AIB Club Championships
It was a busy weekend for Tipperary teams last weekend with three clubs in Munster club football Quarter Final action. On Saturday Tipperary Junior “A” Football champions Ballina travelled across the border to Limerick where they played Mountcollins. Ballina took control of the game from the start and a very strong performance resulted in a 3-12 to 0-03 win for them. Ballina now progress to the semi finals where they will play Waterford’s Mount Sion on the weekend of December 18th at a Tipperary venue. In Templetuohy Drom & Inch got their Munster Intermediate Football campaign off to a winning start as they recorded a fine 1-08 to 0-06 win over Portlaw of Waterford. This victory means that the Tipperary representatives will now welcome Kerry champions Na Gaeil to the premier county on the weekend of December 18th. Loughmore-Castleiney were the third team in action last weekend as they travelled to Cusack Park in Ennis to play the local side Eire Óg Ennis. Once again the men in red and green left everything on the field as they came up against a very good Eire Óg side. In typical fashion Loughmore-Castleiney were right in contention as the game entered additional time and they were very unlucky not to have taken the lead right at the death as Evan Sweeney’s shot for a point went agonisingly wide meaning the game went to extra time. Unfortunately for Loughmore-Castleiney it was the Clare men who got the vital goals in extra time as they went on to secure a 2-11 to 0-12 win and in the process ended Loughmore-Castleiney’s involvement in the competition.
Attention now turns to the coming weekends action in the Munster hurling championship where Tipperary clubs are involved in two games. Firstly, on Saturday Skeheenarinky will be hoping to build on their very impressive Quarter Final display when they play Ogonello of Clare in Mallow at 1pm. The Tipperary champions will know very well that this will be a very stiff test but a test that they are well capable of overcoming. This game will be refereed by Doon clubman Eamonn Stapleton who has strong Tipperary connections as his father Eddie is originally from Castleiney. We wish Eamonn and his team of officials well in what will be a big game for them too.
On Sunday the eyes of the county will once again be firmly focused on Loughmore-Castleiney as they travel to Fraher Field in Dungarvan to play a star studded Ballygunner side at 3.15pm. This will most likely be the Mid Tipperary sides toughest test so far this year but a test that we can all be sure they will embrace with that never say die attitude that we have all become accustomed to. Best wishes to both Tipperary Teams and hopefully they will be successful in their endeavours. The second semi final in the senior championship between Midleton of Cork and Limerick’s Kilmallock also takes place on Sunday and Tipperary will also have an involvement in this game as Newcastles Michael Kennedy will be in charge of the whistle. Best wishes to Michael and his team.
Tickets for both games can now be purchased from the Munster GAA websitevia the following link: https://www.universe.com/users/munster-gaa-TR8ZGN . Please note that admission to both games is by pre purchased ticket only and cash will not be taken on the stiles.
Tipperary Clubs Draw
The December clubs draw took place in Lar Na Pairce last Friday evening and was broadcast live on Tipp FM. On the night the top prize of a Toyota Yaris or €15,000 was won by Moyne-Templetuohy’s Mark King, while Willie Jones of Moneygall claimed the second prize of a €5000 holiday voucher. The lotto jackpot was also won with the lucky winners being Pat and Liz Higgins who are members with the Knockavilla Donaskeigh Kickhams club. Well done to all the winners and we thank all those who continue to make the Tipperary clubs draw the success it is.
County Convention
The Annual Convention of Coiste Chontae Thiobraíd Árann will be held in The Dome, Semple Stadium next Monday, December 13th at 8pm. We will be following strict guidelines so all delegates will be asked for their Covid Cert at the door and will be expected to wear a mask once you enter the Dome. Delegates will be sitting at tables allowing for adequate social distancing around the Dome floor area. Once again County secretary Tim Floyd has produced an excellent report which can be viewed on the Tipperary GAA website and has also been circulated to each club.
Tipperary GAA Yearbook 2022
The newest edition of the highly sought after GAA annual has now been completed by the very hard working yearbook committee who have once again compiled a top class book with information and news from all over Tipperary. This years book is due to hit the shelves of the premier county this coming weekend and at a cost of only €15 represents fantastic value for money.
Miller Shield Goes West
After an absence of over 30 years the rejuvenation of the competition by Colm Bonnar and his management has proven to be a great success. The final round of games took place last weekend with Mid Tipperary going down to North Tipperary in Boherlahan, while in Cashel, West Tipperary made it three out of three as they overcame South Tipperary. West Tipperarys victory meant that they secured the trophy for 2021 and following the game, County chairman Joe Kennedy presented their captain Dillon Quirke with the trophy. A special thanks to all those who made it possible to run the tournament this year. In particular we thank the various clubs who made their venues available, to the referees who officiated at the games and most importantly to the supporters who attended the games and in turn supported this year’s charity Scoil Chormaic in Cashel. Your generosity has benefited the school to the tune of €6000 for which they are truly grateful.
