A tasty feast of hearty hurling; You want Mayo with that? Tipperary Masters and Camogie toppled; U20 up for grabs; Show me the money.
Well, if anyone still believes the Tipperary county senior hurling championship follows a script, this weekend tore that notion to shreds. A feast of gripping hurling delivered shock after shock as both of last year’s finalists were handed sobering reality checks. Champions Loughmore Castleiney were outplayed by a relentless Moycarkey Borris, while Nenagh Éire Óg were comprehensively dismantled by a slick and ruthless JK Brackens side. Of the two beaten teams, Nenagh Éire Óg appear to be walking the tighter rope, with no divisional safety net to cushion a slip should it come. They’ve faced this road before, however, and know exactly where the pitfalls lie, so panic is unlikely to set in.
Holycross Ballycahill and Kilruane MacDonagh served up a pulsating encounter, with the Mid men snatching victory at the death to show they had learned valuable lessons from their divisional final defeat. Thurles Sarsfields had enough quality to account for Upperchurch Drombane, who now face Kilruane MacDonagh in Round 2, while Holycross Ballycahill renew divisional semi-final acquaintances with The Blues.
Kiladangan had too much firepower for Roscrea in the all-North clash, while Cashel King Cormacks swiftly banished the disappointment of their West final defeat by overcoming Drom-Inch. Round 2 now serves up a repeat of the County League final as Kiladangan take on Cashel, while Drom-Inch and Roscrea lock horns in a contest neither side can afford to lose.
The clash of the divisional champions saw Clonoulty Rossmore emerge with the spoils against Borris-Ileigh. The West champions now face the in-form Moycarkey Borris, while Borris-Ileigh’s showdown with Loughmore Castleiney already has all the ingredients to be one of the standout fixtures of Round 2.
Toomevara were unable to see off Mullinahone so just who will meet Nenagh and who will meet JK Bracknes in round 2 remains up in the air for now. So, after a spectacular opening weekend of senior championship action, with plenty to dissect in the Premier Intermediate and Intermediate grades too, the football championship takes centre stage over the Bank Holiday weekend before the hurling drama resumes a week later.
Liam Cahill and his management team have been ever-present along the sidelines, casting a keen eye over proceedings. The question now is simple—who has forced their way into his thinking? Time, as always, will provide the answer.
Mayo victory adds spice to the football world.
Glory glory Mayo. There have been plenty of Rosary’s recited around the Marian shrine in Knock over the years praying for a Mayo victory in the All-Ireland senior football final. But Sunday’s win over a Kerry side seeking a 40th title for their county was special – very special indeed. All those jibes and jokes about Mayo failures of the past are forgotten now as Andy Moran’s men reached the Holy Grail and brought unbridled joy to the county.
What a magnificent spectacle Croke Park was as the red and green army took over and cheered on the men in…….white, as it happens. Maybe the change of jersey represented a change in mindset too – it certainly appeared as though this Mayo side was made of different stuff and their achievement of winning the All-Ireland final goes down in history as one of the great sporting victories of our time. Congrats to Mayo – resilience and persistence pays off and you’d be thrilled for the old-stagers who have know a lot of heartbreak over the years.
Ref watch – show me the money.
THE VIEW noted a call from the Tipperary Southern and District League for new referees to take up the whistle for the new season. A shortage of referees in the TSDL is mirroring the GAA in the county and we note that the soccer course costs just €50 and is held entirely online. The GAA arrangements are different and come in line with the national guidelines for referees. And you know, there has been a fair bit of crossover down through the years also, with plenty of GAA referees officiating at soccer games, and vice-versa.
We all know the challenges of getting referees – a weekend like the one we have just had really stretches the officials with so many games on . Last week, one referee that this column is aware of, did two games on the same evening in sweltering hot conditions. That’s commitment to the cause and dedication to the games.
Perhaps going forward, the only way to get more referees will be to pay them more. Right now, it simply doesn’t pay enough especially considering the amount of ‘advice’ dished out to officials.
Expression of interest raises a few eyebrows.
The County Board’s post on social media seeking expressions of interest for the role of manager of the U20 hurling team seemed a little left of centre and a real break from modus operandi when it comes to making appointments of this kind. I’m sure there are plenty of people who would be interested, but would they be so forward as to express that interest. Well, that’s what this post is seeking.
It used to be that the Executive Committee of the County Board would sit down and work out a list of candidates to be considered. Interest was often expressed in a rather clandestine manner -a discreet mention here, or a word in the ear there. The job always got done though. Now, it is on a more formal setting – presumably the Executive will still have the mandate to approach somebody who may not have expressed an interest and will not be bound by the names of those arriving in sealed envelopes to the Lár na Páirce HQ.
One would also have to presume – or assume – that they already have somebody in mind and it wouldn’t take a Harvard College degree to work out who that might be. Watch this space, as they say. Now, what was that email address again? – Dear Sirs – I wish to express my interest in becoming the Tipp U20 hurling manager…..
Heartbreak for Tipp Camogie ladies.
Your heart would have to go out to the Tipperary camogie ladies as they fell at the penultimate hurdle once again in their bid to get to the All-Ireland Final. Having beaten Cork already in the provincial campaign, getting a second victory over them was always going to be difficult and so it proved.
This Cork side is extremely experienced whereas James Heffernan is building a team in Tipperary and you would have to like what it looks at at the present time. Granted, they didn’t achieve their goal of getting to the final, but they have made progress, introduced some new players and are slowly moving in the right direction. The key now is to not let this setback cause psychological damage and to come back stronger than ever in 2027.
Masters three-in-a-row bid fails.
It was lonely round the fields of Athenry for the Tipperary Master hurlers following the disappointment of failing to achieve three titles in a row as Galway ran out the winners at the final. The team had produced some great hurling en-route to the final but they knew they were up against it as Galway had improved with every outing. Still, the Tipp men gave it everything and really enjoyed their campaign.