FBD Insurance County Championships
Last weekend saw the conclusion of three more competitions for 2021, two football and one hurling. On Saturday in The Ragg Ballina and Clonmel Commercials met in the Under 19 “A” Football decider. This was a very close game all through and in the end it was the men from the banks of the Shannon who emerged victorious on a full time score of Ballina 0-07 Clonmel Commercials 0-06. On Sunday, Borrisoleigh was the venue for the clash of Nenagh Eire Óg and Aherlow in the final of the Junior “B” Football Championship. In the end it was the men from North Tipperary who proved to be that bit too strong for their Western opponents as they scored a 0-11 to 0-06 point win. All eyes then turned to Semple Stadium in Thurles for the eagerly awaited replay of the County Senior Hurling championship final between Loughmore-Castleiney and Thurles Sarsfields. In a game that was slow to ignite, supporters were certenaly served up a gripping fourth quarter that had everything from well taken goals to near misses and everything in between. In the end it was an injury time John McGrath pointed free that claimed victory for the men in red and green as they completed the second part of an historic double, winning both the senior hurling and senior football county finals for 2021. Loughmore-Castleiney have now well and truly written themselves in to the history books in Tipperary having previously completed the double back in 2013. The scenes of emotion and jubilation following the sounding of John McCormack’s final whistle on Sunday evening were truly amazing as a community celebrated the achievements of an amazing group of players. Serious credit must also go to the Loughmore-Castleiney management team lead by Frankie McGrath who have guided these players and made sure that their busy schedule was managed in the correct way so as to have all the players in the best possible shape both physically and mentally.
AIB Club Championships
There were two Tipperary sides in action last weekend with mixed fortunes for both sides. On Saturday County Junior “A” champions Skeheenarinky made the trip to Tralee where they took on Tralee Parnells in the Munster Quarter Final and after taking control early on the Tipperary champions went on to book a semi final spot against Ogenollo of Clare on the weekend of December 12th, this game will be played in a Tipperary venue. On Sunday Tipperary’s Intermediate Hurling champions Moyne-Templetuohy played host to the Kerry Senior champions Kilmoyley in Templetuohy. Unfortunately Moyne-Templetuohy failed to spark in this game and had to give way to a very determined and to be fair skillful Kerry side who will now go on to contest the semi finals with a great deal of confidence the final score in Templetuohy was Moyne-Templetuohy 0-14 Kilmoyley 4-12.
Next weekend Tipperary will have three representatives in action in the various Munster championships. First to take to the field will be Drom & Inch who will welcome Portlaw of Waterford to Templetuohy for their Intermediate Football Quarter Final clash which throws in at 1.30pm. Also, at 1.30pm on Saturday in the Munster Junior Football Championship, Ballina travel to Mountcollins where they will play the local side. Then on Sunday in Cusack Park Ennis, Loughmore-Castleiney will play the Clare Senior Football Champions Eire Óg Ennis in their Munster Quarter Final which has a 1pm throw in time. Best wishes to all the Tipperary representatives in action this weekend.
Scoreboard Equals Eircode
Following on from an incident at one of our games last weekend where a spectator became seriously ill and required urgent medical attention, it has been suggested that all clubs should be encouraged to display their club grounds Eircode in a prominent position and as the scoreboard is probably one of the main focal points in every ground it is probably the best place to display your clubs Eircode. As we all know in an emergency the more information people have available to them the easier it is for everyone to deal with the situation. Some Eircodes are beside defibrillators which is fine, but the person calling an ambulance is usually not running towards the defibrillator area. If an Eircode is in the same location (scoreboard) in every pitch, we will know where to look & it will be very easy to spot. Not a huge investment but could be very helpful if needed.
GAA clubs encouraged to register for ‘Ireland Lights Up’ 2022
The GAA’s popular ‘Ireland Lights Up’ walking initiative returns in January 2022 in partnership with RTE’s Operation Transformation and Get Ireland Walking.
Ireland Lights Up (ILU) encourages GAA clubs across the 32 counties to turn on their floodlights and open their walking tracks to enable their local communities to come together to walk and talk in a safe environment during the long dark evenings of winter. As ever, Operation Transformation (which returns to our screens on January 5th) will shine a light on this great initiative by showcasing each week on the show GAA clubs that are participating in ILU.