Dr. Harty Cup (U19 A Hurling) Quarter Final Draw
The draws for the Dr. Harty Cup Quarter Finals took place on Thursday December 2nd and resulted in some mouth watering clashes including one all Tipperary tie between Cashel Community School and Thurles CBS. The games will take place on the week ending January 9th 2022, with the exact dates, times and venues expected to be confirmed in the very near future. The full draw is as follows:
1 – Cashel CS v Thurles CBS
2 – Árdscoil Rís v Midleton CBS
3 – DLS Waterford v Nenagh CBS
4 – St. Josephs Tulla v CBC Cork
Nine GAA volunteers to be honoured at Federation of Irish Sport Awards
Nine GAA volunteers will receive nationwide recognition next week for their dedication to sport. The awards will take place virtually on December 7th, 8th and 9th and will see all nine GAA volunteers, along with volunteers from across the country, honoured for their amazing dedication to volunteering across a variety of different sports. Among the recipients will be Toomevara stalwart Pat Hennessy. Pat Hennessey has been a volunteer at Toomevara GAA Club for over 40 years and his contribution to the club in that time has been invaluable. Despite being a busy farmer, the list of tasks he accomplishes on a day-to-day basis for the club is outstanding. From opening up the field and locking up a night, to lining the pitch before matches and operating the manual scoreboard, to treating the pitch so it is kept in prime condition, it is clear that Pat is truly committed to the club and its success in the community. He is always involved in club fundraising events, selling tickets and keeping spirits high. A passionate hurling fan, he has a wonderful knowledge of the game and club members frequently seek his advice and wisdom. Pat’s impact on his club and community, while quiet, has been effective and indispensable.The Volunteers in Sport Awards celebrate the contributions of the band of volunteers across the country who give their time to Irish sport and physical activity every year. This equates to approximately 37.3 million hours of volunteering across Ireland’s 13,000 registered sports clubs and associations and, according to Sport Ireland’s 2021 ‘Researching the Value of Sport in Ireland’ report, is worth an estimated €1.5bn to the exchequer.Throughout September and October members of the public, sports clubs and governing bodies were invited to nominate an individual whose contribution to sport and physical activity in Ireland has made a real difference to their community, club or county. The nominations and award recipients were selected by a judging panel consisting of 12 individuals drawn from sports administration, the volunteer community and media, and included former Director General of the GAA, Paraic Duffy, RTÉ broadcaster, Marie Crowe and CEO of Gaisce, Yvonne McKenna.In addition to the 32 county-level award winners, Amina Moustafa, a volunteer across many different sports including football, basketball
and swimming, received the overall Outstanding Achievement Award for her incredible service to the promotion of sport amongst women of diverse ethnic backgrounds, as well as her continued support of Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI).
The awards will be streamed live each evening from 7pm on the Federation of Irish Sport’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/federationofirishsport/
GAA Healthy Clubs Mind Matters Challenge raises 10k for Samaritans Ireland
During the 3 week challenge a total of 3,000 participants amassed an amazing tally of 2 million minutes of wellbeing on Irish Life’s Health and Wellbeing app MyLife. Thanks to these efforts, we are delighted to announce that Irish Life are donating €10,000 to Samaritans Ireland.
The challenge aimed to boost mental wellbeing, through activities such as walking, running, or cycling, yoga, meditation, gardening, or swimming etc. whilst also providing the opportunity to support Samaritans Ireland.
50 years of All-Stars celebrated in newly published book
A treasure trove of stories and statistics on 50 years of the GAA All-Stars scheme is now available to the public thanks to the publication of a new book, ‘All-Star Gazing: 50 Years of the GAA All-Stars’.
This was a real labour of love by its two authors, Moira and Eileen Dunne, daughters of Mick Dunne, who along with fellow journalists Paddy Downey, John D Hickey, and Pádraig Puirséal got the All-Stars scheme up and running in 1971.
Using their father’s meticulous records from covering the All-Stars for 25 years as a starting point, the Dunne sisters have really brought history to life thanks to a series of revealing interviews carried out with over 100 All-Stars winners.
There’s something for everyone in this book which combines statistics, entertaining yarns, and evocative photography to paint a vivid social as well as sporting picture.
Scoreboard Equals Eircode
Following on from an incident at one of our games recently, 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.
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 8th Dec
