Glory glory history-making Upperchurch Drombane – Champions of all Ireland; Harty Cup intrigue; League up next
The men from the rolling hills of mid Tipperary etched their names into folklore by becoming the first ever club from the division to lift an All-Ireland club title, and goodness gracious they earned every ounce of it. This was no gentle stroll to glory. In truth, they flirted with defeat on three separate occasions, only to rise again and seize the moment when it mattered.
The courage and resilience of the Church men was a joy to witness in Croke Park on Saturday. An early lead was swallowed up in a flash; they trailed almost immediately after the restart; rallied magnificently to nose ahead with Conor Fahey’s goal; slipped behind once more; drew level; fell back again; and then held firm as the ice-cool Gavin Ryan split the posts with a colossal free on the final puck to drag the game to extra time.
The drama was spellbinding, and yet that was only half the story. The Church struck for two goals in the opening period of extra time and seemed firmly in control when Paul Shanahan produced a moment of pure magic, burying a sensational overhead pull in the second spell.
They savoured the occasion and soaked up the atmosphere, only for Tooreen to thunder back with two goals in a minute. Suddenly, a ten-point cushion with three minutes remaining had been whittled down to just two in injury time. Hearts were pounding, nerves were shredded, but the Church slammed the door shut and stood tall, claiming the silverware in a truly enthralling, unpredictable and captivating encounter.
It felt strange, yet wonderfully right, to be roaring on the black and amber in Croke Park, as Upperchurch Drombane’s triumph bookended a magnificent Tipperary season at headquarters. The Church faithful, who travelled in their scores to the capital, were swept away by joy and emotion at the final whistle, and who could begrudge them that release. There were moments during the campaign when they scarcely looked like All-Ireland champions in waiting.
But once minds were fully fixed on the small ball, and rest and recovery became possible between games, everything changed. Momentum gathered; belief blossomed; the machine roared into life; and suddenly they were back in a county final. Victory over Carrick Swans was pivotal, and with promotion to the Dan Breen secured, they played with a freedom that suited them perfectly. Provincial honours soon followed the Seamus O’Riain Cup, and after seeing off Danesfort, the road led inevitably to Jones’ Road.
What an achievement for Upperchurch Drombane. On Sunday, their heroes were deservedly feted as they paraded the cup through the village, and the champions of the 2025/2026 campaign will live long in local legend. The Hoolie in the Hills rumbles on, and rightly so. Huge credit must go to the management team of Liam Dunphy, James McGrath, John Quinn, James Greene and the wider backroom for guiding this team to a famous, history-making victory. Upperchurch Drombane Abú.
Senior Hurlers suffer defeat and then win.
The senior hurlers continue their preparations for the opening round of the Allianz National Hurling League with a defeat and a victory marking their weekend. Neither result matter all that much really – defeat for those not featuring in Tralee against Kerry, was the lot of the panel against the Tipp U20’s in what was a lively game of hurling. The U20’s showed plenty of intent in this encounter and emerged with a four point win in what was a very useful outing for both sets of players.
Victory in Tralee could almost be seen as defeat as well -eventhough Tipp won the game, it wasn’t enough for them to qualify for the final. It hardly makes much of a difference – remind me again who won the Munster Co-Op League in 2025? Oh yeah it wasn’t played. But, who were the last team to win it? Don’t know -that’s exactly the point.
The games are slightly more useful than challenge matches, but only slightly. It’s doubtful that Liam Cahill and his management team will be holding crisis talks following elimination from the competition. They will crack on unperturbed with preparations for the visit of Galway on Saturday, January 24th in FBD Semple Stadium.
Footballers crash to earth.
The Tipp footballers were brought back down to earth with a bang when they faced Cork in the McGrath Cup. Having won impressively against Limerick in the opening round, The Rebels posed a very different challenge entirely. And, though there were some things to admire about Tipperary, they were well off the pace of the Cork lads, for whom the 2026 season is a really big one if they have designs on making a move. Tipp have an opening tie against London in Ruislip on January 25th followed by Antrim, Carlow and Longford ties in February.
So, it will be a busy time for Niall Fitzgerald’s men and they will be hoping to pick up some favourable results – promotion would be a big boost, but will it be a bridge too far for the new look team? At this juncture, most Tipperary football people would settle for positive performances.
Harty Cup derby whets the January appetite.
Next weekend will see two of the giants of the Dr Harty Cup in Tipperary square up to each other in what can only be described as a mouth watering contest. Holders and All-Ireland champions Thurles CBS will invite the 2024 Harty winners Nenagh CBS to reclaim the title from them and judging by the form shown by the Ormond school, they won’t need second asking.
Nenagh CBS will be favourites for this semi-final but as we know only too well, form goes out the window when rivals get stuck into each other. Throw in the elements and the venue which remain unknown at the time of writing, and really anything can happen.
Thurles CBS have not hit top form yet and they struggled to swat away the challenge of De la Salle in the quarter final tie at Castlelyons – a pair of James Butler goals in either half helping them on their way. Nenagh CBS had it more comfortable in their semi-final clash and they arrive at this stage in rude good health. They will take beating and it’s a fair old bet that the Dr Harty Cup will remain in the Premier County for a fourth successive year,either in Thurles or in Nenagh. It’s all to play for.