Double delight for Corkery and Buckley
OUTSTANDING contributions to Cork teams earned versatile Cork dual stars Briege Corkery and Rena Buckley the Supreme Northside Sports Star of the Year Award at a function in the Clayton Silversprings Hotel.
It comes after Buckley added the Cork Supreme Ladies Sports Star from a galaxy of female stars. Rena and Briege are the most medalled players in the history of ladies football and camogie. For the third year in a row it was Dublin who suffered at the hands of Cork, again losing out narrowly in a football decider that was witnessed by a record attendance.
That brought Buckley and Corkery’s collection to 11 All-Ireland football senior medals and six camogie equivalent. On doing so, Cork’s voracious appetite in search of ladies football silverware showed little sign of abating after completing a phenomenal six in a row and for good measure eleven All Ireland titles in 12 seasons.
Not for the first time, Player of the Match Rena Buckley delivered a highly constructive performance on roaming Croker in search of work and responsibility that set the template for colleagues.
“The Football Final was a really tough contest, kicking the ball wasn’t an option and in general play, there was nothing between the sides. Player of the Match could have gone to any team member, it was a team effort that won it for Cork,” said a modest Rena.
For club and county, Buckley also excelled on the camogie front, not alone reaching an All-Ireland final with Cork, but helping her club Inniscarra stop Milford’s five-in-a-row bid in the County senior camogie championship to land the prized silverware. For the Inniscarra star, no surprise, merited accolades and fitting holder of the Cork Supreme Ladies Sports Star Award.
Jockey Noel Fehily, who comes from Macroom, with his son Michael, age 2, and daughter Niamh, age 4, after winning the Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy on Buveur D’Air during the Cheltenham Racing Festival on Tuesday. INSET: Fehily and Special Tiara after winning Wednesday’s feature race, the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase Photo by Sportsfile