Campbell out to emulate husband's Croke Park glory

Loughgiel reached their first All-Ireland Club Camogie decider with victory over Tipperary side Drom and Inch in the semi-final earlier this month

St Patrick's Day 2012 remains etched in the minds of Johnny and Charlene Campbell.

On that occasion, Johnny was a central figure in Loughgiel's story of triumph. As joint-captain, the wing-back helped drive the Antrim and Ulster champions past Offaly club Coolderry.

As the team's physiotherapist, Charlene also made valuable contributions to Loughgiel's last hurling success at headquarters and duly received a shout-out in Johnny's speech from the Hogan Stand.

Come Saturday, however, Charlene will be the one with hurl in hand on the pitch with husband Johnny watching on as a selector as the Loughgiel camogs attempt to capture an All-Ireland title of their own against holders Sarsfields of Galway.

"That was a great day, a day that as a parish we'll never forget," Charlene said of Loughiel's hurling success a decade ago.

"Hopefully we'll have another one like it come Saturday."

The Loughgiel camogs have endured a great deal of heartache to reach this stage. For much of the last decade, they have lived in Slaughtneil's shadow. But in November, they unseated the Derry club with a 2-13 to 1-11 win to claim their first Ulster title since 2015.

And having been an integral part of the club's county and provincial triumphs, Charlene now has the chance to add a second All-Ireland medal to the Campbell household.

"That would certainly be a great thing to do, but that's not really our main aim here. It's just to get over the line on Saturday," she insisted.

"I've two boys and it takes a lot of sacrifice to even get to training, but I wouldn't be able to do it if it wasn't for mine and Johnny's family.

Johnny Campbell (right) lifts the All-Ireland Club Hurling trophy with joint-captain Damien Quinn in 2012

"It's just unbelievable to finally get to an All-Ireland final. It's hopefully all my dreams coming true come Saturday."

And for Johnny, a return to Croke Park brings back fond memories of stunning Coolderry.

"I saw the relief the girls had after we beat Slaughtneil. It brought us back to all those county finals we were getting beaten in and how we felt at the time.

"You can see the buzz here, it's bringing back the memories and the good times.

"Sarsfields a formidable side. We've seen them over the last few years, the girls have had a friendly or two against them as well. They are multiple All-Ireland champions for a reason but the work we've put in has been massive.

"We've been there or thereabouts with Slaughtneil who have gone on to win All-Irelands so it gives them a bit of confidence that they know they can compete. It'll be a tough challenge but on the day who knows what will happen."

Speaking of intriguing family affairs, joint-captain Amy Boyle's mother hails from Galway.

However, the midfielder insists there will be no divided loyalties on Saturday as Loughgiel finally make their camogie final debut.

"Mummy's from Galway but she's firmly Loughgiel now I'm afraid," smiled Boyle.

"We've completely changed her and she'll be 100% Loughgiel this weekend."

Loughgiel stalwart Lucia McNaughton captained Antrim to All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie glory at Croke Park in September 2021

Sarsfields' staying power at this level cannot be disputed. They reached their first All-Ireland final in 2017 and have competed in every decider since then bar one: 2019.

Their near-annual trips to headquarters have yielded titles in 2020 and earlier this year and they go into Saturday's decider as favourites.

In contrast, it will be a Croke Park debut for much of the Loughgiel squad and the experience of players such as Lucia McNaughton - who captained Antrim to All-Ireland Intermediate glory last year - will be crucial in their bid to derail Sarsfields' back-to-back bid.

Loughgiel have in-form attackers in Caitrin Dobbin, Roisin McCormick and Annie Lynn - who combined for all but one of their side's 3-6 against Drom and Inch - and seasoned campaigners in Campbell and Una McNaughton - Lucia's sister - further back.

They will be charged with stopping Galway full-forward Siobhan McGrath, who scored an injury-time goal to crush Slaughtneil's hopes in the 2020 final.

Given Leinster, Munster and Connacht clubs' domination, Loughgiel are the only Ulster club to have won an All-Ireland Club Hurling crown (1983 and 2012), but Lucia McNaughton insists adding a camogie success to the Shamrocks' trophy cabinet has not been a prime motivation in the build-up.

"We're just focusing on us," she said. "I suppose at the back of your mind you're always thinking about it, but we'll just concentrate on us and see how we get on.

"It'd be a great achievement if it does happen, in both codes, but we'll just see what Saturday brings first.

"It's incredible [what the pre-final buzz has done to the Loughgiel community]. When we were driving down [to training] you could see all the cars and the children running around.

"It's sub-zero temperatures but they just don't care because they're so excited for Saturday."