GALWAY’S EMMA HELEBERT faced a dilemma about whether or not she should make herself available to the county team for this year’s All-Ireland championship.
Unlike other cases of players deciding to step away from inter-county service, the willingness to commit was not a problem for the Ballidereen defender.
Defending an All-Ireland crown is a desirable prospect for any player to chase.
But, given her job as a healthcare professional, Helebert did have to consider her place in Cathal Murray’s squad this year.
She had been working as a midwife at the Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe but moved to the hospital in Galway city recently, back to where she did her training.
Location aside, Helebert is still in a hospital environment in the midst of a global pandemic. And naturally there’s no work-from home option in her line of work.
“Babies don’t decide not to come because of lockdown,” she told members of the media last week.
Helebert explains that she works in a group of about five or six midwives who, in turn, link up with doctors to treat their patients. This means she could me meeting up to 15 people per day at close proximity.
Galway camogie was exposed to the threat of Covid-19 recently when the senior and junior county finals were postponed due to a positive case. The deciders were played earlier this month, and the Sarsfield club — where that case was identified — was praised for its swift action following the result of the test.
Helebert certainly didn’t want to be the reason for bringing another Covid-19 scare to the Galway camogie community. So, with the health and safety of her team-mates in mind, she considered the potential danger she might bring to the squad if she returned to the fold.
“Personally, working in a hospital, you are wary going back to girls in training. You have a responsibility and worry ‘Is it safe for me to train?’
“I feel like I have a personal responsibility to be as safe as I can with the girls on the field, as well as work.
“I had the conversation with a few of the girls who aren’t working in hospitals but with the elderly and other higher risk areas. You worry ‘Am I going to be affecting someone by coming back here?’
You don’t care about yourself, it’s the thought of bringing something back to someone that might not be as fit or healthy as the younger girls.”
The workload was steady and continuous for Helebert and her colleagues throughout lockdown. They were only recently discussing their good fortune in that respect, as people in other sectors and industries have not been so lucky.
They’re certainly grateful for that but the virus has brought an added pressure for midwives.
Pregnancy can be a stressful time, especially for first-time mothers, and Helebert was conscious of how Covid-19 can worsen their anxiety as the birth approaches.
The uncertainty for people was just mad. As soon as lockdown hit we were getting phonecalls left, right and centre, asking is my husband or partner allowed? I had to feel for them.
“It’s hard enough to go in with the most support you can get so to be without their support was really hard. Our roles as midwives was definitely ramped up a lot.
“You were supporting the woman but also she had the extra requirement of you. You can only admire them for what they’ve gone through. It’s not easy to give birth during the pandemic and it’s gone on so long. No one expected it to continue like that.”
Life on the pitch as been almost equally as hectic for Helebert. With a club campaign for Ballidereen already banked, her focus will now switch to the Galway team.
They could only fit in three rounds of the National League before Covid-19 interfered to shut down all activity back in March. Following that lengthy absence, Galway can finally look forward to getting their All-Ireland defence underway this weekend after defeating Kilkenny in last year’s final.
The Tribeswomen have been drawn in Group 1 along with Wexford, Offaly and Cork, with a trip to Enniscorthy awaiting them on Sunday to get their championship off the mark.
They will then take on Offaly, who have been forced to withdraw from their opening round fixture against Cork due to a Covid-19 case in their management team. That game is scheduled for 1 November.
Galway will round off their group stage with against Cork, a game that caused plenty of controversy recent.
It forced an ongoing issue to resurface — dual fixture clashes.
On that same day, the Cork ladies footballers are also out in action, playing against Kerry in the All-Ireland ladies football championship. Five dual players were affected by this fixture collision; Hannah Looney, Fiona Keating, Meabh Cahalane, Ciara McCarthy and Libby Coppinger.
The Camogie Association has since confirmed that the meeting of Galway and Cork will now take place on Sunday 8 November to avoid the fixture clash.
The fixture change was prompted by the the Galway camogie county board, who requested a move to assist their opposition with this dual player dilemma.
“I don’t think any girl should have to make a decision on whether she’s going to play football or camogie on one day,” says Helebert, who was speaking before the re-fixture was announced.
“With 20×20, we’re trying to promote women in sport.
“The GAA do it perfectly by (having games on) separate weekends. I know the camogie association is trying their hardest. Their main aim is to facilitate these girls but it’s not fair to force girls to have to make a decision between them. Having to play even one day after another is too much. These are tough competitive matches.
“To play one on a Saturday and then another on a Sunday, I take my hat off to them. I definitely couldn’t do that. This case isn’t Galway’s responsibility but we’re all trying to promote women in sport, and if there was anything we could do to facilitate them, I’m sure Cathal and our management team were happy to do that.”
