The Sporting Year that was 2025

Looking back to this time last year when reviewing the 2024 sporting year, the Let-down of the Year was the Tipperary Senior Hurlers and their incredibly disappointing campaign which left some wondering was Tipperary’s record of winning an All-Ireland senior hurling title in each decade coming under threat as the future for the rest of the decade looked bleak.

Just over seven months later, that record is still intact following one of the greatest rags to riches sporting tales there has been in any sport.

Tipperary were an also-ran coming into this campaign, along way behind Clare, Cork and Limerick to just come out of Munster, yet come the third Sunday in July, they were the last team standing.

It is to the credit of everyone involved, from players to the management, to the backroom team, to be able to turn things around so quickly, and gives hope to individuals athletes and teams in all codes that if you put in the hard yards, you will be rewarded.

We got a sense of it in the ‘Blue to Gold’ film which many of you likely watched over Christmas, including clips of the players putting in the hard work in the gym and on a boot-camp in Kilworth in Cork where not only stamina but the mental fortitude of the players was tested to its fullest.

The last fifteen years or so had been good to Tipperary hurling with three All-Ireland senior titles harvested in an ever increasing pool of contenders but there was still a feeling that in tight games that turn into an arm-wrestle, Tipp still came out on the wrong side of the result on too many occasions, and more All-Ireland’s were left behind.

Those might have been more talented teams but there hasn’t been a more steeled All-Ireland winning Tipperary team in a long time. Not just from where they started from at the start of the year, but also the gut punches they sustained during the course of the campaign which they had to recover from, starting with the league final defeat to Cork.

Reactions in the modern day are pretty much immediate, and for all Tipp’s record was of five wins from six games to get to the final, the comprehensive loss to Cork, albeit due to a nineteen minute period before half time, was seen as a red flag to many.

How the players reacted was always going to be closely watched and what greater a challenge than Limerick in the opening round of Munster, a team that had won five All-Ireland’s in six years and who we believed would be ravenous after losing their crown the previous year.

That was the day we saw the new-look Tipp for the first time, particularly how they responded to Limerick’s quick start to the second half which saw them turn a three point deficit into a two-point lead in no time. This is where Limerick excel but Tipp didn’t yield and where John McGrath found himself once again with two goals, the second from a flowing move through the middle which showed Tipp were finally coming to terms with the modern game, being flexible and comfortable in what they did with the ball.

Then came the game that never was against Cork the following Sunday, largely due to Darragh McCarthy’s red card inside the opening minute. This game is largely forgotten but in fact it was crucial in the All-Ireland run. 1 – Tipp’s gameplan to stifle Cork never got tested so Cork didn’t see what was planned; 2 – McCarthy’s red card opened the door for Andrew Ormond to start against Clare and become an All-Star; 3 – even with fourteen men, Tipp’s ability on restarts wasn’t what was required to be with the management making the call to go with Rhys Shelly thereafter, and right from the Clare game, Tipp’s play was a lot smoother with a greater understanding on their own puckouts.

The win over Clare in Ennis, withstanding the All-Ireland champions comeback in the second half was the seminal moment that said this Tipperary team are for real but All-Ireland champions…. that was a little fanciful we felt but that was what helped them in the semi-final and final when underdogs that they weren’t taken seriously enough, but they are taken seriously now.

U20 double

There is a remarkable symmetry in that most of Tipperary’s All-Ireland successes in the modern era have had some kind of a double, 1989 – U21; 2010 – U21; 2016 – Minor; 2019 – U20, and this year it was an under 20 and senior double again.

There is pressure when a group of players who have won a minor All-Ireland come together three years later as the record of going onto win U20/21 isn’t great but Tipperary bucked that trend.

The opening round loss to Limerick proved to be a blessing in disguise as it grounded the players mentally but the response was impressive with five wins on the bounce, including another All-Ireland victory in the new home away from home that is Nowlan Park.

It was also achieved with captain Sam O’Farrell, Darragh McCarthy, and laterally Oisin O’Donoghue doubling up at senior level, so respective managers Brendan Cummins and Liam Cahill deserve immense credit for managing their workload to ensure they weren’t overburdened.

