Mayo’s camogie team began their Championship campaign this afternoon at Cusack Park in Ennis where they took on Clare’s Junior outfit in the first round of the Premier Junior Championship. It proved to be a tough afternoon for Mayo, with the home team winning convincingly by 4-17 to 0-7.

Mayo have made great strides in camogie since the county restarted playing at inter-county level last year after a long absence. Last year’s achievements – when they won the Nancy Murray Cup – earned them the right to compete at a higher level and so today they got to ply their trade at Cusack Park, with the camogie match on at the Ennis venue prior to the Munster SHC clash between Clare and Waterford.

While today’s result represents a reality check for the team, it also demonstrates – as was the case with the hurlers yesterday – what level the bar is set in order to continue their progress. The team will have learned loads from this afternoon’s defeat, which hopefully will stand them in good stead over the rest of the campaign.

Next up for them is a home match against Tipperary this coming weekend.

Match report on today’s game from the Clare Champion is here.