An all-women camogie team in west London is celebrating their 40th anniversary.
Tara Camogie was set up in Harrow in 1986 by Irish sisters, Carmel and Majella O’Neill, and has since won sixteen national championships.
Camogie is the female equivalent of the stick-and-ball game hurling and is hugely popular in Ireland – and is used as a way to connect the Irish community abroad.
Ann Gleeson, 51, who joined Tara Camogie in 2000, said: “It’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed in London.
“It’s very much a home from home.”
The hour-long matches can get dangerous as it’s a fast-paced limited contact sport where each team race to get the sliotar (the ball) into the net or over the bar.
Aoife, 25, described the game as intense, physical and most importantly ‘mighty craic’.
Tara Camogie is always looking for more women to join their team – no matter what their skill, ability or knowledge of the game is.
It is this inclusivity, connection and community that has kept them thriving for forty years.
Find out more in the video below:
Featured image credit: Grace Crowley
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