Gazing into 2026

IN ALL FAIRNESS

The turn of every year provides a fresh start for teams and individuals to reset, whether they are going into a new campaign or are in mid-season. It always brings with it a fresh optimism, sometimes unrealistic but still it is something to grasp in an effort to turn the page in a positive manner.

In terms of 2026, much of the focus here in Tipperary will be on whether the senior hurlers can go back to back and retain the All-Ireland title for the first time since 1964-1965. It’s a barb that many outside the county like throwing at Tipp in an effort to undermine an achievement that winning one All-Ireland is. It’s not just in the GAA, winning one title isn’t worthy now, you have to win multiple to be given due credit.

Pressure wasn’t the reason Tipperary’s most recent All-Ireland winning teams of 1971, 1989, 1991, 2001, 2010, 2016 and 2019 failed to retain the Liam MacCarthy Cup, they just weren’t good enough the following year.

Limerick’s achievement of four-in-a-row from 2020 to 2023 usurps that of Kilkenny for me as they had to play more games to achieve it, as well as having more contenders to challenge them.

What might help Tipperary is that despite being All-Ireland champions, they aren’t seen as the front runners to win the Liam MacCarthy Cup this year. Cork and Limerick are ahead of them according to the bookies anyway and not having that focus on them will suit just fine.

However, it is a nugget Liam Cahill can use to his advantage to fire up his players that there is an element of disrespect to them being All-Ireland champions and they aren’t getting the credit they deserve.

There’s no doubting that the challenge is different this year. Tipperary hurled last year without any real pressure. The expectation levels will rise but there is a feeling within this group that rather than being burdened by the chase for history, they will embrace it.

In many ways, Tipperary won an All-Ireland last year still discovering how good they were as they went along, reaching its pinnacle in the second half of the final against Cork. This year, they start from a much higher floor which opens the possibility of even greater heights, but such is the dog eat dog nature of the Munster Championship, they can’t look beyond accumulating enough points to ensure they finish in the top 3, that is the first priority.

The schedule this year is relatively kind, if there is such a thing when it comes to the Munster round-robin. Cork at home on day 1 will be a blockbuster, with as much of the focus being on the Rebels for how last year concluded, and remember Cork have a habit of bringing an All-Ireland champion Tipperary team back down to earth, 1990 and Mark Foley springs to mind straight away.

Waterford away the following week is avery tricky assignment as the Deise have talent and you have to think at some stage, they will break their duck and get out of Munster. Hopefully, it won’t be at Tipp’s expense.

This year Tipperary have to negotiate the three week break as they have the bye in round 3 which is split over two weekends before hosting Clare in round 4, who have a perfect one hundred percent record at Semple Stadium in the Munster round-robin since it began, just as Tipp have a similar record at so-called Fortress Ennis.

The last round of the Munster round-robin has the potential to be epic with Cork hosting Clare at the same time Tipp travel to Limerick. As much as the intrigue will be on Tipp and how they defend their crowd, and how Cork bounce back from their bitter disappointment of losing the All-Ireland Final, as much of it will be on Limerick and whether there is one more kick in this great team after going two years without winning another All-Ireland title.

Their spiritual leader in Declan Hannon has retired while Seamus Flanagan is deemed surplus to requirements. The invincible aura that was once around them has gone, but at their very best, they still remain one of the best teams in the country. Their issue is consistency.

Then there is Clare for whom it is likely the last time round for some of their old guard such as John Conlon, David McInerney and possibly Shane O’Donnell. That can make them even harder to beat or they might have already gone over the hill but they and we won’t know until April and May rolls around. I’d be surprised if it is the latter.

Kilkenny are Kilkenny, but they look as vulnerable as they have been in a generation, particularly with Huw Lawlor opting out for this year. Galway should be better this year while Dublin took a big step forward last year.