County Senior Football Championship trophy to be renamed in honour of Philly Ryan

By Shane Brophy

The legacy left by the late Philly Ryan will be immortalised with the Tipperary Senior Club Football Championship trophy to be renamed in his honour.

At a recent meeting of the county board, it was passed unanimously that the new Philly Ryan Cup will be the presented to the winners of the county senior football championship going forward, a competition he won on four occasions as a player with his beloved Clonmel Commercials in 1986, 1989, 1990 & 2002, and as manager in 2012.

Ryan passed away suddenly on October 18th, 2025 when in the role as Tipperary senior football manager, sending shockwaves throughout the county and beyond.

The O’Dwyer Cup, which was the senior football championship trophy up to 2025 will now instead be presented to the winners of the Premier Junior Football Championship.

In that competition, nine teams will compete in 2026 after Clonoulty/Rossmore successfully applied to compete in the competition with the draw with the draw to take place in due course.