Tipperary GAA Scene 20th July 2010
BY COUNTY PRO GER RYAN
GAA HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER FINALS
Congratulations to the Tipperary Senior hurlers on their 0-21 to 1-12 victory over Offaly in the GAA Hurling Championship Phase 3 qualifier game in Portlaoise last Sunday. Tipperary will now play Galway in the All Ireland quarter finals at Croke Park on Sunday next, July 24th. It will be Tipperary’s first All Ireland quarter final appearance since 2007 when they were defeated by Wexford. Their last championship meeting with Galway was in 2005, also in a quarter final, when Galway won by 2-20 to 2-18. It will be the 25th championship meeting between Tipperary and Galway with Tipp winning 18 of the previous encounters and Galway 6 – could Sunday produce the first draw? In their last 10 championship meetings the spoils have been shared with 5 wins each. The All Ireland quarter finals are a ticket only fixture with Adult Stand tickets costing €35 each. The Hill 16 terrace will not be open and only the lower Cusack and Hogan stands will be open unless demand dictates otherwise. Tickets are available through clubs, from Lar na Pairce GAA Shop Thurles and online on www.ticketmaster.ie. Senior Citizens/Student Stand tickets cost €25 and apply to the Cusack Stand only. Concession refunds are available at the Block D turnstiles to rear of Cusack Stand prior to entry. No refunds are available after entry to stadium. Details of a special club package have been sent to all club secretaries. These include a club pass where a minimum of 15 and maximum of 50 people from a club can get tickets costing €10 each. Juvenile groups can also be accommodated at €3 per child with 1 adult per 10 juveniles free of charge.
U-21 HURLING
Congratulations to the Tipperary U-21 hurling team and management on defeating Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh by 2-17 to 0-21 after extra time last Wednesday evening. Tipperary will now play defending Munster and All Ireland U-21 champions, Clare in the Munster U-21 final at Semple Stadium on Wednesday, July 28th at 7.30pm. Tipperary and Clare have met 23 times in the Munster U-21 championship with Tipperary winning 18 times, Clare 4 and 1 draw. The six previous final meetings have been won by Tipperary, the most recent being at Cusack Park in Ennis in 2008 when Seamus Hennessy of Kilruane MacDonaghs was captain. The other 5 victories were in 1972, 1983, 1999 and 2008 (all in Ennis) and 1995 at Semple Stadium. Tipperary have played in 28 Munster U-21 finals, winning 19, losing 9 and going on to win 8 All Irelands. Clare have played in 13 Munster finals with their only win coming against Waterford in last year’s final and of course they went on to win the All Ireland title. Tipp’s last All Ireland win was in 1995 when the team was captained by Brian Horgan (Knockavilla Donaskeigh Kickhams). They defeated Kilkenny in the final at Thurles. Current Tipp u-21 team coach, Tommy Dunne played on the 1995 team.
COME EARLY FOR U-21 FINAL
We would ask supporters to come as early as possible to Semple Stadium for the Munster u-21 final. A large crowd is expected and we would ask all those who can travel early to do so in order to minimise last minute queues. It’s not fair to players to delay the start and of course supporters don’t want the game to start if they are delayed queuing. There will be plenty of stiles open at Semple Stadium but please do come in time. We would ask people to aim to be in their seats or on the terrace for 7.15pm.
TIPP AND CORK UNDERAGE RIVALRY – WE NEED MORE TIME!
The fact that the U-21 Munster Hurling semi-final between Cork and Tipperary went to extra time should have been of little surprise! In the last 13 months, Tipperary and Cork have played a total of five underage matches against each other in the Munster Minor and Under 21 Hurling Championship and four of these matches have gone to extra time and one went to a replay. Never in the history of the rivalry between Tipperary and Cork has there been such a period of unpredictable drama. For the record, Tipperary have won 3 of these encounters, Cork 1 with 1 draw. Between them, Tipperary and Cork have accounted for 23 goals and 205 points (an aggregate score of 274 points) in 380 minutes of Championship fare. 3 goals and 70 points have come from placed balls while there have been 3 pointed sideline cuts. Both teams recorded the same number of scores over this period with Tipperary scoring 7 more goals than their opponents (15 vs. 8) while Cork led the points tally by 7 (106 vs. 99). Last Wednesday’s Under 21 match was the lowest scoring game of the four drawn matches during this 13 month period. On the negative side, such have been the exploits of the counties trying to get one over on the other that to date, the winning county has yet to advance past the next round of the respective competitions. We hope that the Tipperary under 21 Hurlers can buck this trend next week in the Munster Final. For the record, the scorelines during this period of unrivalled drama are as follows – 2009 U-21HC – Tipperary 2-22 Cork 0-25; 2009 MHC – Tipperary 5-17 Cork 5-17; 2009 MHC Replay – Tipperary 2-21 Cork 1-12; 2010 MHC – Cork 2-31 Tipperary 4-22; 2010 U-21HC – Tipperary 2-17 Cork 0-21.
