by Joe Dermody
Irish Examiner
Tuesday, 17th September 2002

Unstoppable Fiona O'Driscoll has no intention of retiring on a high, news which will be warmly welcomed by sports fans all over the Rebel County.

The star of Cork's camogie victory in Croke Park on Sunday blew the rafters off every room from Croker's surrounding D1 neighbourhoods of Mountjoy Square and Ballybough and every other neutral home from there down to Ballymacoda in East Cork, where workmen will spend the week re-adjusting slates on Fiona's own overjoyed Fr O'Neill's club.

"I am thrilled," Fiona modestly said of her three goals and two points, almost without precedent in an All-Ireland final. "Some days things just run for you and it was definetly very enjoyable. I am going to carry on playing for another while. As long as I am able, I'll keep going. When you are enjoying it, you belt away."

Earlier this year, Fiona had taken a break from inter-county camogie. Her team-mates were playing in the Naional League, and some people had presumed that Fiona had hung up her boots.

County camogie PRO Mary Newman was one of those: "I phoned her after some of the papers were saying that she had retired, but she just said 'Mary don't write me off just yet'. So I didn't. I remember her playing minor for Cork, and she has been one of our best players ever since.

"She is the ultimate sports person. She is also very active off the field, and she has a great attitude in the build-up to the game. She is quiet, she stays in the background. She doesn't seek out the media."

Nonetheless, the media have certainly been seeking her out this week. "I've done a few interviews all right," said Fiona. "But those things are secondary to all our work in trying to win an All-Ireland for Cork. Thankfully, everything went well. Tipp were strong favourites, but we were quietly confident that if we played to our potential we could do it. Our backs were playing well all year. Tipp only scored three points in the second-half. That was some performance by our backs. They won the title for us, really.

"Well, that and the fans. There was a great Cork following up there. They really got behind the team and it made a great difference. Three-quarters of the people in Croke Park were wearing red and white, and that really helped us. The atmosphere was fantastic, and so were the celebrations.

"Even the Juniors were in great spirits. It can't have been easy for them to put aside their disappointment at losing to Kilkenny and to row in behind us for our celebrations. The Juniors put up a great fight in the second-half of their final. When the seniors win, the juniors can often be forgotten. But they'll be back again next year.

And so too will Fiona, the Camogie Gods willing. A host of tasks await Cork's busiest sports star: her coaching role with her Fr O'Neills club, her role as liasion officer with the new Juvenile Camogie committee which was set up this year, and her job as a teacher in Colaiste Choilm in Ballincollig, where camogie has really only just gotten off the ground and won two titles in its first truly competitive year.