Dear Noel,

Some time back, you advised Lisa from Lower Laois not to humour her husband who wanted to get involved in a seven-a-side.

My husband wants me to shorten my grip, even though I have used the same grip since I first started playing as a teenager.

I have tried to tell him it’s not that easy to change a grip – you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

He assures me I will get used to the new grip in no time, and play much better Camogie as a result. I’m not convinced. I don’t want to have a row about this – we’ve just celebrated our first anniversary and, apart from this little niggle, and the fact that his mother is living with us, everything else is going just fine.

I just don’t want to interfere with the karma.

What do you think, Noel?

- Mairead (28 ½), Mid-Monaghan

Noel replies: You’re playing with fire there, Mairead.

Change your grip now and you might finish yourself forever. You were lucky to find a grip that works for you, and that’s all that matters.

A grip is a very subjective, personal thing, and, by using the proper tape, you should be able to maintain an excellent grip in wet or dry conditions.

Your husband would have ruined Joe Deane, Gary Kirby, and dozens more with all this grip nonsense. People like him are all technique and no backbone. Break it to him gently that under no circumstances will you be heeding his advice, whether he likes it or not.

Stick to your guns, Mairead, and if he doesn’t fall into line, I’d chance the butt of the hurl into his midriff when no-one’s looking. Pull hard, he’s no relation, so to speak.

The CCCC won’t have any problem with that, either, I can assure you – like Dickie, they’re all for keeping the game flowing.

And if that doesn’t get you the desired result, Mairead, I would threaten to transfer to a club in Dublin.

Noel never waits down for the breaks. Email him on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; visit www.knowledgeablenoel.com; Skype (knowledgeable.noel); and Facebook (Knowledgeable Noel.)

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