By Daragh Ó Conchúir
Laura Collins is juggling a few balls this week. Owner of an eponymously named equestrian centre in Lixnaw, from where she mentors a host of pupils from beginners to international competitors, the Kilmoyley native had exams on Tuesday to add her teaching qualification to HSI (Horse Sport Ireland) Level 1.
It comes less than a week before she participates in history, as a member of the Kerry camogie squad lining out in the senior championship fare for the first time.
It is the Munster Championship, rather than the All-Ireland – they are separate competitions in camogie – but having been beaten finalists in the intermediate grade of the blue riband event last season, it is clear that this is an arena they are moving towards.
In many ways, Collins is reflective of that journey, having only played a bit of hurling at U12 level with boys and not togged out in an officially recognised game of camogie until after she had turned 18 – the age in which she competed in a European Finals of a weight-pulling class, driving her trusty New Holland tractor.
Now, at 35, and with a three-year-old son named Ruadh with her partner Rory Molloy, she is undoubtedly a better player than was the case then. But it is in attitude and application she reflects and mirrors the green and gold best.
Kerry are playing against Waterford, in Monday’s semi-final at Fitzgerald Stadium (2pm) by choice, rather than accept not having any involvement with no second teams anymore to contend against at intermediate. That’s the way they, and the county’s flagship club team, Clanmaurice, have always gone about things – and why they have reached the standards achieved to date.
They are already Centra League Division 2 champions this year, with the ever-industrious Collins excelling in the final against Meath with her power and athleticism three weeks ago.
But you can sense an almost giddy excitement about testing themselves against a team that fell only a point short of All-Ireland champions Galway in the Division 1A decider the following day.
For Collins, there was far more fear about Tuesday’s exams.
“I was a bit stressed about it alright,” says Collins. “I did because I just wanted to progress to the next level. There’s a Level 2 and Level 3 after that but there are only four Level 3 teachers in the country I think. We are very busy at Collins Equestrian but it’s good to have as many qualifications as you can. I think it went well and I might do Level 2 at some stage after.”
At the end of 2024, Collins felt it was time to weigh up whether continuing with camogie was worthwhile, given her other professional and private commitments. She acknowledges the importance of new players coming through and how that reflects a growth in camogie in Kerry, but the compromises that needed to be made elsewhere had to pay off. And if she wasn’t playing, they didn’t.
So she packed it in.
“I was there or thereabouts in the team, but at my age, I wasn’t getting enough game time. You’re thinking, ‘Is it worth all the effort, commitment. It was a lot of work with everything else that was happening. You’re coaching riders competing abroad and things like that. You have to be there for them.
“It’s great to see the younger crowd coming up. I love seeing the younger ones come in. They’re very talented. They’re full of it and they really love it. And they make it a lot more competitive and that has helped us over the last couple of years. You need to up your game.
“But I made the decision at the end of the year before to pull away last year. I was going through issues with the business as well, around planning permission, and I had to teach out of Ballybunion and other places. It was a lot of pressure, a lot of stress. And I think I just needed to take the breather.”
Ever the team player though, she coached an U14 squad at the club and brought them to watch the All-Ireland semi-final and final.
“It was very, very hard to sit in the stand and watch. And we went with them after the final and spent the night out to drown the sorrows, just hang out. And they were delighted to see me and it was lovely to be with them again. They are so committed, you don’t see them and you’re big friends.
“I talked to a few people, it is such a huge commitment to be training with Kerry, to run a business and have a three-year-old but I have a huge support system, my mum, my godmother and Rory and so I went for it.
“I’m still fighting for my spot. I’m getting older. If you’re slowing down a little bit, it’s not getting any easier! I’m in one week, I might not be starting the next but the attitude in the camp is good and I love it.”
John Madden and his coaching staff have been brilliant in accommodating the other spheres of her life and indeed, she had to miss training on Tuesday because of the exams. And just as importantly, the players have no issues either. This is a very tight squad.
Winning the League title was a great boost, adding further to the bond and the ambition.
“That was a big game for everyone. The last time we moved up, I know Patrice (Diggin) was injured. She never actually got to play in Division 1B. So she is absolutely hungry to get back up there and actually play at that level. That’s what you want to see. Are we at that level? Can we be competitive at that level? I think that’s what we all want.”
Which is why they are relishing the Bank Holiday Déise test in Killarney.
“We were watching the Galway-Waterford League final, and we were just looking at it going, ‘Jesus, that’s some game.’ Like, if you rewatch even our (All-Ireland premier junior) final in 2019 and watch the hurling. None of us can actually watch it, because it was so bad! We’ve come so far from when we started.
“I was talking to Sara Murphy at the weekend, because (teammate) Anne Marie Leen got married. We were all at the wedding chatting about the game and Sara’s carrying a bit of an ankle injury. And I was like, ‘Surely you’re not going to play, are you better off resting it for the next game?’ But she was like, ‘Yeah, but I really want to play Waterford!’ They’re all absolutely buzzing to play Waterford.
“Waterford are a serious, serious outfit, but I think everyone is very curious to see how far off we are. Can we be competitive with them? I’m not saying like, I think we can come out with the win. If we win, I think we would probably go celebrating for a month! But, you know, it’s that drive that’s there to go, ‘Can I mark that player?’
“We love to be the underdogs. We love coming from behind at half-time. That’s when we seem to be at our best. So let’s see what happens. We just can’t wait.”