County Minor Football League Division 1 Final
Congratulations to Clonmel Commercials who won the county minor football league Division 1 by defeating Killenaule 2-11 to 1-04 in the final.
TIPPERARY TEAM IN PROGRAMME FOR TIPP V OFFALY
Tipperary County Board regrets any inconvenience caused to supporters due an incorrect Tipperary team being printed in last Sunday’s programme for Tipperary v Offaly at Portlaoise. We want to assure supporters that the correct team was supplied for the programme. However, we have been informed that there was a printing problem which resulted in the wrong team appearing in the programme. Such errors are very rare given all the programmes that are produced each year and I’m sure most supporters will acknowledge that the printers do an excellent job overall.
BEST 15 UNDER 21 FOOTBALLERS OF LAST 5 YEARS
Cadburys, sponsors of the U21 Football championship, are encouraging fans to vote for the best 15 U21 players over the last 5 years (2005-2010). The 15 players with the highest amount of votes will be included on the Cadbury 15. To help Cadbury have provided lists of the Cadbury Heroes of the Future. Tipperary players, Brian Fox, Sean Carey, Peter Acheson and George Hannigan are all on the list, having previously won Cadbury Hero of the match awards. Voting is online at http://www.cadburygaau21.com/cadbury-15.php.
MCNAMEE AWARD FOR CAHIR GAA HISTORY
Congratulations to Cahir GAA Club which won a prestigious McNamee Award for the best GAA Club History in the annual GAA communications and media awards. The 269 page history of the GAA in Cahir over the past 124 years, entitled “Memories and Achievements” compiled by Colm O’Flaherty and Mattie Hussey, was officially launched last December.
James McKeogh Memorial Tournament IN BalLINA
Ballina will host the James McKeogh Memorial hurling Tournament on Sunday August 1st. This Tournament will feature: Ballyhale Shamrocks (Kilkenny); Na Fianna (Dublin); Holycross/Ballycahill and Ballina. James sadly lost his life in a car accident in January. He came from a family steeped in the GAA and won numerous championships with Ballina and a Dublin County Junior championship with Na Fianna in 2009. James had many friends in various clubs and counties including both Ballyhale & Holycross. The days hurling will start at 2pm with Na Fianna taking on Ballina, followed by Ballyhale vs Holycross. The final will be played at 5pm.
JULY / AUGUST COUNTY BOARD MEETING
The next County Board Meeting will be take place on Tuesday July 27th in the Sarsfields Centre at 8pm. There will be no County Board Meeting in August.
LADIES FOOTBALL
Good luck to the Tipperary Minor Ladies Football team for their All Ireland final against Wexford which will take place this Saturday, July 24th at 2pm in Freshford, Co. Kilkenny. Congratulations to the Tipperary U-16 Ladies Football team which defeated Waterford by 6-05 to 1-12 in the Munster Final last Friday night in Cappoquin.
Are you Irelands Most Dedicated GAA Fan?
As part of SuperValu’s Sponsorship of the GAA Football All-Ireland Championship, they have joined forces with the Irish Sun and 2FM and are looking for Ireland’s Most Dedicated Fan. They are looking for stories of dedication, passion, & loyalty for their county, the true fan. The winner will receive €15,000 to support GAA in his or her local Community as well as tickets & accommodation to this year’s GAA Football All Ireland final. Nominate yourself, or someone you know at www.supervalu.ie before the 23rd of July.
TIPPERARY GAA SCENE
Information concerning all areas in the GAA will appear in this section in the future. If you wish to include any item of interest in future articles, please contact the County Public Relations Officer Ger Ryan at 086-8149146 or via e-mail at pro.tipperary@gaa.ie on or before 3:00pm on Monday. Visit the Tipperary GAA web site at http://tipperary.gaa.ie to keep up to date with all the latest news in Tipperary GAA circles.