In terms of ladies’ football, Tipperary took a step forward in reaching an All-Ireland quarter final for the first time in forty years while for the camogie team it was more semi-final heartache but overall, they didn’t hit the same heights as 2024 in terms of performance.

Ormond Delight

In the first half of the season, some of the most enjoyable occasions were following Nenagh Ormond’s senior rugby team to what was a remarkable double of their own.

First off on St Patrick’s Day, they won the Munster Senior Challenge Cup for the first time by beating Old Crescent in the final at Thomond Park.

The venue was the site of many a Munster Junior Cup triumph which heralded brighter days ahead but thinking they would one day lift a trophy that was the Cork Con/Garryowen/Shannon/Young Munster Invitational was fanciful indeed. Not only that, Nenagh beat three of those sides on route, and went into the final in the unusual role of favourites which seemed to spook them for a little but once they got into their stride in the second half, they showed what they were about.

Ordinarily, winning a Munster Senior Cup should be the highlight of the year but it was topped on April 26th on the new all-weather pitch in New Ormond Park when they defeated UCC 36-33 to win the promotion playoff final to division 1A of the All-Ireland League.

Personally, this was the best sporting occasion I was at all year, even topping the All-Ireland final as that was won from a long way out. This had something different, an unbelievable conclusion.

With just two minutes of normal time remaining, the students appeared to have copper-fastened victory with a third try to lead 33-22 but what was to come was a comeback to rank right up there with the best ever in any sport.

Their sheer belief saw them score quickly with a penalty try which yielded a yellow card for a clearly wilting UCC side. There was still time for one more play but it had to be foot perfect, and with a number of phases inside their own half, the ball was moved wide to Davy Gleeson on the wing who embarked on an explosive break down the right before off-loading inside to Josh Rowland who still had forty metres to run but had pace in the legs to stay clear and touch down for the winning score. The celebrations had already begun before Charlie O’Doherty slotted the extras to complete what was easily the best conclusion to a game all season, with Tipperary v Kilkenny a close second.

World Stage

There are many other highlights from the sporting year, including Joe Burke’s brilliant bronze in the 200m at the European Youth Olympics in North Macedonia while Sharlene Mawdsley improved again on the World stage, competing at the World Championships in Tokyo despite suffering a personal tragedy with the sudden passing of her father which negatively impacted her campaign at a key point of the year, but she still turned up in Tokyo and competed.

Also on the world stage, Nenagh has a rising star in Aidan O’Hara who won gold in the doubles and was runner-up in the singles at the World Youth Darts Championships. One to look out for the future along with Dylan Slevin and the ever improving Stephen Rosney.

One to depart the world stage in 2025 was jockey Rachael Blackmore who stunned the racing world by calling time on her race-riding career in May at the age of 35.

It ended a sixteen year career for the Killenaule native who won 575 races as a professional, winning all the biggest races there are, the outstanding one being the Stayers Hurdle at Cheltenham aboard Bob Olinger the previous March.

2021 will go down as the highpoint in her career when she became the first female jockey to win the Aintree Grand National aboard Minella Times. She also became the first woman to be leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival with six victories, including the Champion Hurdle, aboard the mare Honeysuckle. The following year she became the first female jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup aboard A Plus Tard.

Departed

What was a high of a GAA year for Tipperary was brought back to reality by the sudden passing of senior football manager on October 18th. It was one of those stop in your track moments when news starts to filter and your initial reaction is, it can’t be true.

Tipperary has suffered its great share of tragedy with Dillon Quirke’s death in 2022 still keenly felt and was an integral part of Tipp’s run to the All-Ireland title, while Liam Kearns passing a year later, although having moved on as senior football manager, was felt as greatly in Tipp as it was in his native Kerry and the other counties he managed.

The Clonmel Commercials clubman’s passion for the game saw him put his hand up to help Tipperary in their lowest ebb for some time when taking over as senior manager in late 2024, knowing full well it wasn’t going to be easy and while it did have its low points, the team played with courage and heart, elements he epitomised in everything he did, particularly with a smile on his face.