by Acting PRO Joe Bracken
ALL IRELAND U21 FOOTBALL
Following the release of a statement by Croke Park of which most are well informed of by now the road hopefully to All Ireland success in the EirGrid U21 Football Final for the Tipperary U21 footballers is more straight forward than was originally planned with the final now being played in Parnell Park, Dublin next Saturday, May 2nd, at 6pm against the Ulster champions Tyrone.
It is certainly mission achievable for this team and who better than this group of players to deliver, led by Captain Colin O’Riordan, who have worked tirelessly and diligently under the watchful eye of Manager Tommy Toomey and his backroom team of Mick O’Loughlin, Michael McGeehan, Peter Creedon and Eoghan Cooney. Taking each game in its stride the players rose to each occasion majestically and their never say die approach enthused and invigorated each other as in unison they reached for new heights in search of their end goal. That end goal is very much in sight now and the focus will be on sticking to the tried and trusted formula which has served them supremely thus far.
Tipperary supporters are requested to come out in the thousands to Parnell Park and give every effort in backing the side in this the first ever U21 football final appearance for the Premier County. The vocal support from the stands in the Munster Final and again in Tullamore has been commented on by the players who said it gave them a tremendous lift in Semple Stadium and also in O’Connor Park, so supporters please do your bit and make the coming weekend end, historic, victorious and celebratory for this truly remarkable side and indeed your county.
Admission will be €20 for adults, students/OAP’s €15, note concession tickets only available at the ground on match day and juveniles do not require a ticket. One further item of note as well, this is an unreserved seating fixture.
ALL-IRELAND SCÓR
CityWest proved to be a happy hunting ground again last weekend as Tipperary came away from the All-Ireland Scór Finals with two titles firmly within its grasp. Cheers and applause could be heard all the way to the Premier County when the results were announced and Noel Joyce from the J.K.Bracken’s club won the recitation with his original composition of “Mammy’s Day out in Tramore”. Joyous exhuberation was to follow when Newport were announced winners of the Instrumental Music competition, a competition which had eluded them so often in the past, comhghairdeas to the group members Ruairí Floyd, Áine O’Malley, Brian McAuliffe, Niamh Floyd and Louise Ryan. Indeed well done to all our participants in CityWest on Saturday, your achievements are duly noted, Scór Thiobraid Arann Abú!
COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
More second round matches in the Clean Ireland Recycling County Senior Hurling Championship take place over the Bank Holiday weekend as well as action in the Clean Ireland Recycling County Senior Football Championship. Please check fixtures section for full details.
REFEREE ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE FINAL
With the Allianz Hurling League Final docked in Semple Stadium on Sunday to await the arrival of the port cities and counties of Cork and Waterford to contest the final, it is only fitting then that there is a Tipperary man at the helm for the latest voyage in the hurling league flotilla.
Johnny Ryan from Boherlahan-Dualla will take command as referee on Sunday as he charts hurling league final waters for the first time. No stranger to the big occasion, best wishes go to Johnny and his officials for a memorable day. Indeed there have only been six other Tipperary men on the bridge in league final history, perhaps due to the fact of Tipperary’s dominance at certain times in league final history. First up was Phil Purcell back in 1939, Hubie Hogan was next in the early fifties before John Moloney, George Ryan and Willie Barrett took charge of two apiece in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s respectively. Seamus Roche was the last Tipperary man at the wheel when he oversaw Waterford beating Kilkenny in 2007.
TIPPERARY GAA – LONDON CORPORATE LUNCH FUNDRAISER
London’s West End will once again be the location for a Tipperary GAA fund-raising Team Tipperary Corporate Lunch on Friday afternoon May 29th, from 12.30 to 4pm. After the outstanding success of last year’s inaugural event in aid of the ambitious development at the Dr. Morris Park Centre of Excellence, the Intercontinental Hotel will once again welcome over three hundred diners for what should prove to be another most enjoyable and entertaining occasion.
Paul Collins of Today FM fame and a native of Annacarty will once again be MC and an auction of rare Tipperary GAA memorabilia will round off the afternoon’s lunch which will include among other things Eoin Kelly’s autographed jersey that he wore on his last appearance for Tipperary. Reservations may be made as soon as possible to the Tipperary GAA Office at Lar na Pairce, Thurles, 0504 22702 or email: secretary.tipperary@gaa.ie. Further details on the Tipperary GAA website.
