is the kind of fixture that converts people - fast, physical and settled by the smallest of margins.
This is the last group game for both sides before the knockout rounds take shape. Offaly sit fourth in Group 2 and need a result to stay in contention; Clare have been one of the stronger teams in the group and come into this game with plenty at stake for their own seeding. The Glen Dimplex championship runs the best counties in Ireland against each other from May through to the All-Ireland final, and by the time the final round arrives in late June the stakes are clear and the hurling is sharp.
Glenisk O’Connor Park holds 18,000 people and has been the home of Offaly GAA since 1934. The main stand runs the full length of the pitch with covered seating for 7,000; terracing fills the other three sides. There is a cafe under the main stand open on matchdays, which makes it one of the more comfortable club grounds in Leinster for an afternoon fixture. Expect a good home crowd for a game that matters to the county.
Tullamore sits at the junction of the M6 and N52, roughly an hour from Dublin and 45 minutes from Athlone. The train from Dublin Heuston takes about an hour on the Dublin - Galway / Westport line, with Tullamore station a short walk from the town centre and a further ten minutes on foot to the ground. Bus Eireann routes also connect Tullamore to Athlone, Portlaoise and Dublin. Parking is available around the ground and in the town centre, though arriving early on a big matchday is sensible.
Tullamore is the county town of Offaly and a good base for the day - the main street has cafes and pubs well used to matchday visitors, and the Tullamore D.E.W. Distillery Visitor Centre is nearby if you want to make an afternoon of it. There is more to see in Tullamore and across Co. Offaly.
Heading to Glenisk O'Connor Park in Tullamore? Offaly has plenty more to see. Read the Tullamore area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.