Aoife Healy shared what it’s like playing against her college teammates during intercounty matches.
The Cork and UCC camogie player joked that you would dislike them on the pitch because of their skills.
She also opened up about how she balances studying and playing, as her busy schedule has the opposite effect that some might think.
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Aoife admitted that it’s amazing when you get to know intercounty rivals as teammates.
She told RSVP Live: “It’s really interesting. You would be playing against them at intercounty during the season. You would dislike them on the pitch because they’re so good and so difficult to mark, but when you come into college, you’re just so glad to have them on your team.
“When you get to learn what they’re like as people, it’s a really fun experience. You get to meet people from all different counties. The links that you create through the college teams, they’re ones you would have for a lifetime.”
Last year had its ups-and-downs for Aoife, but she has taken on the lessons in her stride as she moves in 2025.
She shared: “As it goes into the New Year, you have to take things from the previous year, whether they are positives or negatives. It can be things that you could work on in the coming year.
“I know with the championship with UCC last year we have a lot to learn for this year. You can’t leave it all behind [in 2024], so I take on-board new lessons and bring them into the New Year.”
It hasn’t been long since she made the jump from minors to seniors, with the camogie star admitting it was a major change for her.
Aoife said: “You can never really imagine what it’s going to be like. It was something that you would really look forward to since you were young. Going up to senior level, it’s such a huge difference from what you were playing. I went up from minors.
“Even playing minor with Cork, the jump to senior is huge. The main thing is having the girls around to help you through it.
“The training is much more intense. There’s much more physicality involved as well. Having people there to tell you that you’re doing okay and that it’s not going completely badly for you if you’re having some bad sessions, it makes the difference to the big jump.”
College students already struggle to balance everything, but adding a sport on top of that can be quite overwhelming. However, Aoife finds that it actually forces her to use her time wisely.
She explained: “It is difficult. I think the time that you have to study outside of your college hours, since we do have such a small window, you don’t have a chance to procrastinate, so you have a more productive time - all the girls would say it.
“There is less time in a sense because you have to go training an hour or two after you finish college, but once you’re organised and have meals set, you can make your time more productive.”
Aoife has teamed up with Electric Ireland ahead to the upcoming matches and rivalries across the Electric Ireland Camogie Third Level Championships and the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Championships.
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