2015 RISING STARS
Last Wednesday saw the announcement of the Higher Education GAA Independent.ie rising stars hurling and football teams for 2015. Tipperary were well represented on the hurling team with Paul Maher, Brian Stapleton, Tom Fox, Jason Forde and Tommy Heffernan all featuring while on the football team Steven O’Brien was the sole representative. However, the omission of his Tipperary midfield partner Colin O’Riordan left a lot of Tipperary heads scratching no doubt.
NEW TIPPERARY GAA DRAW
The New Tipperary GAA Draw has been launched in the four divisions by now, with the first draw scheduled by the draw committee for Friday, May 22nd.The Draw Committee have introduced major increases in commission as follows, which should prove very attractive to clubs;
50% up to 200 members,
60% for members between 200 and 300,
70% for members after 300
All this and still retaining a €500,000 Prize Fund
Remember this is “The Tipperary Clubs Draw” and it’s up to every club to contribute to its survival. It has served the county well for 27 years and has survived very recent tough economic times. Now is a great opportunity for all our clubs to grow its draw membership and bring in much needed revenue with no risk or no cost.
With brochures gone to print the Draw Committee and the Co. Board are looking forward to a renewed effort by all clubs to restore “our” County Draw to its former greatness.
FOOTBALL ‘FRIENDS’ GOLF CLASSIC
Ahead of this weekend’s U21 All-Ireland football final, the Friends of Tipperary Football are continuing their busy preparations for its annual Mr Mister Menswear sponsored golf classic in Thurles Golf Club on Saturday June 6th next.
Blue and Gold followers are keen to throw their weight behind the fundraising activities of the ‘Friends’ and a large entry is expected for the golf classic. Proceeds of the event will go towards the training and preparation of all Tipp football squads.
The 2014 classic, also held in the magnificent Thurles course, was an outstanding success with teams from all over Tipperary and adjoining counties taking part. The Friends deeply appreciate the kind sponsorship once again of Mr Mister Menswear, Cahir and Cashel, for the 2015 classic. Entries are now being taken for the event; Teams of 4 – €120, Teebox sponsorship- €50. The Friends would greatly appreciate your support for the event. Entries may be submitted to Martin on (086) 2549154.
TIPPERARY SUPPORTERS CLUB GOLF CLASSIC
Your support is also requested for this the 30th Tipperary Supporters Club Annual Golf Classic at the Tipperary Golf and Country Club, Dundrum on Thursday May 21st and Friday May 22nd, 2015. Many of our team participants have been with us since 1986 and we hope you can enter a team again this year. This is one of our major annual fund raising events and we want to continue our support to our management and team as they bid to win the All-Ireland title this year. All funds will be used to defray costs for looking after the team preparation for this year’s championship.
Please mail your team entry, to John Tierney, Chairman, Tipperary Supporters Club at 105 Laraghcon, Lucan Village, Co. Dublin or email to johntierney105@gmail.com
TIPPERARY SUPPORTERS CLUB MEMBERSHIP 2015
The Tipperary Supporters Club membership for 2015 is now available and continues to grow.
Membership is €30 per person, unchanged since 2006.
Supporters can join on line on www.tippsupportersclub.com by credit card or debit/laser card. Also on the website details are available of the direct debit facility; as the Club is run on a completely voluntary basis it would be a great help if members could join by direct debit. Membership is also available in the following premises, Moynihan’s in Gladstone Street, Clonmel, O’Donoghue’s in Cashel, Noel Ryan’s in Parnell Street, Thurles and from Jackie Shanahan and Carroll’s in Roscrea. If joining by post please send a cheque or postal order payable to Tipperary Supporters Club to Jim Reidy,13 Castleknock Close, Dublin 15 (086-3580718, email:info@tippsupportersclub.com)
Junior Membership is free on www.tippsupportersclub.com and existing Junior Members will be automatically renewed and do not need to make contact unless they wish to update their contact details.
Anybody who would like to take some Supporters Club memberships is welcome to contact Supporters Club PRO, John Coman on 087-9087105 or by email at info@tippsupportersclub.com
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 e-mail at pro.tipperary@gaa.ie on or before 3.00pm on Monday. Visit the Tipperary GAA web site at https://tipperary.gaa.ie to keep up to date with all the latest news in Tipperary GAA circles.