Cork All-Ireland winner Laura Treacy also addressed the media at the launch of the camogie championships last week. At the time, she revealed that the squad would consider taking strike action in response to the situation.
Thankfully, a resolution has since been found.
Helebert doesn’t want to see her allies in camogie suffer like this, and believes that aligning the camogie, GAA and LGFA under the one umbrella is the way to solve this fixture problems going forward.
You don’t want any girl to have to take that drastic measure. These girls are playing for the love of the sport, and both in their case. You don’t want it to go down that nasty road, where players feel they’re forced to have to do something as drastic as that.
“The support has to be shown for them girls, that people are going to be in their corner. I hope it doesn’t get to that. They need support from the hierarchy to help them.
“When it comes to the hierarchy is the only solution an amalgamation between LGFA and camogie or a working relationship established so fixtures don’t become an issue next summer again.
“It would be great. I know they’ve talked about that in recent years. It would only make women in sport stronger.”
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Glad to see both managers talking sense. I know Antrim got to the final of the U21 few years back but in general ulster teams got a hiding in all ireland semi finals.
Saturday’s mismatch was no Benifit to anyone. Ok as the Derry manager said his players want to play in Thurles etc. They can’t have enjoyed the Thurles experience on Saturday.
Try an open draw as Eddie said, and a proper B grade competition with ulster trans included with the final on the same day as the A final.
@Diarmuid: there already is a b competition and the final is played before the a final
@Noel Kelly: i realise that Noel but as the Derry manager said the B grade should be restructed to include the ulster champions as well. They are out of there depth at the A level
@Diarmuid: and too good for the B Championship.
Completely agree with Eddie Brendan. This year’s semi finals illustrated the serious issues facing hurling. The Kilkenny Derry game is self explanatory. No way should both teams be on the same pitch. It hinders rather than helps both counties. On the other side we had probably the best u21 team in the country playing their first championship match against a battle hardned side. Very unfair on Galway. Tom Fahey
All about bloody funding,the love for hurling in Derry(parts of)is there,was involved in schools in the 80s,all funded , introduced hurling,football camphor,to kids who wouldn’t have even seen it before,funding ran out(cross border funding) after 2 years,so a lot of kids who weren’t in Gaa clubs finished being interested in our national games,we were full time in primary/secondary schools,do when the scheme finished,most of our work came to nothing,(all coaches were badged)feel something like this initiative needs to happen in Ulster
@billy Dorney: excuse the misspelling,camogie,i meant
@billy Dorney: There is a lot more to it than that, there are many counties and county boards throughout Ireland that refuse to promote hurling as it should as it eat up all resources that Gaelic Football uses, it is so pathetic that there are many counties that do not even put forward a B U21 team, the big ball is king.
@ktsiwot: agree
@ktsiwot: yes,and it’s not going to change anytime soon,so hurling loses
why is the solution always to throw them into Leinster? Wexford Dublin and even westmeath would have hammered that Derry team. why just devalue Leinster and leave precious Munster alone? if ya want to get rid of the provinces, then they all have to go and open up to a group
@Ger O’Meara: devalue leinster by adding Galway u must be joking look how much they have added to the senior hurling.
Galway should go into Leinster and then winners of Leinster and Munster go straight to the final. Big mistake to let go of the Munster Championship if it happens.
All this absolute shite talk about the “Munster championship” what’s so sacred about it. Limerick and Clare have won loads of Munster U21 in last decade and are currently way off the pace required at senior level..There will always be an asterix beside the 2013 AIF. The Munster SHC has been quite poor for years, take out Tipp and the rest are average enough, except for a few bubble performances here and there.. They dont like to hear that in Munster, but thats a fact..It’s not all that!
@Lord Clanricarde: I don’t get this asterix thing about 2013. Why is there an asterix about it. Clare beat everyone put before them and won the all Ireland. End of story. It’s not like Kilkenny, Tipp and Galway didn’t enter the championship that. Same teams started out as every year so I think people need to give Clare the respect they deserve and stop downgrading their all Ireland. If Kilkenny had won in 2013 instead of Clare there’d be no talk of asterix’s. Cork won 2010 football all Ireland beating down. Tipp beat Antrim in an all Ireland in 89 I think. Why no asterix’s against them???
@Lord “up me own hole from Galway”Please stop blowing your own pipa you clown.
@John Carroll: Nice to see neither if ye argued with me on the fact that Munster hurling is not all it’s cracked up to be.. It’s a competition full of sentimentality and old farts scared of change in case it effects the “magical” Munster championship!..Nevermind that Tipp win it whenever they decide to get the lead out!!
Galway should go into Leinster and the winners of Leinster and Munster then play in All Ireland Final. Big mistake if we lost the Munster Championship