The right man for the job

By Shane Brophy

PULL QUOTE: “It’s just rewards, and fortune favours the brave, I think, and our hurlers were really brave today.”

The question was posed fourteen months ago, it was answered emphatically then, and the exclamation point put after it on Sunday as Tipperary manager Liam Cahill oversaw one of the complete All-Ireland final performances in the second half to win the county’s 29th title.

But he was quick to push all the credit onto the players for what they have achieved, highlighting they set the tone for the second half in how they dealt with the Cork goal just before the break.

“The goal before half-time, it was a fair sucker punch,” he began.

“We weren’t really hurling that well. We left a few chances behind us. Kind of hit away the ball when we could have maybe been braver and played it a bit earlier. You hear me saying that the whole time, being a little bit braver, playing one more pass to make sure that we could get it inside properly, especially the way we set up, which I'm sure you're going to ask me about later on (laughs).

“And then to go in at half-time, that huge Cork roar going in at half-time after they hit us for the goal.

“And it’s testament to our guys again. You heard me say it a couple of times all year, lads. Going into that dressing room at half-time and you could see the desire in their eyes to say that that scoreboard should be a little bit closer.

“We believed, genuinely believed, once we were within five or six of them at half-time that we'd have a great chance, once we'd start the second half. We started the second half like a rocket. Got a bit of luck, I think, that free from Patrick Horgan on Hawk-Eye went wide, and it gave you a little bit of oxygen. We got a score or two, suddenly it was back to four, and then up steps John McGrath again.

“We get into our flow then and I think we've been threatening to do that quite a while. I wouldn't say threat, you know, not bringing that consistency, but I thought the second half we brought real consistency to what we do.

“I'm looking in at them, you know, after 12-15 minutes of the second half, I look at my watch, and I'm looking in at a team that I see training every night with me and I'm saying now they're starting to really express themselves.

“Then obviously once we got the numerical advantage, but then you could never be sure with Cork, they could cut you open in two minutes, two seconds, actually. So, you never had it won. Looking at the watch, 55, 60 minutes, would it just get to 70 minutes, please, as soon as possible.

“I’m really proud to be associated with this group of players. Really proud to have been given the honour to bring through this crop.

“It's been a tough road, but just immensely proud of everybody involved, the whole collective. I'm not going to go into it again. You heard me say it already this year around what had to happen. It’s just rewards, and fortune favours the brave, I think, and our hurlers were really brave today.”

Tactical shift

In the lead-up to the All-Ireland Final, Liam Cahill mentioned one of the things that annoyed him was how some pundits mis-represented his approach to setting his teams up with a plus-one or sweeper. He claimed he never employed one, only when opposition deployed one and his team had to follow.

In the fullness of time will we know whether he was floating a balloon to throw Cork off, but he started with a plus-one on Sunday, Bryan O’Mara playing as the extra man, predominantly on the left side of the defence in support of Willie Connors who withdrew from midfield to pick up Declan Dalton at wing back, with Sam O’Farrell reaming up with Conor Stakelum at midfield.

“You have to move with the times. When you get to a final, you have to try and win it,” he said of employing a plus-one.

“I suppose the dog on the street knew that you just can't leave channels for this Cork team to run through.

“I'm a traditionalist, I like to play 15 on 15 if I can at all but we had to cut our cloth to measure today to make sure that we gave ourselves a chance of allowing us to express ourselves as well.

“Bryan O'Mara was superb. He's such a good hurler; so comfortable in the role.

“I was surprised Cork maybe didn't show up on us sooner. We stopped a lot of that real hard aggressive running from Cork and that was a real platform for us to go on then and counter-attack hard and get it into the boys inside.

“I was a little concerned early on that we just weren't getting it in quality enough, especially when there was an extra man for Cork at the back and there was only a few 50-50s going in, a few balls we should have carried a bit more. Then we didn't execute properly.

“Then you are saying, ‘Jeez, I wonder should we just abandon and go at it and see what will happen.

“We had contemplated, maybe after fifteen minutes of the second half, if it wasn't going our way, reverting to plan B, which would have been three across midfield and abandoned the plus-one, and try and kick on.

“But we got great traction in the first fifteen minutes with the plus-one still, and a few chances that we didn't convert in the first half started to go over, and gaps started to appear.

“Young Darragh Mac was like a little hare running around and Jake was starting to come alive, and Jason and John. It all started to come together.

“Conor Stakelum ran himself into the ground at midfield and Sam O’Farrell started to get on top of Fitzgibbon. We were saying leave it alone, leave it alone, and suddenly you're 5-6 out and you're heading for home, which is what we discussed and spoke about.”

