Camogie Association officials are working to find a solution to the stand off in Kildare that has seen the intermediate team pulled from the All-Ireland championship by their county board.
There remains a belief among camogie officials in Croke Park that a resolution can be found that will ultimately see the team compete in the championship.
“We are currently engaging on the matter with the Kildare executive and the GPA to understand the matter in its entirety,” read a statement released by the Camogie Association to The Irish Times.
“The Camogie Association were not notified by the Kildare players prior to their recent media statement. We will not comment ahead of this engagement until all parties have been heard.”
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The players issued a statement through the GPA, saying they were informed via a WhatsApp message on Friday afternoon of the county board’s decision to withdraw the team from the All-Ireland intermediate championship.
“This has caused great distress to us as a playing group and indeed anger. This is not only because the decision has been taken without our consent, but also because of the disrespect that has been shown in how the decision has been communicated to us,” they stated.
“We want to be very clear. We want to represent Kildare to the best of our ability in the camogie championship. This is and has always been the case.”
The statement outlined discussions had been ongoing to find a solution to a number of issues including the players belief an agreed charter with the county board was not being adhered to by Kildare officials.
The players said they had no access to showers or dressingrooms after training, while there was also a dispute over a ruling prohibiting Kildare intercounty players from lining out with their clubs in league games.
“It had reached a stage where we informed the county board executive we would withdraw from the panel as a result of this mistreatment in the hope that they would rectify these issues,” the statement continued.
“At a recent meeting with them, we believed progress was made and that our season might be salvaged. Then, having trained and given our all for Kildare camogie since before Christmas, our season was ended in a disrespectful way.
“It brings to a head a pattern of disrespect shown to us as players over the last number of seasons.”
