Changing of the Guard
By Shane Brophy
Tipperary County Board surprised many by removing Colm Bonnar as senior hurling manager last Wednesday, but they have not hung around in naming his successor with Liam Cahill installed just five days later.
The whole episode was as swift as it was brutal. Firstly, to “relieve Colm Bonnar from his duties” as was stated in the statement confirming his removal as manager was harsh and unwarranted for a man of such standing in this county and hopefully one that won’t happen again.
However, Bonnar’s native club Cashel King Cormacs, didn’t hold back in their condemnation of the way their clubman was treated in a statement released on Monday, around the time Cahill’s appointment was made public.
“We find the statement totally unacceptable towards a man that had, firstly, given everything as a player in the Blue and Gold and secondly, was clearly enthusiastic about entering into the second of his three-year term mandated by the County Board. Colm had a clear vision towards developing the current player base into the future and presented this to a 15-person Management Committee,” it said.
Moving on quickly
In this newspaper last Wednesday, we suggested Colm Bonnar’s future was “uncertain” and by that night he was out of a job after making a presentation to the County Management Committee of his plans for 2023 but they felt a change was needed, even after one year where Bonnar got very few breaks, both on and off the field.
Two days later came the confirmation that former minor and under 20/21 All-Ireland winning manager Liam Cahill wouldn’t be staying on as Waterford senior manager. While it might appear a coincidence that Cahill stepped away at a time the Tipperary vacancy became available, however, there was no official contact between both parties until after Cahill informed Waterford of his decision not to stay for a fourth year.
Just a day after Limerick continued to set the standard by competing a three-in-a-row of All-Ireland titles and a fourth in five years, in this welcome appointment, Tipperary set out their stall to rebound after a poor year.
Less than a year after Cahill said no to the Tipperary job, it is a remarkable that it has fallen into place again so soon for the man the vast majority of supporters feel is best equipped to get the best out of this young group of players, many of whom won All-Ireland medals at underage level, and know the demands of what he wants.
Commenting to Kilruane’s Damian Lawlor of RTE Online on Monday evening, Cahill said he couldn’t turn down the job for a second time.
"This is the second time we were presented with the opportunity to manage Tipperary, and we just couldn’t walk away from that on this occasion,” Cahill said, and it was confirmed his long-standing coach, Toomevara’s Michael Bevans will also be on board with the rest of his management team to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
“Now is the time for us, if we didn’t do it now, I don’t think it would ever come again."
"The Tipp senior hurling job is a huge honour for myself, my family and my club.
"Tipperary hurling is one of the major contributors to Irish sport and I am very aware of the responsibility bestowed upon me.”
It is a timely appointment with the group stages of the County Hurling Championships beginning this Friday with Liam Cahill now afforded the opportunity to assess players right from the word go as planning for Tipperary 2023 has begun.
"I'm really looking forward to getting back out and about on the club scene in Tipperary and starting the job of work that lies ahead to get Tipperary hurling back to the top table,” Cahill added.
"We saw yesterday the standards that are needed and the levels that are required to compete with the standards on display in Croke Park. Limerick proved yet again how good they are, and they have shown that consistently over the last few years.
"I believe we can really find the nucleus of a great hurling squad in Tipperary as there is plenty of potential and it will be my job to maximise that potential."
More on pages 54 and 65.