Two Sars’ stars – Ellen Murphy and Evie Twomey – started both games and Ava Fitzgerald came off the bench early in the football match and also starred at midfield with the small ball.

“Ellen said by the time they got home on Saturday night it was about a quarter to 12,” O’Callaghan revealed. “They flew to London on Friday night, flew home on Saturday night and then were up the road to Tipp next morning.”

Sarsfields dual players are no strangers to this crazy schedule as they’ve faced it for the last three weekends and now have to repeat it a fourth with even more at stake.

The Cork side take on Galway’s reigning AIB All-Ireland senior club camogie champions Sarsfields in Mallow on Saturday and their dual players will return to the same venue on Sunday to play an All-Ireland IFC semi-final against Na Fianna of Meath, a team which also finds itself caught on the horns of the same dual dilemma.

O’Callaghan says such exhausting scheduling simply cannot continue.

“Our dual players are unbelievable. When we played our first (Munster) game against Clonlara, I was driving home thinking of them going down the road again the following day to play another game. I was wrecked and I was doing nothing for the rest of the weekend.

“We’ve played three Munster games and they’ve had a game either the day before or after with Glanmire and it’s the same this weekend. It’s too much.

“As players, we have no control over fixtures and what’s so admirable is their resilience towards it, how they perform every single day but there has to be better communication between the two associations,” she said.

“They’re really going to have to look at what way they can improve it. I know there’s a tight window (for fixtures) coming up to Christmas but definitely there has to be a better way and communication has to be the key for both codes.”

She says the two clubs co-operate very closely to help their dual players manage their training loads and believes players are willing to make compromises to help smooth the way for both their teammates, opponents and organisers.

“There’s no way anyone should have to chose one (sport) over the other. It’s about how to bridge that gap. Unfortunately it (scheduling) is a very tricky question to answer but we’ve been calling for it for years. The logical thing is to sort the fixtures,” O’Callaghan stressed.

“Last week our game was (initially) fixed for Ennis. We had girls coming off a flight late into Cork airport and (potentially) getting up the next morning to drive to Ennis which was the guts of two hours from both teams.

“I understand pitch availability is difficult at this time of year, we all do. Thankfully common sense prevailed. The match went to Clonoulty Rossmore which was a very close fixture for Drom & Inch but we were happy to go to Tipp.

"Small things like that, listening to player feedback, is very important,” she said, adding that players would also probably be willing to play the occasional big mid-week fixture if it helped.

The 30-year-old primary school teacher is back after taking her first ever year out and provides key experience and leadership in Sarsfield’s exciting young side.

“Last year my mother passed away and I found I wasn't enjoying it at all. Training and games, I just felt it a slog, that I was leaving work and going to do more work which was never the case. It should never be that way. I needed a bit of time away to miss it and go back then and enjoy it.

“When I fell back into it at the beginning of the year I was in awe of the skill of our young players who have been very successful underage, with the club and Cork. When we were U14 and up along we hardly won a match but they’ve hardly lost one one!

"That’s the big difference. There was huge emphasis put on underage in the club and we can see the benefits now.”