All-Ireland Post Primary Schools’ Senior A final
Saturday 1.30pm in Ashbourne
Cross and Passion Ballycastle v St Angela’s Waterford
By Seamus McAleenan
Róisín and Maeve. Strange how it never goes Maeve and Róisín. Strange also how two north Antrim teenagers have become known throughout Ulster camogie without a need for the surnames.
The two players first paired up in the same team around six years ago during their first year in Cross and Passion Ballycastle. They have since hoovered up every school honour in the province several times and also been the driving force behind Antrim underage teams sweeping the boards for the last few seasons.
This weekend their school careers will hopefully end with an All-Ireland title as Cross and Passion try to go a step further than last year’s final defeat to Loreto Kilkenny. CPC play St Angela’s Waterford in the national final and Róisín and Maeve cannot wait to get stuck in.
“The final was supposed to take place last Saturday,” starts Maeve. “But some of the St Angela’s girls were playing for Galltir in the club final in Croke Park against Clonduff and we got pushed back.”
“It’s four weeks since we won the semi-final, so we are starting to get a bit impatient to be honest,” claims Maeve.
Not that the pair of them have been idle in the meantime. After helping Antrim to the last two All-Ireland minor B titles, the Saffrons have opted for the A grade for the first time and a fortnight ago, the pair were the main architects as Antrim won 2-16 to 1-8 down in Offaly, Roisin scoring 1-6 and Maeve 1-5.
CPC’s Roisin McCormick. Pic by John McIlwaine 
CPC’s Maeve Kelly. Pic by John McIlwaine
“All fifteen players and subs that come in make up a team performance and I have played on a lot of winning teams with the club, school and Antrim but I really like playing with Maeve. I think we know what makes each other tick,” says the school captain.
“I’m the same. I would be like everyone else and enjoy scoring, but I am happy enough to just work away at midfield, or further back, because I can trust Róisín to do the scoring or win the frees. When we play against each other, you always have to have a plan to deal with her.
“We are good friends, but very ambitious on the pitch and I think we can shout at each other during a game and each of us knows that we are just trying to get the best out of each other.”
Each became aware of the other during primary school blitzes and couldn’t wait to be playing on the same team when they got to Cross and Passion.
“We weren’t in the same class in Year 8, but we were friends from day one. Maeve’s mum Úna is one of the school camogie coaches and I probably wanted to keep in with her,” jokes Róisín.
Later Maeve’s father Barry, a Maths teacher, came on board with the school team while Róisín has been coached by both her mother Karen and father Carl at club level and the McCormicks have taken Antrim county teams involving the pair, including this year’s minors.
“I think both sets of parents have played a huge part in the development of both of us as players. But we have had other coaches as well. Marty J (Jamieson) and Dowdsy (Elaine Dowds) have worked so hard with us in school,” says Maeve, while Róisín adds in Ronan McCloskey for his involvement with Loughgiel under 16s.
Top camogie teams can’t function with just two players, everyone else including coaches have to pull their weight to get the best out of the unit. But it is no coincidence that the Róisín and Maeve double-act has achieved so much.
Last year Antrim minors had lost a player and the lead to Westmeath in the All-Ireland final. The team kept going and the pair conjured up a winner; Maeve hit a monster free from half-way to bring it down to two points and Róisín buried a solo-goal at the death to bring her match total to 3-9 out of 3-13.
They played senior together for the Saffrons before the summer was out, but what happened in the second half of last year’s All-Ireland schools’ final cemented their reputations and that of their school.
After a poor first half they trailed 2-10 to 0-2, but Cross and Passion played a stormer after the break, closing the gap to three points before they lost by 2-18 to 4-8.
“If we had just a few more minutes, we would have won,” claimed Róisín who scored 2-5 in that roller-coaster second half.
“I think we won the semi-final too comfortably and we were too relaxed for the final,” says Maeve. “We had it much tougher in this year’s semi-final and hopefully that, and last years’ experience, stands to us.”
St Angela’s Waterford stand between Cross and Passion and an All-Ireland title, a first senior title for Ulster in a decade and only the second overall.
St Angela’s are also aiming for a first senior title. A new name on the Corn Sceilge.
That name may or may not be Cross and Passion Ballycastle, but you can be sure that two other names will be on many people’s lips leaving Ashbourne on Saturday; Róisín and Maeve