A good time to be Tipp Camogie manager

IN ALL FAIRNESS

Denis Kelly’s decision step down as Tipperary senior camogie didn’t come as a surprise. The Toomevara native intimated it following the teams All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Galway last month, the third year in row they had fallen at the penultimate hurdle.

He fared no better than previous managers Bill Mullaney and Niamh Harkin who couldn’t break the semi-final glass ceiling in the four of the previous five seasons before that. However, Kelly can look back on a three-year term as a success which saw the team secure overdue silverware in the form of a Munster title in 2023 and a coveted National League title the following year, the first national silverware since the last senior All-Ireland title in 2004, which was the end of the golden era for the team that won five O’Duffy Cups in six years. What the current Tipperary team would give for one All-Ireland title, even to just experience the big day in Croke Park, which has proven so elusive over the last eight years.

Denis Kelly has made the honourable decision that having missed out at the semi-final stage in each of the last three years, a fresh voice is needed to try and take the team to the next level, particularly after a 2025 campaign where Tipp achieved some good results but their performances against the better teams weren’t to the level of his first two years. It wasn’t helped by the retirements of the likes Cait Devane, Nicole Walsh and Mary Ryan, as well as injury to key defender Clodagh Quirke.

So, where do Tipperary Camogie turn to next? Under 23 manager Bill Mullaney has previously been senior boss from 2018 to 22, helping Tipp get back into a title contender after many years in the doldrums. There is no one more passionate about knowledgeable of Tipperary camogie than the Newport/Ballinahinch clubman who might be tempted to have another go.

If the County Board opt to go with a fresh face, 2024 All-Ireland minor winning manager John Ryan should certainly be considered after guiding Tipperary to just their third All-Ireland title in the grade during his tenure. He would know all the key players from 17-20 in terms who would be good enough to take to the next level. As well as the quality of the teams put out, he also had them playing with great steel, and considering the standard new All-Ireland champions Galway, and Cork have taken the game to over the last two years, adding that element at senior level would take Tipperary on a step.

Former Drom & Inch and Limerick senior manager Pat Ryan from Templederry would also have to be considered such is his knowledge of the camogie scene in and outside the county. After guiding Offaly to an All-Ireland Intermediate title recently, David Sullivan is also a name in the mix, previously a Tipp junior manager in 2023 when they reached the All-Ireland Final.

So, there are certainly a number of qualified and knowledgeable candidates for the Tipperary Camogie Board to consider, but it is also the right time for them to consider a marquee appointment, one that really makes waves. Camogie hasn’t had the profile it now enjoys off the back of the recent All-Ireland Final between Galway and Cork, particularly the bristling personalities of respective managers Cathal Murray and Ger Manley.

Tipperary aren’t at the stage they were in May 1999 when they were hockeyed in a National League final when the late Biddy Phillips made an approach to Michael ‘Skippy’ Cleary to come on board as manager, who then in-turn secured the services of his former Tipperary All-Ireland hurling winning teammate Colm Bonnar, and three months later they were All-Ireland senior champions for the first time.

Tipp aren’t far away from Cork or Galway, but taking the last step has proven the hardest part over the last eight years. You can only but ask, but would former two-time All-Ireland winning hurling Liam Sheedy be worth a call, whose daughter Aisling played in an All-Ireland Junior final in 2023. If he can’t take it on, he is a proud Tipperary man who would like the team to succeed, and he won’t be short on advice on who could be an ideal candidate, including his former selector and All-Ireland winning player & manager, Michael Ryan, brother of John Ryan, who intimated recently he would like to get back into management.

Then there are former Tipperary All-Ireland winning players such as Brendan Maher and Seamus Callanan who have been working as part of the Offaly hurling management in the last two years and might like the idea of running their own ship.

Of all those I have mentioned, none of them are women which is a disappointing aspect of camogie and ladies football that so few manage at the top level. It can be done as Kilkenny great Ann Downey proved in her time. There are some Tipperary greats from 25 years ago that might take on a lead role in helping the current generation enjoy the success they had. It’s a good time to be taking on this Tipperary team.