By Paul Keane

When Antrim beat Kilkenny to land the All-Ireland intermediate camogie title last September, manager Paul McKillen described it as the best display by any Antrim team 'in any code' at Croke Park. Ever.

That was quite a statement from the 1989 All-Ireland senior finalist and 1993 All-Star who had both played in and witnessed many great Antrim days over the years. Upon that platform of excellence, McKillen, Jim McKernan and the majority of their management team stood down and passed the baton over.

Elaine Dowds, part of last year's backroom, agreed to stay on and pick up the baton for 2022 though the task is considerable.

Just consider the heavyweights they've been thrown in alongside in Group 2 of the upcoming Championship; Galway, Kilkenny, Down, Offaly and Limerick.

"I would say that we are happy with the group we have got for the Championship," said prolific Antrim forward Roisin McCormick at the launch of the 2022 Kellogg's GAA Cul Camps which will run from June 27 to August 26 across the country.

"I know the likes of Galway and Kilkenny are two of the top teams in the senior championship, they're obviously going to be the toughest teams, but the other three teams, I think it's Down, Offaly and Limerick, we do fancy our chances. We do believe that we would give them a good run and hopefully beat them and hopefully strive for a quarter-final at least this year. I suppose we'll see come the Championship how that goes."

The winner of the group will go straight to an All-Ireland semi-final. The second and third placed teams will qualify for quarter-finals. Antrim were highly competitive throughout spring, reaching another Division 2 league final though missing out on promotion following defeat to Wexford. The concession of three early Croke Park goals - one of the goals came after just 17 seconds - ultimately cost Antrim who outscored Wexford in the second-half.

"It's still a touchy subject," said McCormick. "We've always had a problem with that, the first 10 minutes of matches, league or Championship, the first 10 we just never really get going. We always have a slow start

"It was very disappointing but we did lose to a very strong Wexford side. They were brilliant against us and they just completely stepped up their game for the final.

"I know we were going in as underdogs but we had the experience at Croke Park from last year. But when it came to the match, experience didn't mean anything. It was whoever wanted it more and Wexford wanted it more on the day and they started well."

It was back to back Division 2 final defeats for Antrim following their 2021 loss to Down.

"We thought with Down going up from last year, 'We fancy our chances for this year'," said McCormick. "Especially after winning the intermediate championship as well. Unfortunately it just wasn't for us on the day. Fingers crossed we'll hopefully get it next year."

McCormick is confident in the new management setup and said it wasn't entirely surprising that the McKillen/McKernan brains trust opted to step aside.

"They just wanted to finish on a high," she reasoned. "They did such a great job with us and knew going into the senior championship that it was going to be a lot more commitment. I'd say it was a bit of a surprise but not a major surprise.

"We still have Elaine Dowds from that setup. She's the main manager this year. Then we have the likes of Brian Kearney from Cushendall, Joe Passmore from Coleraine and Shane Elliott from Dunloy. We have the same strength and conditioning coaches from last year."

Kellogg's and the GAA have announced the most hotly anticipated summer camp, Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps, has returned for 2022. The Camps are anticipating an extra level of excitement this year with numbers back at full capacity across the country following Covid restrictions. Camps will kick off on Monday, June 27th and will run up to August 26th. GAA clubs across the country are set to be a hive of activity this summer with bookings for participants aged 6-13 now open. For more information on the Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps visit www.gaa.ie/kelloggsculcamps