Due to public health restrictions, ILU 2021 was cancelled last January. With a record 700 GAA clubs already signed up to support their communities, the GAA Healthy Clubs project partner Irish Life stepped up to help fill the void. Through their lifestyle App, MyLife, the clubs instead recruited almost 28,000 participants to walk the walk in the Healthy Clubs ‘Every Steps Counts Challenge’. They recorded a combined step count of 7.5 billion over seven weeks. On average, each participant walked just over 200km.
To build on this success, another Healthy Clubs steps challenge will run concurrent to ILU 2022, with some great prizes for participating clubs on offer from Irish Life. Participating clubs will be asked to open their gates on any or all evenings for the duration of the campaign from Wednesday 12th January to Wednesday 2nd March 2022. To register your club for Ireland Light Up and the MyLife Healthy Clubs Steps Challenge, go to: www.getirelandwalking.ie/irelandlightsup . Clubs that complete the registration process for Ireland Lights Up and adhere to the necessary criteria will be covered by Get Ireland Walking’s insurance for all walk leaders and participants. However, irrespective of GAA membership status, leaders and participants are not covered by the GAA Injury Benefit Fund for this initiative. Review the full Terms & Conditions of participation: www.getirelandwalking.ie/irelandlightsup . In addition to Ireland Lights Up, the GAA’s Community & Health department will deliver with Irish Life a club ‘Steps Challenge’ hosted on the Irish Life MyLife App.
The MyLife Every Step Counts Challenge will ask each club and their members to collectively walk 4,000 kilometres* which is approximately the distance around Ireland.
The challenge will commence on the 12th January and run for five weeks until midnight on the 16th February. The challenge will be split across the four provinces with each club that reaches the target included in a prize draw.
Tipperary’s Meath Connection Continues
Ratoath won the Division-1 Minor Hurling final beating Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille, bridging a 52 year gap, the club last winning the title in 1969 (match played early 1970).
Sunday’s team included three Corbett brothers (triplets _ photo attached) _ Liam, Sean (captain) and Tomás, grandsons of Paddy Corbett, a native of Borrisoleigh. The panel also included John O’Connell whose family originated from Kilruane. Tomás Corbett was also a member of the victorious All-Ireland Meath minor football team this year.
The ultimate Christmas gift idea for the GAA fan in your life
GAA fans nationwide are encouraged to stamp their name on a seat at Semple Stadium today and visit mystadiumseat.com. The initiative supported by Tipperary GAA, offers fans of the iconic Tipperary venue the opportunity to make a real difference and raise vital funds for the development plans at the stadium and maintain existing facilities for future generations.
The concept is simple, this is an online product available that offers customers the chance to have their name, the name of someone they care for or indeed the name of a corporate entity on a seat at Semple Stadium. Beautifully designed naming plaques will be erected on seats at the iconic venue over the coming weeks and months as the plan is rolled out.
In addition to one’s name, each plaque has a QR code on it, the type suitable for scanning with a smartphone or digital device. Once scanned it links to the ‘look up my seat’ webpage on MyStadiumSeat.com where a personalise note about the individual can be read.
Three distinct package price points are available. The Hero package at €100, the Double package at €200 and the All-Star package at €500 offer three, eight and ten year terms to choose from.
All packages include the individual’s name on the seat with a bespoke message or biography online. Furthermore, all packages include a personalised certificate of authenticity and four tickets to visit the stadium on any one of the open days that will be hosted at the stadium in 2022.
The All-Star ten year package priced at €500 also includes an exciting add on, a dedicated pride of place listing of the individual’s name on the prestigious ‘Wall of Legends’ at Semple Stadium.
The ultimate Christmas gift for many this year also offers a unique way to remember someone you have lost too by placing their name on a seat at ‘The Field of Legends’ complete with a remembrance piece dedicated to them online.
It is also an exciting gift for a new arrival who one day will visit the stadium or even might don their club or county colours on the pitch in years to come. Whether the gift is for someone at home or abroad it will ensure the recipient becomes part of both the history of the stadium and its future too, something very special indeed.
During the pandemic when the fundraising landscape was most challenging, the concept for mystadiumseat.com was born. It is set to raise vital funds for Semple Stadium to ensure the proposed redevelopment of The Kinane Stand, affectionately known as The Old Stand, remains on track and the venue’s existing facilities can continue to be maintained to the highest standards well into the future.
So get involved today and visit mystadiumseat.com to find out more and support Semple Stadium, where every name matters.
Tipperary GAA Scene
If there is anything you feel should feature in this column going forward, please feel free to forward it to pro.tipperary@gaa.ie
By Jonathan Cullen Wed 1st Dec
