County Board Briefs

By Shane Brophy

Football Championship Structures

The structure of next year’s county senior and intermediate football championships were confirmed.

After a restructuring process over the past two years which has seen the number of teams in both grades reduced from sixteen to twelve, will see the twelve clubs divided into three groups of four. The two finalists from 2025 will be the top seeds, with the losing semi-finalists will second seeds. The four losing quarter finalists will be designated as third seeds with the remaining four teams designated as the fourth seeds.

The top seeded teams will be placed in Group A & B, respectively with the first team drawn out of Seed #2 will take the Team 1 position in Group C. The other Seed #2 team will be drawn into one of the three groups. The four Seed #3 teams will be drawn into the two remaining second positions in the group and two of the third-place positions in the group. The four Seed #4 teams will be drawn to fill the remaining four places in the groups.

In terms of the knockout stage, the top two teams in each group qualify for the semi-finals. Of the three teams that top their respective groups, the two best-placed teams of the three will automatically be allocated a semi-final spot. The best two teams will be determined in the following order - Total points earned from the group games (2pts, for a win, 1pt for a draw) - Scoring difference, across all games played in the group stage - Total scored in all games played - Total goals scored. Where two or more teams are still equal using all of the above, drawing of lots will determine the placings.

The team that topped their group but didn’t qualify straight for the semi-final and the three 2nd placed teams in their respective groups (4 teams in total), will play in the quarter finals with an open draw with no repeat pairings.

The two teams that qualified straight for the semi-finals will join the two quarter final winners with an open draw between all four teams – no repeat pairings where possible.

In terms of relegation, the three teams that finish bottom of their respective groups. The bottom ranking of these teams after the three round robin games will go straight to a relegation final, where they will play the loser of a relegation semi-final between the two best-placed teams that finish bottom of their respective group. This will follow the same process as the knockout stages for the quarter finals.

A proposal from Clonmel Commercials proposing two groups of six for the championships did not make it to the floor as there was no proposer from the club.

Junior ‘C’

The Junior ‘C’ Hurling competitions will become a championship with a county final from 2026.

There were proposals from Kiladangan, Boherlahan-Dualla, Gortnahoe/Glengoole and Loughmore/Castleiney to turn the competition which was divisional level only, to a county championship.

Kiladangan delegate Michael Quigley said that given the number of clubs in the county and with the amount of clubs with multiple teams “5 tiers of hurling is not enough and there is too much of an imbalance at Junior ‘B’ level,” he said, adding: “Junior ‘C’ has worked well in divisions but it’s run off at the tail end of the year it should be run in the same window as the other junior competitions and treated with the same integrity and teams graded accordingly.”

County CCC Chairperson Michael Tierney agreed that the competition has been a success in the divisions and would now have county semi-finals and finals added but would have to follow the same guidelines as the higher grades in terms of its regulations, particularly the grading of players.

Leagues

A Drom & Inch motion looking for a change to the hurling leagues structure and a later start date was defeated.

CCC Chairperson Michael Tierney said starting a new league based off championship grading would be difficult to apply as not all clubs enter leagues, and should a club opt out, it would be difficult to determine which lower grade team would move up to take that spot.

The later start date would also have issues in terms of grading, as well as the start of junior championships in early June when the latter stages of the leagues would also take place.

Drom & Inch’s argument that the start date of St Patrick’s weekend has been problematic, but Tierney said the CCC would look at starting a week earlier and leaving Patrick’s weekend free to help clubs out, rather than starting later which could create issues closer to the start of championships.

New President

Donie Nealon was proposed as the new President of Tipperary County Board.

Following the passing of previous president Matt Hassett last April, county chairperson Jimmy Minogue said it was the appropriate time to propose a successor with Burgess clubman Donie Nealon deserving of the accolade.

Burgess delegate Derek Sharkey said: “it was a huge honour as his achievements both on and off the field were unparalleled.”

Donie Nealon will be formally ratified as the next President of Tipperary GAA at county convention on December 14th next.

Club Development Grant Scheme

The Munster Council in conjunction with Central Council has approved a fund just under €1.5m for Club Development Grants, which will cover capital grant works in clubs in the province for 2025.

There was a total expenditure of €10.5m recorded. The Council agreed a budget of €1,456,547 for the grant scheme. €1,020,000 is donated by Central Council and the remaining €436,547 is contributed by the Munster Council.

13 Tipperary clubs were successful, receiving a combined total of €296,985, the second highest allocation of the Munster counties behind Cork.

The Munster Council and the Central Council allocation fund projects in four categories: 1 – land purchase, 2 – dressing room and gym developments, 3 – refurbishment of handball courts, 4 – pitch development, floodlighting & hurling wall developments.

Finance

Treasurer Eleanor Lahart said the county board is set to record a small surplus when its end of year accounts are presented to convention later this month. She confirmed that the Win a House Draw recorded a profit of €453,407 after the purchase of the house in Cashel and associated costs were deducted, as well as the club sales which came in at around €112,000.

All-Ireland Commemorative Water Bottles

Tipperary GAA in association with Borrisoleigh Bottling (Tipperary Water) have released a commemorative water bottle which have gone on sale, some of the proceeds of which will go to the county board.

The eye-catching blue and gold recyclable bottle has the score of Tipperary’s 2025 All-Ireland Hurling final win over Cork as well as the list of the players involved in the final.