Farewell Philly

What should be a special time of the year with county finals taking place in various codes of the Gaelic Games family, it is all brought into perspective by the sudden passing of Tipperary senior football manager Philly Ryan.

The Clonmel native passed away suddenly on Saturday at the age of just 56, leading to a wave of sadness across the county, particularly in the tight-knit Gaelic football community.

Tributes have been flowing and glowing for a popular player, coach, manager and ultimately a family man who passion for football was incredible and left and indelible mark on everyone he came across.

Philly Ryan, who is survived by his wife Anna, son Shane (current Tipperary senior football goalkeeper), daughters Amy & Katie, and his extended family, will be laid to rest today (Wednesday) following his funeral mass St. Peter & Paul’s Church, Clonmel at 1.00pm with burial afterwards in St Patrick’s Cemetery.

Philly’s sudden passing led to the postponement of his club Clonmel Commercials county senior & intermediate football championship semi-finals last weekend. Following that, Tipperary County Board have been forced to amend its fixtures calendar for the closing stages of the football championship, particularly as the senior semi-final includes Upperchurch/Drombane who are also in this Sunday’s Premier Intermediate Hurling final.

The Commercials v Upperchurch semi-final has been refixed for Sunday, 2nd November, the scheduled date of the county final, which has been pushed back to Saturday, 8th November, the day before the Tipperary champions are due to play the Cork champions in the Munster Club quarter final. Tipperary GAA have sought a deferral of that game by a week with positive indications that Munster Council will grant the fixture change when they meet this week.