O’Mara’s emergence as a top-class defender has been one of keys to Tipp’s resurgence

By Noel Dundon

On Sunday afternoon, Bryan O’Mara will pull the fabled blue & gold jersey of Tipperary over his shoulders for the eighteenth time, stepping into the cauldron of an All-Ireland Final.

It’s a journey that began back in 2020, when he made his debut for the Premier County in a league clash against Limerick — a quiet beginning for a player who has since become one of Tipp’s most indispensable warriors.

The Holycross/Ballycahill clubman has emerged as a linchpin of Liam Cahill’s revitalised rearguard, a pillar of strength and intelligence at the heart of the defence.

With a razor-sharp sense of anticipation and a turn of pace that leaves opponents grasping at air — qualities now married to the physical power he has honed in recent seasons — O’Mara has become a hurler of rare quality, and surely a leading contender for an All Star.

Yet, for all the accolades he might collect, the former UL Fitzgibbon Cup winner would happily trade them all for one glittering prize: an All-Ireland senior medal, to stand alongside the medals of club greats such as Cathal Barrett, Michael Maher, and of course the immortal John Doyle, to name just a few.

You must leaf back through the pages of history to 1991 to find the last time two Holycross/Ballycahill clubmen who togged out on All-Ireland final day for Tipperary. Back then, the club was riding the high of their Dan Breen Cup triumph in 1990, with Declan Carr captaining Tipp to Liam MacCarthy Cup glory against Kilkenny — hoisting the cup aloft as parishioners roared in delight. Alongside him that day was Tony Lanigan, making up the proud Holycross-Ballycahill duo.

And now, 34 years later, the parish once more boasts two warriors in the panel — O’Mara and Joe Caesar.

Caesar, who started this year’s Munster championship opener against Limerick before succumbing to an ankle injury, has battled valiantly to regain fitness, and should take his place on the subs bench.

Bryan O’Mara has not only driven his club forward at county level, but has also been a catalyst for Holycross/Ballycahill’s resurgence at senior club level.

With a rich seam of underage talent ripening behind him, many believe the club is on the cusp of a golden era — a force to be reckoned with in the years ahead.

After catching the eye with his club in the wake of the Covid years, Bryan finally made his Tipperary senior championship debut in 2023, helping Tipp to a morale-boosting win over Clare in Ennis. He repeated the feat this year — but the transformation in O’Mara has been remarkable.

A dedicated and uncompromising athlete, he has added muscle to his frame without sacrificing his trademark dash and agility. When you couple that with lightning-quick hands and an unyielding spirit, what emerges is a hurler of the highest calibre — the sort who shapes games rather than merely playing in them.

Hurling runs deep in his veins. His father, Ted, hails from Clongour in Thurles, across the street from where the great Tommy Barrett once lived. Ted hurled at various levels for Thurles Sarsfields before marrying local girl Anne Marie Croke and making Holycross his home — a move that would help sow the seeds of a new generation of hurling excellence in the parish.

Their sons, Luke & Bryan, are now central figures in the club’s senior team, with Bryan already having collected a string of honours: Mid-minor (2014), under-20 (2017 & 2019) titles, as well as Munster and All-Ireland medals at both minor (2016) and U20 (2019) level. Time and again, he has been at the heart of success — or, more accurately, he has been one of its architects.

Bryan’s family home on the Cashel Road sits just a long puck-out away from where the great John Doyle once lived. And, with club colleague Cathal Barrett having patrolled Doyle’s old corner in the Tipp jersey for years, parishioners take enormous pride in seeing yet another of their own — O’Mara — filling another of Doyle’s former roles at half back.

Fittingly, it was in the John Doyle Centre that O’Mara forged the physique and finesse that brought him to the county panel. There, in the quiet solitude of the gym, he sculpted muscle and sharpened footwork, marrying strength and speed until he became one of the most athletic players in the Tipp squad. He thrives on the discipline demanded by the Tipperary mentors, often found in the John Doyle Centre gym long after others have left, quietly going about his work yet always ready with a word of encouragement for those around him. Despite his lofty achievements, there is nothing aloof about him — humility is stitched into his very fabric.

Bryan O’Mara is held in the highest esteem across Tipperary, but in Holycross/Ballycahill, he is revered — as a clubman, an ambassador, a role model. When he strides behind the Artane Boys’ Band on Sunday, he will do so carrying not just the hopes of a county, but the pride of a parish steeped in tradition.

And if history counts for anything, Bryan and his Tipperary comrades will have every chance of toppling the Rebels and writing another glorious chapter in the story of the Premier County.