Sweeney honoured as Tipp’s sole 2020 All-Star

By Shane Brophy

To many over the age of thirty, when you think of the GAA All-Stars, one of the many images that come to mind were the posters which were sent to each club of each of the annual winners in hurling and football.

They were hung on bedroom walls and in dressing rooms and allowed kids to dream of one day being on that poster and last Friday morning, Conor Sweeney lived the dream as the Tipperary captain was selected at full-forward on the PWC GAA/GPA All Star Football team.

“I can remember one of those posters being in the dressing room in Ballyporeen,” Sweeney recalls.

“I remember seeing Declan (Browne’s) name on it and that was a long time ago now. To be even considered along with some of the great footballers that have won one in the past is unbelievable. It’s something I will cherish for a long time.”

Conor became the third premier county player to win a football All-Star, joining Declan Browne (1998, 2002) and Michael Quinlivan (2016) on the honours list, while another former Tipperary man, Brian Lacey won one with Kildare in 1998.

Sweeney was odds-on to make the team but like pretty much everything over the past twelve months, had to watch on remotely as his name was announced in a stars-studded 2020 team which include a record equalling nine players from Dublin.

“It was a little bit strange,” Conor continued.

“Normally down through the years I would tune into the All-Stars and see everything attached to it and meeting different people. Obviously when you don’t have that it is a little bit different, but it has been such a strange twelve months that these things become more normal to us now, we are after missing out on so much. It is still a fantastic achievement no matter what way you celebrate it and once you celebrate with the people close to you it makes it extra special again.

“The biggest thing we are after missing out on mixing and mingling with other players as it is very seldom you meet them off the field. That’s what the All-Stars is all about, getting to meet other players from other counties, and in different codes with a few of the hurlers and have a chat with them but it wasn’t to be. I’d be hopeful down the line they would be able to do something that might get us all together when it is safe to do so but if they don’t, we will get over that too.”

After winning a first Munster title in 85 in a straight knockout championship which saw Tipperary progress to the All-Ireland semi-final, the Premier County would have been hoping for more than one All-Star with fellow nominees Bill Maher, Kevin Fahey, and Colin O’Riordan failing to make the final selection.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t get one or two more,” Sweeney admitted.

“Before the Mayo game you would have thought we would have had two or maybe three so it’s mad how one game can change things.

“It’s so competitive. Dublin had the whole half-back line and half-forward line and were represented in every line, bar the goalkeeper. Mayo will feel aggrieved that they only got two. Cavan were always going to get one or two, but they got three and we got one, it could have easily been us with three and they could have had one. It is what it is.

“Given the year in which we won Munster and got to an All-Ireland semi-final again you might have thought we would have sneaked in a second All-Star, but it wasn’t to be unfortunately.”

Such was the truncated and eventually successful 2020 season for Tipperary, it only came to an end on December 6th last with the defeat to Mayo at Croke Park. Initially the turnaround to the new season was set to be a short one but with such momentum built up, Tipperary were looking forward to getting back into action quickly and Sweeney hopes it isn’t too much longer before they are allowed to return to collective training.

“We would liked to have had the National League gone ahead on the original dates (27-28 February) as we wouldn’t have had too much of a break which was good,” he said.

“The only thing I was worried about was that we wouldn’t have much time off that it might stand to us and going into the league this year with a good level of fitness underneath us. We are all still working hard individually which is the good thing so whenever we do get back collectively, we’ll have a good foundation built up.

“From a mental point of view, you have to always prepare as if it is coming around the corner and that’s one of the reasons why we were successful last year. We anticipated the championship was going to start so we had a good base level of training done before we did the collective stuff and when we get back collectively, it is only going to be a small window of four weeks at the max so there is not a whole pile of time there, so you have to come back in decent shape.”

Should the National League go ahead in a shortened format, Tipperary would be in division 3 south along with Limerick, Wexford, and Wicklow with the top two teams progressing to the semi-finals against the top two from the northern section, containing Cavan, Derry, Fermanagh, and Longford, with the aim of reaching the final and guaranteeing promotion which will be Tipperary’s initial focus when they get back training.

“They are three games we’d be looking to win,” Sweeney said.

“The fact the league this year is only three guaranteed games, there is no time to feel your way into it, you have to hit the ground running from day 1. You’d want to be winning two, if not the three games, to make sure so there is no time to settle in.

“It wouldn’t be ideal for the management either. There wouldn’t be much room to try lads either. Previously you had the seven games minimum and scope for trying out new lads but with the three games and having to win two and possibly all three, you are probably going to go with the players that are, first of all the fittest, so that is why this block of individual training is so important for us.”

So does the Tipperary captain sense from his teammates that they have the drive to kick on again in 2021.

“Accountability is the big thing, and we have all been doing our bit of work on our own. The lads are held accountable to that and players are held accountable to each other so you never really know until you get back to the field collectively, but the signs are good at the moment and I have no doubt that every player and every member of the management would have no other ambitions only driving on.

“We can’t be looking back, 2020 is over so we need to be looking forward now and attacking the league and hopefully trying to get promotion as we are more than capable of it if we start well.”

Having sampled last years shortened championship campaign due to Covid and with this year’s league/championship likely to be shortened again, the Tipperary captain says that’s the way it should be, rather than having a nine-month inter-county season between training and games.

“We enjoyed last year because we were successful but it’s the way forward. The inter-county season was probably too long anyway so there is no harm in shortening down a bit and games, games, games is the way forward,” he said.