I suspect our exit from the Waterford Crystal tournament last Sunday won’t have bothered Eamon O’Shea and colleagues too much. An under-strength team was reinforced too late in the day as Clare’s livelier commitment got them over the line by the minimum. So it’s back to challenge games now in the build up the launch of the league in mid February.
Crisp, winter sunshine greeted Tipperary and Clare in the neatly appointed Sixmilebridge venue. This has become something of an annual clash between the two tribes in recent years with alternating outcomes. We delivered an emphatic verdict last year in the final so in the ongoing sequence I reckon it was Clare’s turn.
The line-outs hinted as much in advance. With just three of our All Ireland fifteen facing the throw-in, the attack in particular looked short of requirements. By contrast Clare had about half of their 2013 heroes on the starting blocks and they always looked more enterprising in their play.
In truth it was a low-key, uninspiring game with the heavy and grassy underfoot conditions not helping. Excitement was slow to build with Davy one of the few to get aroused midway through the first half with a blast at the referee. Maybe it had the desired outcome because at the interval it was a Tipp mentor who was having a word with the official after a series of debatable calls contributed to Clare’s minimal interval lead.
Tipp had played with the winter wind but had made scant progress in attack. Brendan Maher operated as an extra midfielder leaving Sean Maher and David Butler isolated on the inside line of attack and in fairness getting little useful ball to work off.
By contrast Clare looked more inventive with their typical passing game and two lively corner forwards keeping our defence busy. Eventually Darragh Egan had to make a double save after our cover was breached but that was about the only goal chance that was presented at either end. Overall it was about as thrilling as a nil-all draw in a soccer game.
The second half didn’t improve much. Eventually Clare got four ahead and it was only when we introduced ‘Bonner’ to attack that things looked more promising. Eventually Brendan Maher, our best player, tied up the game with just a minute of normal time to play. He’d been excellent on frees all day but then dropped a critical one short after Colin Ryan had give Clare the lead.
Some minor confusion arose at the end as four minutes extra time was indicated but the referee had enough of it some twenty seconds early. We’ll hardly take it to the High Court.
Did O’Shea and company leave any wiser about their team? I doubt it. There were some positives. I thought Ronan Maher had a steady input at wing back. He’s one to be nurtured and developed and looks a sure bet to make the grade. Conor O’Brien will be pleased with his game too on the other wing and Joe O’Dwyer didn’t do his cause any harm at corner back; he had to depart injured at half time, his place going to Micheal Butler of Drom.
Conor O’Mahony looked very faulty at centre back, especially in the first half. Paul Curran seems to be relishing these winter games though people will wonder about his footwork when the tempo increases later on a firmer sod.
Brendan Maher was the main contributor around midfield, Gearoid Ryan hitting a deal of ball too, but apart from some isolated individual items we didn’t have much threat in attack. If the management was serious about winning this game they’d surely have sent in some of the heavy hitters earlier because the chosen line out never looked like winning this contest.
Anyway there’ll be no crystal on the sideboard this year, which will bother no one if we can replace it with silverware. There’s mention of the team playing Gort in a challenge this coming weekend and a number of other ties are being set up for the coming weeks as preparation for the league.
Otherwise the focus will be on the left-over U21 club championships still plodding along in the depths of winter. Does anybody even complain anymore? Loughmore and Kildangan looks a well-matched prospect in the ‘A’ final, while those great Western friends, Cappawhite and Sean Treacys, face Moyle Rovers in the ‘B’. I’d love a double bill – a vain hope.
Last week’s column was in cyberspace when I heard about the passing of Tommy Barrett. As the top administrator in Tipperary GAA for almost four decades his death marked the closing chapter of an era.
It all began in March 1963 when Pat Stakelum stepped out and Tommy stepped in. He defeated Clonoulty’s Tony Brennan for the job; the margin was slender, eighteen votes to fourteen. For the next thirty-seven years Tommy held sway through good times and bad. In an era of long-serving officers he became Tipperary’s version of Cork’s Frank Murphy.
There’s no denying he was a very able administrator. You don’t survive for almost forty years in a key role like that without being efficient. His annual convention reports succinctly summarised the year just past with all events accurately recorded together with appropriate commentary. Those annual booklets represent the first draft of the county’s history.
There was a negative side, of course, one that ultimately hastened his departure from the post. He could antagonise people – and clearly did on many occasions. On his retirement he spoke of all the county chairmen he got on with – bar one. The exception was the late Mick Frawley. When the Emly man became chairman in the eighties you had the unedifying spectacle of the two main officers of the board not being on speaking terms. Mind you I wouldn’t dare suggest that the blame was all on one side; it took two to tango.
Ultimately as the nineties advanced opposition to Tommy’s lengthening term gathered steam. Jerry Ring was the first to challenge him, coming close to a sensational outcome on the first attempt. A second challenge saw Tommy survive more comfortably but those ballots ultimately loosened the grip for Silvermines’ Michael O’Brien who also failed narrowly on his first attempt before Tommy accepted the inevitable and stepped aside the following year. In the end many people were happy that he had gone voluntarily; such long service deserved better than being voted out.
Tommy was always old school, republican and traditionalist in his views. I’m sure many of the changes the association underwent during his term grated with him, beginning with the removal of the ban on ‘foreign games’ back in 1971. Yet to his credit he lived with the changes, adapted and got on with the job.
Together with the late Seamus O’Riain he’s credited with starting Feile na nGael at the start of the seventies. It’s an initiative that has thrived and stands as a lasting monument to his memory. Semple Stadium developments over the years stand to his credit too. As a proud Sarsfields man I’m sure he was happy to see the ‘Blues’ return to the limelight in the past decade. He was regarded as a very useful hurler in his time being part of several Tipperary selections in the fifties.
On a personal level I have to admit that I never developed any relationship with him. That taciturn, gruff manner was a barrier I could never get past. He was apparently offended by my negative review of his memoir. For one who was so centrally involved for so long and who was part of so many different spats and controversies I felt that there was a fantastic story to be told in that book if he opened up. Instead, perhaps mellowed by the years, he chose to write a very soft version of events, sidestepping the contentious and ultimately saying very little of substance. It was a missed opportunity.
Anyway that’s all part of reflecting on a long and eventful career. In the words of Othello he did the (Tipperary) state some service. In fact the extent of the service he did has few equals. Managing the affairs of a county as large as Tipperary during an amateur era is quite a feat. His commitment to the county was undeniable and greatly to his credit. I hope he’s with his god; may he rest in peace.
By Jonathan Cullen Thu 22nd Jan
