Kathleen Mills
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Camogie | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Born | 8 October 1923 Dublin, Ireland |
||
| Died | 11 August 1996 | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| GSR/CIE GAA | |||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Leinster titles | 18 | ||
| All-Irelands | 15 | ||
Kathleen "Kay" Mills-Hill (8 October 1923 – 11 August 1996) was an Irish sportsperson who played senior camogie with Dublin from 1941 until 1961. She is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time, winning a record 15 All Ireland Senior Medals "that no other player in Camogie, hurling or football has equalled."
Katherine Rosaleen Mills was born in 31 South Square, Inchicore, Dublin, on 8 October 1923 to a Dublin mother and a Cork father. When she was just eighteen months old her mother died, leaving her to be raised by her maternal grandmother. From a young age Mills showed a great interest in a wide range of sport. She was educated in the local convent school at Goldenbridge, where she played table tennis and soccer as well as doing gymnastics. However, camogie was her first love.
Her father worked in the Inchicore works and therefore Kathleen was able to participate in and avail of the sporting activities in the GSR Athletic Union. Two pence per week were deducted from the worker’s wages to go towards the financing of the sports activities in the Railway. In 1947, Mills married George Hill.
Mills made her camogie debut with the Great Southern Railways club in Dublin in 1938 at the age of 14, and was promoted to the senior team for her second match. Three years later in 1941 she made her debut for Dublin while still 16 and played in Dublin's unsuccessful All-Ireland final against Cork, winning her first All-Ireland medal after a replay against Cork a year later.
In 1943 the same counties met in the All-Ireland final for the third year in-a-row. Once again Mills ended up claiming an All-Ireland medal, her goal from fifty yards range being described as the highlight of the match. The following year, 1944, brought a third All-Ireland medal. In 1945 and 1946 a dispute in the camogie association kept Dublin out of the All-Ireland championship in spite of being Leinster champions in both years. In 1948 Dublin were back on form and Mills captured a fourth All-Ireland medal. She took no part in the 1949 championship, however, the 1950s would bring much success to Mills.
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