by Acting PRO Joe Bracken
SENIOR HURLING CHALLENGE
This Sunday evening May 17th, will be a very proud occasion for the Upperchurch Drombane GAA club as they welcome the senior teams of Tipperary and Dublin to Drombane for the official opening of their new dressing rooms. The official opening by County Chairman Michael Bourke will take place at 6.30pm with throw in for the game at 7pm. Entry fee of €10 will apply for all adults with all children are free of charge. Local musicians will provide entertainment before the game and at half time and underage players in the club will play a hurling game at half time. James Barry will captain the Tipperary side on the day.
This is the first time since 1989 that the club will host a senior hurling game, the last senior game was Tipperary against Clare in 1989 for the official opening of the old dressing rooms. It will be a historic day for the club and everybody is urged to come along and be a part of the occasion.
MUNSTER MINOR FOOTBALL SEMI-FINAL
In the Electric Ireland Munster Minor Football Championship semi-final, Tipperary host Clare in the Semple Stadium this Wednesday evening, May 13th, at 7.30pm. Having disposed of Waterford in the quarter final, this Tipperary side will be eager to reach the final where Cork or Kerry will be the opposition.
Manager Charlie McGeever together with his management team have made four changes to the side that lined out the last day together with a number of positional switches. Jack Skehan comes into the side at left half back, while up front there is a completely new starting inside forward line, comprising of Brendan Martin, Brian McGrath and Ross Peters. The referee will be Kevin Murphy from Cork and extra time will be played if necessary. Admission is by ticket and costs €10; juveniles do not require a ticket.
MUNSTER SENIOR CAMOGIE FINAL
After their good win over Limerick in the Munster semi-final we send best wishes to the Tipperary ladies in the Munster Senior Camogie Final as they play Cork on Saturday May 16th, at 4.30pm in Cashel. In a first for the Munster Camogie Council the match will be broadcast live on Irish TV and with the game being viewed globally, it will be a welcome piece of home to all supporters at home and abroad.
COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Some interesting results in the Clean Ireland Recycling County Senior Hurling Championships last weekend went against the expected trend, but nonetheless some mouth-watering ties are in prospect in the next stage of the championship. In the coming week there are remaining fixtures down for decision in the Clean Ireland Recycling County Senior Football Championship and action also takes place in the County Junior Hurling Leagues.
Elsewhere, the four divisions get their respective senior championships up and running this weekend and with clubs already in the know as to their placings in the County Championships, it will be all to play for as clubs embark on their quest to ensure a place at the top table when the knockout stages of the championships come round. There is a start also in the intermediate championships in some of the divisions, please check fixtures and results section for full details.
REFEREE
Best wishes to Sean Lonergan from Moyle Rovers who will referee the Electric Ireland Munster Minor Football Championship Semi-final in Austin Stack Park, Tralee this Wednesday evening May 13th, between Kerry and Cork.
TIPPERARY GAA – LONDON CORPORATE LUNCH FUNDRAISER
In just over two weeks 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.
NEW TIPPERARY GAA DRAW
With one week left to the proposed start of the New Tipperary GAA Draw scheduled by the draw committee for Friday, May 22nd, all clubs and promoters are requested to go that extra mile in ensuring as many Tipperary supporters as possible are signed up for the new draw. Having introduced major increases in commission the Draw Committee are extremely confident these will prove very attractive to clubs, the benefits of which are as follows;
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.
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. Alternatively, you can sign up online today at – http://ow.ly/MpF0u
HANDBALL
Congratulations to the Tipperary girls who were members of the Victorious Munster Interprovincial Team last Saturday. Sinéad Meagher and Eimear Meagher from Nenagh and Siobhán Prentice from Ballina were part of the Munster Interprovincial team that retained their All-Ireland title in Kingscourt at the weekend. After a long day’s play the experienced Munster girls won the final against their Ulster opponents on a scoreline 83-68.
TIPPERARY SUPPORTERS CLUB GOLF CLASSIC
The 30th Tipperary Supporters Club Annual Golf Classic at the Tipperary Golf and Country Club, Dundrum is just around the corner and your support is again requested for this much appreciated event which will be held next week, 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
FOOTBALL ‘FRIENDS’ GOLF CLASSIC
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, for which your support is also requested.
A large entry is expected for the golf classic as Blue and Gold followers are keen to throw their weight behind the fundraising activities of the ‘Friends’. 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 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.
