Our controversial U21 championship is finally down to a decider. The line-up has an old-style look to it with Sarsfields facing Toomevara following the latter’s easy passage against Swans in the weekend’s semi.
I read at the weekend that this rescheduled second semi-final represented a U-turn of “staggering proportions” by the county CCC. Oh please, save us from the overblown dramatics! Of course it was an about turn by the competitions control committee who came to an accommodation with the North that put the game back for a week – but a decision of ‘staggering’ import it certainly was not.
In hindsight the game could have gone ahead as fixed a week earlier because ultimately the North had to send its nominee after their final on Saturday failed to provide a winner. Toomevara and Kilruane stayed locked together even after extra time so the ‘greyhounds’ headed to Golden on Sunday as the division’s appointee.
It was a clash of North and South nominees then on Sunday, not an ideal scenario and one reflective of poor organization at divisional level.
All of this hubbub had me reflecting at the weekend on events that happened almost a quarter century ago. 1992 was a year when the county got locked into a dispute which disrupted our county senior hurling championship for several weeks.
Events are easily summarized. West and Mid representatives were due to play county quarter-finals but the latter refused the fixture and a stand-off with the county chairman, Michael Maguire, ensued. It dragged on until eventually the chairman had to back down and the games were played; Sarsfields and Loughmore scored a double over Clonoulty and Cashel in the delayed matches.
I always felt sorry for the chairman on that occasion. There was a background culture of club defiance and he made a stand, one which ultimately left him isolated and with little option but to relent. The most obnoxious part of the whole affair was the gushing triumphalism from some Mid Tipp sources after the games were played. It was as if the results of the games vindicated the actions of the clubs in some sort of West v. Mid power struggle.
Michael Maguire lost that battle but I’d argue that he won the war because subsequently clubs became far more amenable to the Board’s authority and we didn’t have a repeat. In that regard Michael Maguire did the county some service.
This year, however, there’s been regression. Back in August intermediate hurlers revolted when fixed to play club games a fortnight ahead of the All Ireland football semi-final. Given the football fever that was sweeping the county at the time the various Boards relented on the fixtures, so the rebels got their way. In some cases the players involved had about as much chance of playing in Croke Park as I had.
Anyway back to last Sunday’s game and Toomevara’s routine passage to the final. After a grueling North decider the day before it can’t have been easy to wind up for another battle so soon, but the ‘greyhounds’ found their second wind quite comfortably and the outcome was effectively signposted by half time.
An early Aaron Dunne goal for Swans gave some Southerner comfort, but the weight of first half play was towards the Mantlehill goal where Toome’ put on a crisp display of point taking. The curse of the short puck-out did Swans no favours and Toomevara were clinical and economical in taking advantage anytime possession was spilled. Jason Ryan was unerring on long-distance frees too so that by half time the lead was a sweet seven-up.
You’d have to credit Swans for disputing it gamely in the second half. I thought their defence stood up well to restrict Toome’ to just seven points in that period. Daniel Walsh was among the most defiant and Lee Wall would have been of more assistance if he’d restricted those solo runs.
The problem for Swans, however, was the lack of firepower in attack where only Aaron Dunne looked to have the class to bother the North reps. Gavin O’Halloran contributed well at midfield.
In the end the margin was eleven points, which was a comprehensive outcome. The issue for Swans now is to justify their nomination in the South series. A win over St. Mary’s was their only outing in the divisional campaign and that was so long ago it was meaningless preparation for Sunday last.
The final promises livelier fare on Sunday next at the Ragg. Toomevara will be outsiders but they’ll fancy having a go at Sarsfields. There’s ample history between the clubs to add spice to the fixture so it should be interesting.
Toomevara have hit a trough at senior level but they’re competitive at underage and Tommy Dunne and his management team will see this as a chance to make a significant statement. I thought centre back, Jason Ryan, a county U21 this year, was one of their sweetest hurlers on Sunday in front of team captain, Cathal Kennedy, at full. In attack Mark McCarthy, a minor All Ireland hero from 2012, will be looked to as a main threat. They’re feisty as you’d expect from Toomevara so Sarsfields would need to be prepared.
Still it’s hard to see anything but a Sarsfields win. The ‘Blues’ have strength and hurling throughout the team as they try to put wins back-to-back. Ronan Maher is the physical and spiritual leader at centre back. Jack Derby is a big man at full. Michael Purcell and Billy McCarthy pack a lot of hurling punch at midfield. In attack Conor Lanigan and Conor Stakelum are focal points though the likes of Seanie Butler, Kevin Dunne and Rory Purcell haven’t been behind the door in recent games either. If it comes down to a rugged dogfight then Toome’ might ruffle Sarsfields’ slick hurling but it’s difficult to see an outright upset.
Elsewhere last week attempts by clubs from the North division to modify our county senior hurling structures for next year were stymied when Board vice-chairman, John Devane, ruled them out of order. The system was put in place in 2015 and didn’t we say at the time that club delegates sleep-walked into accepting the measures without realizing the full impact? Mature reflection, as the politician said, saw a lot of opposition emerge.
People often complain about the excessive number of senior hurling sides in the county and the relegation system of recent years has been slowly whittling the numbers down. However, 2017 will see a dramatic change. Essentially we will have a sixteen-team county championship made up of the four groups of four that comprise Roinn 1. Divisional champions can break into this inner sanctum but the likelihood, like this year, is that the divisional winners will already be part of the sixteen.
The Roinn 2 teams then will play off what in essence will be a ‘B’ championship. The lack of a gateway from Roinn 2 into the Dan Breen series is part of the Northern annoyance. Incidentally the depiction of the Roinn 2 series as a ‘B’ championship is my label because the sponsors of this system were very cute back in 2015 in avoiding such terms, which might have woken up the Rip Van Winkles from the North.
Overall I think the system represents a reasonable attempt to bring some sort of order to a structure that clearly needed some stratification. I expect very competitive games in Roinn 1 next year because maintaining membership of that group will be essential. I’m not so sure there will be the same drive to win Roinn 2 though the relegation trap will keep teams on their toes.
On a different issue this weekend sees the arrival of the latest ‘Tipperary GAA Yearbook’ into the shops. It’s a publication that may have slipped in appeal in recent times but I suspect this one will buck that trend. All Ireland winning years tend to pique interest in this production and 2016 was certainly a stand-out season for both hurlers and footballers.
As a chronicler of the year’s events the book should provide ample winter reading for all followers – and act as a valuable keepsake from an historic year in our GAA lives. All the usual areas are covered from club to county, all generously decorated with photographic embellishment. Hopefully people will be able to relive their favourite moments from the year and have this book as a treasured memento.
Apart from the mandatory coverage of the championships there are other items that will likely attract attention. Among these is a Michael Ryan interview which I had the privilege of conducting. I suspect the media work is not the manager’s favourite part of the job but nonetheless he very graciously agreed to a lengthy discourse for the home following. I think he articulates very interesting views on a range of areas. Anyway I’ll leave further judgment on that to others.
At just €10 the ‘Yearbook’ remains very good value and I suspect will be a big seller this Christmas. Get it early.