Turnaround

Tipperary’s victory completed one of the fairytale comebacks, a side routed by Cork on home soil fourteen months previous, with supporters morale on the floor, now to having the county united once more, highlighted by the noise the fans made despite being outnumbered in the stadium.

“It was about starting to bring back identity to our play,” Cahill said of the starting point.

“In 2024, we didn’t contest the jersey the way we should have, and I am not going to go there any more after today because it is in the past now.

“We started at a very low base, all of us, the management, the whole support team, the players, we started game by game, bit by bit, and suddenly these young players started to integrate themselves with the senior players and suddenly you had more serious options.

“Then the momentum of the under 20’s winning the All-Ireland, and it starts to take off.

“I’m very fortunate to be from Tipperary and to have the talented group of players that were there, okay they were a little bit off of their maturity and we did say it was a three year plus plan but these players when they get belief and confidence in them, they can mushroom into really good players.

“Look, we have arrived now. It’s easy to be the hunter all the time and now it is going to turn to us to be the hunted and will see a different side to management, our preparation and our mindset going into next year.”

Redemption

This All-Ireland success was redemption for the team, but Sunday’s final was redemption for Darragh McCarthy off the back of his red card in the round-robin clash with Cork, as well as the semi-final against Kilkenny.

“That's the class of the man,” Cahill said of his 1-13 contribution.

“We produce legendary players like Jason (Forde), Eoin Kelly and (Seamus) Callanan and all these. They can't be hanging around forever and you'll say where are you going to find the next one out? And suddenly up pops McCarthy, 19 years of age - he's now arrived on the scene.

“He is from a serious club in Toomevara – them fellas up there would eat you alive. So, there was never going to be a case of Darragh’s character being questioned or he doubting himself.

“That's the class of this young man and the resilience he has. He just loves his hurling, and when you love hurling like that, you get your rewards - and he got his just reward today and I'm really, really happy for him.”

Coaching

The Ballingarry clubman also paid tribute to his coaching team and backroom staff for producing a campaign that saw Tipperary play fifteen competitive matches between league and championship, losing just three times, concluding their campaign on a six-game winning streak.

“It’s testament to the ruthless mindset of the players as they gathered momentum,” he added.

“The support the players got from our coaching team, Mikey Bevans – like, let's be fair, we were all questioned, you know, and rightly so maybe over the last twelve months or more.

“We've all reinvented ourselves. The support of Declan Laffan on the field; the real support of David Herity coming more out of the goalkeeping role into the role on the field with the players … he's been a game changer, really, with support to Mikey. TJ (Ryan) being the steady head all the time in the background that worked with me at minor under 21, under 20 and now today. He has that unique talent of just being the elder statesman with the cool head and, you know, we just all committed to finding more.”

Cork

Cahill also had a special word for Cork and their manager Pat Ryan as their wait for another All-Ireland title goes into a 21st year.

“To be fair to Cork, all week, I can only imagine what it has been like for Pat and his management team and everybody to try and manage that expectation. It's huge.

“Cork have been superb all year, league champions, Munster champions, bringing massive crowds back to the stands.

“As I said to Pat after, I wish it was anybody bar him that I was shaking hands with today, to be fair, because he's put so much into it. He's after having a difficult year as well, personally, but I know that Cork team will be back, and I know that Cork will have their day in the sun soon.

“We're just proud that it wasn't today, and that Tipp thankfully got over the line.”

Dillon Quirke

When the late Dillon Quirke was mentioned in captain Ronan Maher’s speech upon accepting the MacCarthy Cup, their former teammate got the loudest cheer of all.

“Dillon is with us every day,” Cahill says.

“When we started out on this journey in 2023, we were all hit with the devastating tragedy of what happened to Dillon. I was fifty yards from it, the day it happened in Semple Stadium, and I'll never forget it. It had a huge effect on our dressing-room.

“It was a really difficult year, 2023 and 2024, around everybody trying to cope with it in their own way.

“Today, I got a text from Dan, his dad, coming up the road to wish me luck. I just said that Dillon will be on all our shoulders today, regardless of what happens with the result.

“He should be with us today but the legacy he's leaving and the work that he's doing to save lives across Ireland at the moment through his name and the foundation is just incredible.

“Today, I never flinched at any stage on the line. Once he was across my chest, I knew that we would be battling right to the end. I'm just so proud to have had an input into his life for the short number of years he was with us.”