Gifted Bubbles left his mark on Tipperary hurling

By Shane Brophy

John O’Dwyer was born to be a hurling star and weren’t we all blessed that he was.

In an online interview with the Sports Chronicle a few years ago, the youngest of a family of four revealed there is a nine-year age gap between him and the second youngest, his sister Shelly, joking that he “wasn’t exactly planned” but aren’t the surprises in life the most pleasurable and Tipperary and hurling in general got to enjoy the best of him.

Some sports stars are made but ‘Bubbles’, as is more commonly known, was born with natural hurling ability. That is the only way to attribute the things he could do with a hurley and ball in his hand.

Following the confirmation of his retirement from senior inter-county hurling at the age of 31, he will go down as one of the most talented players ever to wear a Tipperary jersey.

He could nearly make a ball talk; such was the pureness in which he made ash collide with leather. His hands were like wands, and with his low centre of gravity, he could easily swivel off right and left, equally accurate off both sides.

The Killenaule clubman was a precocious talent, first playing for Tipperary as a sixteen-year-old when he joined the minor squad in 2008 but in two years at the grade, suffered Munster final disappointments.

O'Dwyer was drafted onto the Tipperary under-21 in 2010 by manager Ken Hogan and despite being the youngest member of a very strong squad which had ten players who would win All-Ireland senior medals that year, he went straight into the starting line-up for the Munster semi-final win over Cork and final victory over Clare. In the All-Ireland final against Galway at Semple Stadium, O'Dwyer scored 1-3 in the 5-22 to 0-12 victory.

Bubbles would have two more years at under 21 level and was captain in 2012, scoring 1-7 as Tipperary were beaten by a last minute goal from Clare in the Munster final.

When Eamonn O’Shea was appointed manager for the 2013 season, it came as no surprise to see O’Dwyer graduate to the senior squad and made his first appearance against Cork in the league in Pairc Ui Rinn, scoring three points from play in a heavy defeat.

Later that summer, he made his championship debut off the bench against Limerick, and immediately made an impact scoring 1-3 from play in a narrow defeat at the Gaelic Grounds, before making his first championship start in the cauldron of Nowlan Park in the All-Ireland Qualifier defeat to Kilkenny at Nowlan Park, but scored three points from play in that loss, which marked him out as something special.

The bigger the game, the better Bubbles was. Sometimes during league matches he would appear disinterested, but the bigger the occasion, be it Munster Finals or in Croke Park, he always brought his best.

O’Dwyer gained a more prominent role in 2014 after and scored seven points in the drawn All-Ireland final against Kilkenny, and will always be remembered for the final play of the game as his 97-metre free was ruled wide by Hawk-Eye. Despite ending up on the losing side in the final replay, O’Dwyer was honoured by picking up his one and only All-Star later that year.

He won his first Munster senior medal in 2015 in Tipperary's defeat of Waterford and added a second a year later, however, he missed the final through suspension following an early red card in the semi-final against Limerick. He started from the bench in the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway but came on in the second half and turned the game in Tipp’s favour with a well-finished goal from a very acute angle to help his side to a one-point win and another final clash with Kilkenny.

O'Dwyer was back in the starting fifteen for the All-Ireland final and scored 1-5 from play in Tipp’s nine point win over Kilkenny; his 48th minute goal proving to be the turning point in the game from which Tipp never looked back. After the match, during an interview on RTÉ, he showed his carefree side when he swore on national TV, saying "We're champions of f***ing Ireland!"

In 2019, O’Dwyer won his second All-Ireland medal, scoring 1-2 from play in the win over Kilkenny.

Injuries bedevilled O’Dwyer after that, only appearing briefly as a second half sub in the 2020 Munster semi-final loss to Limerick but bounced back in 2021 and impressed in the Munster Final against Limerick and the All-Ireland quarter final defeat to Waterford, that game proving to be his last in the blue and gold jersey as he wasn’t included in Colm Bonnar’s panel due in 2022 due to fitness issues.

37 championship appearances in nine seasons is a small number for a player of his ability and talent, but like the great comedy series ‘Fawlty Towers’ which had just twelve episodes, it is still lauded almost fifty years later. John O’Dwyer will also be remembered for quality over quantity and will go down as a Tipperary hurling hero.

FACTFILE

Debut: 2013 League v Cork

Championship debut: 2013 v Limerick

Championship appearances: 37

Championship scores: 8-110

Honours: 2 All-Ireland Senior – 2016, 2019; 1 All-Ireland Under 21 – 2010; 2 Munster Senior – 2015, 2016; 1 Munster Under 21 – 2010; 1 All-Star – 2014; 1 Railway Cup with Munster - 2016