Waterford's 'Queen of Sport' is arguably, one of the most versatile sporting figures in the 20th Century, Newrath-native Josie McNamara.

Josie won Munster Camogie Championships with Waterford, played in All-Ireland finals for Kilkenny, and won County Championship medals with four different clubs across the two counties.

This was a female athlete for whom county borders posed no challenge, she simply loved the game.

Today, some might term Josie a 'rented' camogie player, drafted in to bring clubs and counties a sugnificant degree of success, but her talents extended far beyond camogie.

She was proficient in badminton, golf, table tennis, and tennis seeing her earn the title locally of 'Queen of Sport.'

At the time, Josie was a pioneer for Waterford camogie, bearing in mind that in the 1940s and beyond, the game was not as widely supported as it is today and it was often maligned compared to today's success.

Today, we proudly print the name of our local players who are nominated for All-Star awards, but back then, it was Josie.

In 2023, Nigel Kelly, former Head of Sport for WLR produced and directed a special documentary 'For the Love of Camogie'- a special documentary on the 1945 All-Ireland.

The 12 players who would line out in the final hailed from St Mary’s St Columcilles, Clashmore, St Carthages, Ballyduff and Knocknore.

They were as follows:

Cáit Flynn was in goals.

Full Back, Maura Curran.

Mamie O’ Meara at Right wing-back.

Nellie Breen was the centre of the wall.

Nora Hennessy at left wing back to complete the defense.

The midfield comprised of Kitty O Sullivan, Josie McNamara and Captain Bríd McCraith.

The attackers were Teresa Hynes and Nora Healy at right and left-wing forward positions.

Angela Spencer was named at cente forward, with May Kennedy at full forward.

In this documentary you hear from Angela Spencer’s daughter and niece, Betty Lodge and Lillian O’ Sullivan, Mamie O’ Meara’s nephew Declan and Biddie McCraith’s daughter Máire who all reflect on the life and times of the 1945 team.

As always, Cian Manning has the story we should all hear, so at your own leisure, pour a cuppa and listen back to the story of Josie McNamara, Waterford's 'Queen of Sport.'

And don't forget, you can catch Cian every Wednesday morning on The Big Breakfast Blaa after the news at 9.

Keep up to date on all the latest from The Big Breakfast Blaa with Ollie and Dymphna from 6am until 10am daily.

Waterford's 'Queen of Sport' is arguably, one of the most versatile sporting figures in the 20th Century, Newrath-native Josie McNamara.
<a href="https://wlrfm.com/sport/for-the-love-of-camogie-a-wlr-sport-special-program-318759/">Josie</a> won Munster Camogie Championships with Waterford, played in All-Ireland finals for Kilkenny, and won County Championship medals with four different clubs across the two counties.
This was a female athlete for whom county borders posed no challenge, she simply loved the game.
Today, some might term Josie a 'rented' camogie player, drafted in to bring clubs and counties a sugnificant degree of success, but her talents extended far beyond camogie.
She was proficient in badminton, golf, table tennis, and tennis seeing her earn the title locally of 'Queen of Sport.'
At the time, Josie was a pioneer for Waterford camogie, bearing in mind that in the 1940s and beyond, the game was not as widely supported as it is today and it was often maligned compared to today's success.
Today, we proudly print the name of our local players who are nominated for All-Star awards, but back then, it was Josie.
In 2023, Nigel Kelly, former Head of Sport for WLR produced and directed a special documentary 'For the Love of Camogie'- a special documentary on the 1945 All-Ireland.
The 12 players who would line out in the final hailed from St Mary&rsquo;s St Columcilles, Clashmore, St Carthages, Ballyduff and Knocknore.
They were as follows:
C&aacute;it Flynn was in goals.
Full Back, Maura Curran.
Mamie O&rsquo; Meara at Right wing-back.
Nellie Breen was the centre of the wall.
Nora Hennessy at left wing back to complete the defense.
The midfield comprised of Kitty O Sullivan, Josie McNamara and Captain Br&iacute;d McCraith.
The attackers were Teresa Hynes and Nora Healy at right and left-wing forward positions.
Angela Spencer was named at cente forward, with May Kennedy at full forward.
<a href="https://wlrfm.com/podcast/for-the-love-of-camogie-a-documentary-on-the-1945-all-ireland/">In this documentary you hear </a>from Angela Spencer&rsquo;s daughter and niece, Betty Lodge and Lillian O&rsquo; Sullivan, Mamie O&rsquo; Meara&rsquo;s nephew Declan and Biddie McCraith&rsquo;s daughter M&aacute;ire who all reflect on the life and times of the 1945 team.
As always, Cian Manning has the story we should all hear, so at your own leisure, pour a cuppa and listen back to the story of Josie McNamara, Waterford's 'Queen of Sport.'
And don't forget, you can catch Cian every Wednesday morning on The Big Breakfast Blaa after the news at 9.
<a href="https://wlrfm.com/podcasts/the-big-breakfast-blaa">Keep up to date on all the latest from The Big Breakfast Blaa with Ollie and Dymphna from 6am until 10am daily.</a>

Start your day with Ollie Carroll, Dymphna Nugent and the WLR News team on The Big Breakfast Blaa, who will bring you plenty of on-air banter, laughter, great music, fantastic competitions, features and much, much more… And as well as being entertained you’ll also be kept well informed with all the very latest news, sport and traffic updates from our team. It's as much a part of Waterford life as the Blaa itself! The Big Breakfast Blaa is brought to you in association with <a href="https://coffeehouselane.ie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coffee House Lane</a> <a href="https://www.wlrfm.com/listenback">Listen back to The Big Breakfast Blaa here</a>.

Start your day with Ollie Carroll, Dymphna Nugent and the WLR News team on The Big Breakfast Blaa, who will bring you plenty of on-air banter, laughter, great music, fantastic competitions, features and much, much more… And as well as being entertained you’ll also be kept well informed with all the very latest news, sport and traffic updates from our team. It's as much a part of Waterford life as the Blaa itself! The Big Breakfast Blaa is brought to you in association with&nbsp;&lt;a href="<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://coffeehouselane.ie/">https://coffeehouselane.ie/</a>" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;Coffee House Lane&lt;/a&gt;&nbsp;&lt;a href="<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wlrfm.com/listenback&quot;>Listen">https://www.wlrfm.com/listenback"&gt;Listen</a> back to The Big Breakfast Blaa here&lt;/a&gt;.