Tipperary GAA Scene

By PRO Jonathan Cullen

Divisional Championships

Last weekend saw a lot of action on the playing fields of the county across all grades with a number of divisional finals and semi-finals taking place.

On Friday, Bansha was the venue for the West Intermediate hurling semi-final between Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams and Arravale Rovers and in a highly competitive and entertaining game it was the Dundrum side who emerged victorious 1-25 to 2-17. The second semi-final took place on Saturday in Annacarty and resulted in a 2-21 to 1-20 win for Golden Kilfeacle over Cappawhite.

Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams and Golden Kilfeacle will now meet in the final this Saturday at 7.00pm in Annacarty.

The West Tipperary Premier Intermediate final was played in Dundrum on Saturday and once again this was a very competitive game between Cashel King Cormacs and Sean Treacy’s, with the Cashel men coming out on top 1-25 to 1-20.

Dundrum was again the focus of attention in West Tipperary on Sunday for the staging of the senior hurling final between Clonoulty/Rossmore and Eire Óg Annacarty and has always been the case when these two sides meet, the game was played at a very high tempo. In the end it was Clonoulty who claimed the title and bragging rights with a 1-20 to 0-19 win.

In South Tipperary on Saturday evening, Clonmel Sportsfield was the venue for the final of the Intermediate hurling championship between Kilsheelan/Kilcash and Ballingarry and it was the Kilsheelan men who proved the stronger as they had eight points to spare.

On Sunday evening, also in Clonmel, Carrick Swan won their record 24th South senior hurling title with a four-point win over Mullinahone.

Coiste na nÓg

Durlas Og continued their successful year to date at Under 15 level by winning the County ‘A’ Football title with a 7-7 to 2-7 victory over Arravale Rovers in Dundrum on Sunday evening, adding to the Feile Peil success earlier this year.

Ladies Football

Best of luck to the Tipperary Under 16 Ladies Football team who take on Kildare in the All-Ireland ‘B’ Final in Crettyard, Co. Laois, this evening (Wednesday) at 7.30pm.

Kids Summer Reading with the GAA Museum Book Club

Over the summer the GAA Museum Book Club will be choosing some wonderful children’s GAA books to encourage our younger members to keep reading while school’s out!

For July we’re reading Tach Plays in Croke Park by Saniya Chughtai. The book, recommended for ages four and up, is part of The Wadi Tribe series of books and tells the story of hurler Tach, a turtle who has big dreams. His team are playing for the first time in Croke Park, but their opponents are much bigger. Will they succeed in front of a packed stadium?

As well as writing her Wadi Tribe books, author Saniya is an entrepreneur and interior architect. She has also written another series of children’s books called The Adventures of Chee and Dae and her books have also been translated into Arabic and Urdu.

If you don’t have or can’t borrow a copy of the book, it’s available to purchase from the GAA Museum gift shop with a 20% discount throughout July. Visit the shop at https://crokepark.ie/shop/shop-home.

Children are welcome to submit questions to Saniya by asking an adult to email bookclub@crokepark.ie before Monday 25th July. We’ll put the questions to Saniya during our video chat.

For more information on the GAA Museum Book Club and to watch previous author chats including conversations with children’s writers Paul O’Flynn, Emma Larkin, Gerard Siggins and Donn McClean, visit www.crokepark.ie/bookclub.

Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative

The Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative, delivered in partnership with Foróige and NUI Galway, seeks to empower GAA members aged 15 to 18 years-old to make a positive difference in their club, county, and communities through values-based leadership.

Young people representing fourteen clubs received a certificate from Annemarie Earley (daughter of Dermot Earley) to mark their completion of modules one and two of the programme. A number of these young people will go on to complete the third and final module, enabling them to graduate from NUIG with a Level 6 Certificate in Youth Leadership and Community Action in October.

The young people were guided through their nine-month leadership journey by volunteer facilitators from their clubs, who were specially trained in the necessary facilitation skills by NUIG and Foroige.

Drom & Inch man Jimmy D’Arcy, GAA Youth Leadership Manager said: “The GAA is committed to providing young people with opportunities to have their voice heard within our Association and through our programmes, and to have that voice listened to and influence decision making.

“We are also committed to providing opportunities for young people to develop personally and as part of a group and to volunteer in a variety of roles in the promotion of games, healthy clubs, and the administration of Gaelic games at Club and County level.

“The Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative provides such opportunities and ensures that our young people feel connected and have a sense of belonging that ultimately supports their wellbeing.”

For more information on the Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative, contact Blánaid Carney on blanaid.carney@gaa.ie or 018192387.

Can you save a life?

Just a few weeks ago, Newry schoolboy Daniel Greer was a happy, healthy, active 14-year-old who was looking forward to getting out of school for his summer holidays.

Right now, he is very ill in hospital and his family are desperately searching for a donor after finding out that a bone marrow transplant is his only chance of beating leukaemia.

His close family, friends and supporters are being tested, but finding the right match in time can be extremely difficult and the odds are stacked very high against us.

They believe Daniel's correct match is out there. That lifesaver could be you.

#DoItForDaniel

Please sign up now: For those living in the Republic of Ireland: www.giveblood.ie/bone-marrow

Anthony Nolan donor list (includes 16-year-olds): www.anthonynolan.org

World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA): www.wmda.info/donor/become-a-donor

Visit Facebook page for more information: www.facebook.com/DoItForDanielGreer/

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