The inter-county camogie season gets underway on Sunday 23rd with the first rounds of the National League taking place nationwide.

Locally, Cork will be at home to Galway in Division One and Division Two.

Tweleve months ago, Cork senior manager Pa Finn did not put as much emphasis on winning the league and was rewarded with their first All-Ireland title in four years.

He is once again going to use this campaign as a stepping-stone to later in the season. "We will obviously be going out to win every match, but without any fuss. If we lose one here or there, it will not be the end of the world," he said.

And with his side preparing for a holiday in Lanzarote next Thursday, they will hope they have enough in the can to take their first two points.

He will be planning without Eithne Duggan and Linda Mellerick. Emer Dillon has been released because of hockey commitments and Denise Cronin is out through injury. College students Rosarie Holland and Sinead Buckley, who were involved in the Ashbourne last weekend, are unavailable for the championship, therefore they will not be considered for selection.

Expected to be in the lineout and fresh from their Ashbourne success are Una O'Donoghue, Joanne O'Callaghan, Ger Casey, Ciara Healy, Sara Hayes and Rachel Moloney. Newcomers Briege Corkery, Jean O'Sullivan and Nora Ahern should also be in the running.

Galway too will be relying on their third-level players, most notably Caroline Murray, Lourda Kavanagh, Aine Hillary and Ailbhe Kelly. Olivia Forde has retired while Sharon Glynn has yet to make up her mind about the new season.

For Cork's Division Two clash selector, Tracy Sheehan says that they have been overwhelmed with the commitment shown during recent training sessions. "We had 60 players who turned up for trials, and we have narrowed that down to 30. That was the most difficult job so far," she said.

The more familiar faces will be Ellen Clifford, Amanda O'Regan, Roisin Corcoran and Catriona Kelly.

The Division One game is in Buttevant with a 2.45pm start, while the Division Two game will have a 1pm throw-in at Ballyhea.