KILLINAN END - Contrasting fortunes for Tipp teams

After months of relative inertia the inter-county scene has kicked into life. The early League has not been kind to Tipp’s footballers after losses to Down and Cavan. Things might not get a whole lot better very quickly given the competitiveness of Division 3. Longford had enough about them to win the O’Byrne Cup in Leinster recently, getting through Louth, Meath, Carlow and Laois undefeated which suggests good preparation and decent form. Yet, Longford have been well beaten in their two games so far in Division 3 which does not bode well for the challenges ahead.

The hurlers showed signs of life in the Laois match which carries its own in-built caveats. It’s that no-win sort of game – you are expected to take the points and to not do so convincingly is not good. But to win with lots of spare is indicative of nothing in particular either. Not that Liam Cahill and his team will be looking for validation on the basis of this game mind you, the coming weeks will provide more evidence of where they are at and where they are going. Yet, it continues a reasonably positive vibe. This time twelve months ago, however, this game was a chore and that, in the end, spoke volumes for what was coming up. From that angle what happened on Saturday night and its manner is encouraging. No more but no less.

Next weekend takes the team to Nowlan Park which is always a competitive experience and will challenge them in a very different way. The Laois hurdle was jumped without a stumble, but this one, along with Waterford, are to be presumed as the most difficult games. That’s the theory – both counties have played in an All-Ireland final in the last three years. But away games against Dublin and Antrim might be just as challenging and especially so if points are necessary at the time.

The other group produced a couple of very competitive games in Wexford Park and especially between Limerick and Cork. It was remarked upon on television that the early League will probably be more competitive than the latter stages. What a shame that a competition is diminished like that. It is remarkable how arguments devoid of logic gain traction with some now assuming that because Waterford won the League last year and did not prosper in the championship that there is a connection between the two. This was a commonly held argument years ago but fell out of favour when Kilkenny routinely won the two in the same season as did Limerick a few years ago.

Different ball-game now of course, it might be argued, with the round-robin championship coming hot on the heels of the League’s ending. Anthony Daly questioned the value of League semi-finals as anything other than calendar-cloggers but such games often brought crowds in their thousands and everyone survived. The odd team did not perform but that is not an argument to eliminate League semi-finals forever (they not due to be played this year as it happens).

The strong argument for League semi-finals is that it retains an interest for all teams swaying between qualification and possible relegation play-offs for the longest possible time. The difficulty with League semi-finals appears to relate to the calendar and the determination to force the championship into the shortest possible time-frame.

The curiosity of it all is that next Sunday in Nowlan Park, or in Salthill when Cork visit Galway, could amount to de facto League semi-finals as early as the second round. Both groups will likely hinge on a couple of games and maybe these are the games? If Cork get over Galway what will stop them topping the group and reaching a League final with Limerick and Galway out of the way? Especially when you can assume other teams will pick points from each other. The League may have its twists and turns along the way but is it any wonder that its competitiveness peters out towards the end when its very format ensures this.

Surely Tipperary’s highlight of the weekend was in Semple Stadium on Sunday when Cashel Community School most deservedly landed the Harty Cup against Thurles CBS. Just looking at the sheer size of the panels involved was heartening and based on these schools anyway the county has a few good young hurlers still. Some 38 players saw action during the game – everyone a Tipp man. No doubt there are players as good and better in other Tipp schools who will not see a day like this.

One of the previous bests must have been in 1954 when Thurles CBS, with 15 Tipp men including Jimmy Doyle in goal, played St Flannan’s who had five Tipp men including Donie Nealon. Eight years later in 1962, Clare enjoyed its equivalent game when the Harty Cup final was played in Cusack Park between Ennis CBS and St Flannan’s in the first all-Clare final. This one has gone down in Harty Cup fame as Ennis CBS’s one and only win in the competition and they did it with 15 Clare men. Flannan’s, as was traditionally the case, had a healthy sprinkling of outsiders – seven players from North Tipp and one from Ahane. An all-Clare final but not one with the same significance for the county as this year’s one might have for Tipp.