Tipperary GAA Scene

By Jonathan Cullen PRO

Munster Senior Football Championship

It’s all systems go for the Tipperary senior footballers as they commence the 2023 Munster Championship this Sunday at 2.00pm in FBD Semple Stadium, where we will welcome Waterford to the Field of Legends for a quarter final.

Following on from a very tough Allianz League campaign that saw David Powers charges record just one league point and suffer relegation to Division 4 for 2024, the players will be very anxious to get back to winning ways on home turf. Previous clashes with Waterford have always been close encounters and I would expect nothing to change on Sunday.

However, with the expected return to action of key forward Steven O’Brien and a determination from the panel of players to do themselves justice I feel that it will be the blue and gold flag that will be flying highest when Galway’s James Molloy blows the full-time whistle on Sunday afternoon.

With very little other distractions on Sunday afternoon, I would encourage all Tipperary supporters to go along to FBD Semple Stadium and show your support to our senior footballers who have prepared diligently for this game and deserve all the support we as a county can give them.

Ticket for Sunday’s game are available to purchase from the Munster GAA website www.munster.gaa.ie and also in participating Centra and Supervalu outlets. Tickets for the game must be purchased in advance of supporter’s arrival at the turnstile.

Munster Under 20 Hurling Championship

The Munster Under 20 Hurling Championship continues this Wednesday when Tipperary travel to Pairc Uí Chaoimh to play Cork in round 3 at 7.30pm.

Having drawn with Clare in round 1, Brendan Cummins and his management team will be anxious to go one step further and secure all the points in this game. On the other hand, Cork will not want to lose on home ground and having already defeated Waterford at the same venue last week they will go in to the game full of confidence. Tickets are available via the usual outlets and if you are unable to travel to Cork, you can watch all the action on the TG4 YouTube channel.

Munster Under 20 Football Championship

Next Monday April 10th, will see our Under 20 footballers commence their Munster campaign with a home game against Clare in FBD Semple Stadium at 7.00pm.

Managed by former Tipperary star Niall Fitzgerald, who has put a top-class management team in place, one thing is for sure in that this team will have been prepared to the highest standard and will be ready for the various challenges that lie ahead of them. Once again, our opposition will be very formidable opponents, but I would expect a big performance from Tipperary who will know that a win in this game will secure a home semi-final tie against Kerry on April 17th.

Munster Minor Hurling Championship

The Tipperary minor hurling team played their round 3 game against Cork on Tuesday evening and were defeated 2-13 to 1-8. See www.nenaghguardian.ie for match report.

Next up for our minor hurlers will be a home game against Limerick on Tuesday, April 18th at 7.00pm in FBD Semple Stadium.

FBD Insurance County Championship Draws

The draws for the 2023 FBD Insurance county championships took place last Monday evening and were broadcast live on Tipp GAA TV.

This was the first time ever that such an event was broadcast in such a way and the venture proved to be a remarkable success as big audience numbers tuned in via the Tipperary GAA YouTube channel to watch the event.

Presenter Jonathan Cullen was joined by a top-quality line-up of guests that included Tipperary senior managers Liam Cahill and David Power along with the very knowledgeable Michael Dundon, Eleanor Lahart, Joe Kennedy, and Tipperary GAA CEO Murtagh Brennan.

Viewers were guided through the various draws by our CCC secretary Tom Maher who was ably assisted by Michael Berkery who was representing our sponsors FBD Insurance. See full draws on page 67.

Volunteers needed for GAA World Games

The GAA is currently recruiting volunteers for a wide range of roles to help with the coordination and delivery of the GAA World Games which take place from July 24th to 28th in Derry City.

The 2023 GAA World Games will see 97 teams from around the globe, across the four codes competing for World Championship medal.

The competition will take place from Monday, 24th to Thursday, 27th July in Owenbeg, Derry GAA Centre of Excellence and the finals in Celtic Park on Friday 28th July.

The competition is broken down into two tiers.

1. Open, players who were born on the Island of Ireland and emigrated and people who are born outside of the Island of Ireland

2. International, players who were born outside the Island of Ireland

Teams comprise of 13 panel members and all games are 9-a-side.

There are now more than 500 GAA Clubs in existence outside of Ireland and this is reflected in the presence of 97 teams that are confirmed for the 2023 GAA World Games and representing clubs from across Europe, New York, USGAA, South Africa, Argentina, Canada, Britain, Australasia, India, Asia, and the Middle East.

The inaugural GAA World Games event took place in the Zayed Sports Stadium, Abu Dhabi in 2015. This two-day tournament featured teams from all over the globe incorporating the two codes of Gaelic football and Ladies Gaelic football.

The second GAA World Games was held in UCD Dublin in 2016 along with a Cultural Concert held in DCU and a Games Development Forum. 56 International teams travelled home to Ireland for the games and all four codes participated in the event, with the finals in Croke Park.

The third World Games was held in Waterford IT, in 2019, it consisted of 79 teams that participated in all codes, again with finals taking place in Croke Park.

The 2023 GAA World Games will again focus on the four codes of; Gaelic Football, Ladies Gaelic Football, Hurling & Camogie which will be broken down into two tiers; open and international born players.

It is expected that approximately 4,000 people will be involved in this year’s games between players, team officials, administrators, families, and supporters.

Tipperary Association Dublin Awards

The Tipperary Association Dublin has announced the details of the Annual Awards Function at which the Tipperary Person of the Year for 2022 will be presented to hurling great Padraic Maher and Tim Floyd, retired GAA Co. Board Secretary, will be inducted in the Association’s Hall of Fame.

The awards function will be held on Friday, 14th April in the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel, Newlands Cross, Dublin at 7.30pm. Pre-dinner drinks at 7.00 pm.

Tickets €55 each may be purchased from Pat Ryan, Hon Secretary, 11 Foxfield Grove, Raheny, Dublin 5 Tel.: 087 6376663 or proriain@gmail.com or from the GAA Office, Lar Na Pairce, Thurles.

GAA Video Podcasts

The GAA is producing a series of Video Podcasts showing examples of successful initiatives. The second episode deals with sustainable funding an issue for all GAA units.

Episode 2 of the Video Podcast is out now and can be accessed here - https://youtu.be/akXMkV5c6FE

This episode discusses the Rebel’s Bounty initiative in Cork with Kevin O'Donovan (Cork GAA), Suzanne O'Sullivan (Bishopstown) and Steven O'Brien (Blarney). They discuss how the initiative provides sustainable funding for both Clubs and the County.

“The value it brings to the Club, words can’t describe it” says Suzanne O’Sullivan as she explains how the Rebel’s Bounty has helped her Club over the years.

Episodes 1 and 2 can be found here - learning.gaa.ie/videopodcastseries

Tipperary GAA Scene

If there is anything you feel should feature in this column going forward, please feel free to forward it to pro.tipperary@gaa.ie