Kennedy and Tipp aim to break new ground

By Daire Walsh

Following an eventful campaign in the Munster senior football championship, Anna-Rose Kennedy and Tipperary now have their sights set on leaving a mark in the upcoming All-Ireland series.

Despite claiming the National League Division 1 title just a couple of weeks earlier, a previously high-flying Cork came off second best to the Premier County in an opening round robin game in Munster at Páirc Ui Rinn on April 25th. This was a major scalp for Tipperary and while they subsequently lost narrowly to Kerry (1-6 to 0-7) and Waterford (0-12 to 0-8), it was an encouraging provincial campaign overall for David Power's side.

Although they have now turned their focus to the All-Ireland senior football championship, their maiden game in Group 2 of the Brendan Martin Cup sees them encountering a familiar rival. In advance of also meeting Leinster runners-up Kildare, Tipperary renew acquaintances with Kerry at Austin Stack Park in Tralee this Sunday.

“The Munster championship was, overall, fairly positive for ourselves,” Kennedy said at the launch of the TG4 All-Ireland Championship at Croke Park.

“We were delighted with the win against Cork. We’re definitely a little bit disappointed with our losses to Kerry and to Waterford, but we can definitely see progression there from previous years.

“Obviously we get lots of games throughout the league. We got used to the new rules. We had new management in place who got girls in and I think lots of people got game time.

“It’s just building on that and then through the Munster championship, we get to play all the teams. All the games are very, very competitive in Munster. It’s just the way the draw worked out that we will face Kerry again and we’ve Kildare as well.”

Following five consecutive seasons of early exits from the All-Ireland race – including three years where they had to come through relegation play-offs before preserving their status – Tipperary took a significant step forward by reaching the quarter-final stage of the Brendan Martin Cup in 2025.

Their summer ended in a last-eight defeat to Meath, but it was a generally positive campaign for the Premier and Kennedy is eager for them to at least replicate last year’s run in 2026. Additionally, while Dublin are the title holders as a result of their final win over Meath last August, the Aherlow secondary school teacher feels it is hard to predict from the current vantage point how the championship will pan out.

“We were content with that [reaching a quarter-final last year]. Obviously, the aim is to improve again. We’ll be hoping that we can be in a similar position and if not go further,” Kennedy added.

“I don’t think you could call who’ll be there in the last two, but it’s great for our game as well. You can’t predict who you’re going to have, who is going to beat who. It’s just nice to have a little bit of a difference and change in the championship series.”