THERE'S A buzz around Borris Vocational School this week, totally unrelated to academic considerations. All the talk is of Saturday's all-Ireland Senior B camogie final in Clonmel (1pm) when they face the queens of the south from Col. Choilm from Ballincollig, Co. Cork.

Knowing nothing about the southerners does not faze Borris, with coach Orla Bambury concentrating on their own game, and not wishing to upset their own rhythm by introducing problems which may not even arise. 'We didn't know anything about our semi-final opponents either. Again they are from a different province, and you just hope our team is strong enough.'

Enthusiasm alone will carry the Co. Carlow girls a long way, and they are quite familiar with being in threatening situations, as they were against Grennan College, and in their last outing in Draperstown. 'Their attitude is very good, and in terms of personality it is fun to them, and in camogie terms I cannot sum it up with one word, but their skill level is extremely high, with their first touch really having come on.'

A well-balanced team, Borris girls showed an appetite for the campaign when asking last September if the grade went to an all-Ireland stage, and they are unlikely to diminish that determination with only sixty minutes from the ultimate silver.

Orla has been impressed with most facets of Borris progress, including their ability to recover from behind, countering physical presence with technique, and the harmony from the group.

Welcoming also is the support from staff, parents and pupils with encouraging crowds at several home games, the Leinster final in Carlow, and moreso the attendance in Draperstown where parents headed as early as 6.30am that day. 'The local pitch was packed for the semi-final, and Carlow the same, and then the crowd who went to Derry. The staff are great too; never a day goes by without someone asking how we're getting on,' Orla delighted with the support of principal Kieran Lucas and his second in command John O'Sullivan. 'They do everything for us,' and of course, the experienced back-up from her aunt Mary Smyth, another former Kildare player who played for Carlow for 16 years from the colours of Myshall and latterly Naomh Brid for two decades.

Mary recalled Myshall as the only camogie club when she arrived in Boris in '78, but now the school team includes players from Myshall, Rangers, Gowran, Paulstown and Skeough. 'We made the breakthrough in '89 with a Leinster intermediate title,' she remembers and several Vocational School successes followed through the '90s before the VSs and colleges joined as one organisation. High-point for Mary and Co. came in '03 when Borris won the Leinster Senior B crown, losing to Cork opponents in the national final.

Orla is favoured with the winning legacy left by Mary and others, but then she has maintained that drive, stamping her own influence on the game in the school when winning the '06 all-Ireland Junior B crown.

'When I came to Borris I remember the first evening going up to the pitch and I couldn't believe how many girls were there. Mary (Smyth, from Johnstownbridge in Co. Kildare) and Mairead O'Donoghue (from Cork) were there. There must have been 40 something girls training. I had come from teaching practice in schools where camogie was nonexistent.

'So, naturally I was delighted with the standard in Borris,' adds Orla who played for Kildare since 12 as a member of the Cappagh club.

'The standard was high when I came here, and I feel it has risen since, but then the level of commitment the girls put into training is a major factor. It's intense.'

The now-Paulstown player is not surprised at the growth of the game in the school since they lost the all-Ireland Junior B final in '05. 'Looking back we should have won it. Back then we had one or two outstanding players but they could not carry the team, whereas now we are well-balanced, and not reliant on the few.'

The experience of '05 anchored the following team which captured the national Junior

B title and were then elevated to the senior category. 'We reached the Leinster final in our

first year as seniors - it was very tough but a brilliant experience. The following year was not so good but then girls had left the school, and then last year we had a very good A campaign reaching the final, but it was our turn to come down.'

The experience of the A grade has stood to the present squad. The juniors in the senior panel won a Leinster C title two years ago, won the B crown last year and most of them are playing Junior (under 16) A this season and met Loreto, Kilkenny in last Monday's provincial decider, and with six of those girls heading for Clonmel on Saturday for the senior showdown.

Their enthusiasm shone through from the first training session in the second week in September. ' We had a full panel which trained every Monday evening, and two if they have match that week,' and Orla realised the determination of the players when sixth years captain Ann Murphy (daughter of former Rangers and Carlow hurler Mick) and Michelle Kelly asking if the championship went to an all-Ireland. 'I was surprised, and said to Catriona Moore, who assists with the training, that this team had high hopes. I knew then that they would drive the team on.'

The journey began with the defeat of Ballyhale but not even a poor opening half deterred the girls who won well in the end. 'They came out in the second half and I knew thenÉit was the first indication that they would do well.' What impressed Orla was players dropped to the bench still gave 100 per cent. ' There's huge competition for placesÉit's really healthy, and no-one is peeved at being dropped, knowing their chance could come at any stage, and in all the league matches all the subs were used, even in the Leinster final against FCJ Bunclody.'

They subsequently beat St. Mary's of New Ross, Pres-DLS, Bagenalstown and faced their toughest examination against Grennan College. 'They were physically very strong and a few decisions didn't go our wayÉthe girls took knocks they perhaps should not take on the camogie field, but we answered them back on the scoreboard and won by four points.'

Defeating Pres-DLS in the semifinal, Orla recalls: 'We got the scores but also I thought we were the fitter team.

'They struggled to get scores in the opening 30 minutes of the final but I knew the scores would come as we were playing well enough, even if it took a while to settle into it.'

Trailing by seven points in the all-Ireland semi-final against St. Colm's in Draperstown (Co. Derry) Orla was convinced even then that Borris was the better team. 'The girls were so nervous in the first half, but huge support from parents was fantastic. I knew that once we got it going we'd be fine,' and so it transpired, even if they only scored their first point in the sixth minute.

That's all history, and now they face into the biggest match of their lives, but if the enthusiasm and determination surfaces in Clonmel they should come home with the silver, and of course, not forgetting the support of staff, parents and pupils again.

- PAUL DONAGHY