Cathy is filled
IT’S a shame we can’t clone Cathy Forde. Exceptionally talented as a camogie and football player, hugely respected as a referee at county and national level, renowned as a coach and mentor, very intelligent and a lovely person as well. If we had more Cathy Fordes we’d be flying!
As part of our Women in Sport feature we chatted to Cathy about her life in terms of sporting endeavours, hopes for the future, thoughts on the role of women in sport, the coverage of women’s sports in the media and such like.
There’s few people involved in GAA in Wicklow who don’t know Cathy Forde. A Wexford native (we can’t all be perfect, in fairness) and proud of it, Cathy moved to Wicklow when she was around 21 for work purposes and it wasn’t long before an enterprising individual knocked on her door and asked her if she would care to play camogie with Avoca.
It was highly unlikely this was just a chance visit. Cathy had already acquired a serious reputation in the Model County. Born and raised in Clonee, Cathey started playing camogie competitively at 14, but had always been pucking around and playing with her brothers at home up to that point.
Such was her ability and potential that she broke on to the Wexford Senior team when she was 16. She played football for Wexford team Shels and from there she was selected for the Wexford Senior football team while also 16. Cathy played in a Leinster final, only to be beaten by a few points by one of the big guns. So, when Francis Hurley knocked on Cathy Forde’s door that fateful day, it wasn’t a case of trying to recruit someone just to make up the numbers.
“I knew nobody (after she had moved to Arklow), and one day there was a knock at the door and Francis Hurley asked me if I would be interested in playing camogie for Avoca and I said, “I’d love to”. I was isolated after coming up from Wexford,” recalls Cathy.
The talented Wexford woman had tried to maintain her place on the Model county teams, but the travelling proved too much so her decision to play for Avoca made sense and as she readily admits herself opened a whole new door for her in terms of her sporting career.
Nine Senior county camogie titles would follow in the black and amber, seven in a row, a defeat to Glenealy and then two more back to back. A Leinster crown was also secured.
Avoca drifted apart after that golden era and Cathy moved on to Aughrim where she assumed the role of captain and guided the club to a wonderful three-in-a-row in the late 90s, with Forde dominating from midfield as always.
Cathy recalls never really having difficulty making a team and she recalls that in the most modest