LONG READ: Tipperary senior hurling final will be closer than some believe

A weekend of hurling finals represents the pinnacle of the club calendar. Three months of captivating activity leads to this denouement. Champions await coronation in all the major grades.

Loughmore’s defeat to Kilsheelan/Kilcash in the football semi-final might offer some encouragement to Nenagh Eire Og ahead of Sunday’s hurling showdown. The mighty have fallen, their aura of invincibility dimmed, which can only offer hope that the strong favourites might stumble again.

However, the bookies don’t think so, with Loughmore entrenched as hot favourites on odds of 8/13; you can back Nenagh at 6/4. That’s quite a gap for a final but it reflects public perceptions of the two sides.

Nenagh are often seen as flaky and unreliable. Their followers are long-suffering after decades of underachievement. Forever in the mix, they perennially fail the big tests. A friend regularly claims that they give a bad name to town teams. Harsh? Indeed, but unavoidable based on past evidence.

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Their sole county win was thirty years ago, in 1995, when they hammered Boherlahan in the final (2-25 to 2-8). Offaly’s Pad Joe Whelehan was manager, Conor O’Donovan was team captain and Eddie Tucker was the official man of the match. Incidentally, Boherlahan did them a huge favour that year by taking out Toomevara in the semi-final. Nobody had a better record against Toome’ than Boherlahan – and nobody had a worse one than Nenagh.

Since that breakthrough year, however, Nenagh’s record has been abysmal. There have been 29 completed championship seasons since then and during that time Nenagh have lost five finals, a further six semi-finals and seven quarter-finals (including preliminaries). It’s a catalogue of unfulfillment.

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On Sunday, then, Nenagh will be battling the weight of history as much as the wiles of Loughmore. The present generation will have to show sterner stuff than many of their predecessors. They’ll need to win the battle before they win the hurling.

Their last final appearance was in 2018 when Clonoulty had their measure (0-23 to 2-13). It was another one of those let-down experiences which the club has become so accustomed to. They also lost the 2015 final to Sarsfields by a single point. The minimum was again the margin when they lost the 2013 final to Sunday’s opponents, Loughmore. Losing tight games has become a pattern.

In that 2013 final Nenagh led 1-7 to 0-6 at half-time but couldn’t see it out to the end. Midway through the second half Liam McGrath struck a crucial goal and in a tight finish Loughmore edged it. Noel McGrath hit five points from play. It finished 1-17 to 1-16.

Interestingly, Loughmore have six survivors from that team on the present side. Aidan McGrath was a classy wing back twelve years ago; now he minds the goal. It’s a trend in Loughmore where they get maximum mileage out of players. Previously, David Kennedy kept goal after a long career outfield. Indeed, you could well imagine Noel McGrath in his forties – even fifties – playing in goal for them.

All the survivors from 2013 are McGraths. John and Noel started that final at half forward, Liam was corner forward, while Tomas and Ciaran were midfield. It’s a McGrath dynasty.

On the Nenagh side there are survivors too from 2013. A young Barry Heffernan played midfield twelve years ago. This season as a 30-year-old he’s playing some of the best hurling of his career at centre back. He’s come through some tough times since the 2019 All-Ireland but on present trends could well be in line for a county recall.

Heffernans, Mikey and Tommy, played half forward in 2013. Mikey missed the semi-final against Drom because of injury; his return would be a timely boost for Eire Og on Sunday, even though his replacement, Ben West, was exceptional in the semi-final, scoring 1-3. Tommy has become an important impact sub, hitting 0-3 on his introduction against Kilruane MacDonaghs in the quarter-final and a further 0-2 in the semi against Drom.

Paddy Murphy, now in his mid 30s, has served the club admirably. He started full forward back in 2013 and scored 1-2 from play. Today he forms part of a commanding half back line beside Barry Heffernan and the impressive Mason Cawley.

On Sunday Loughmore will chase a sixth county title, which is impressive for a club that only took hurling seriously from the 1970s onwards. Theirs is a remarkable story of dual code endurance. Retaining the double is over for this year but there’s still the considerable target of winning back-to-back hurling titles for the first time.

Mind you, it hasn’t always been easy. As well as five titles they’ve also lost four finals, some by tantalising margins. The 1987 final was painful when they led most of the way but got caught in the end by a late Cappawhite winner. Ger O’Neill set up Austin Buckley for the history-making score.

Covid year, 2020, was hurtful too when Bryan McLoughney and Kiladangan struck late – and controversially - in extra-time for a stunning goal. Yet Loughmore have endured and now go in as strong favourites to make it six wins out of ten final appearances.

For Nenagh this is a chance to shake off the burden of history. The club has produced some outstanding players over the decades from Mick Burns, the five-time All-Ireland winner in the 50s and 60s, to the classy Michael Cleary, four times an All-Star. Jake Morris and Sam O’Farrell added to the tradition this year, bringing further Celtic Crosses to the club.

But still county titles remain elusive. Individually, there’s nothing soft about Nenagh players but collectively, as a team, they’ve often lacked that hard edge needed to win big games. Will this year be different? I expect it will be closer than some imagine and in that scenario anything is possible. For the moment, however, Loughmore’s battling know-how makes them deserving favourites until proven otherwise. It’s a fascinating prospect.

The Premier Intermediate final also carries major intrigue. The clash of Carrick Swan and Upperchurch/Drombane is a novel pairing since this newly-branded grade commenced in 2017. Swans return to the final after last year’s narrow defeat to Cashel KC; Upperchurch seek a return to the top grade after being relegated in 2023.

The stakes are high. Swans were relegated in 2018 and their return to the top would be a major boost to the South division, especially with Mullinahone holding their status this year. Presumably you’d then have a South senior final between the pair next year, with St Mary’s and Killenaule to dispute the Premier Intermediate.

The ‘Church will have something to say about that, I’m sure. Their semi-final victory over Gortnahoe was a big moment for the club and they’ll wish to push on now to regain their senior status. They may perhaps be slight favourites but it’s really down to form and fate on the day.

The Intermediate final too won’t lack for attraction, especially given its all-West appeal. There was a time back in the 60s and 70s when Golden and Kickhams produced some wild affairs, with games abandoned and investigations to follow. Thankfully, those days are gone but the rivalry is still strong.

I probably saw Kickhams on one of their worst days this year when coming up well short against Cappawhite. They appear to have steadied up considerably since then but will still be slight outsiders here. Adam Daly was outstanding in the semi-final against Borrisokane.

Finally, the sad and premature passing of football manager, Philly Ryan, has left the county stunned. I didn’t know him personally but those who did have been effusive in their tributes. The picture that emerges is of a man who was a decent and very personable human being, as well as one deeply immersed in his passion for football. The football fraternity has lost a star, but that’s minor beside the major tragedy of his loss to his grieving wife and family. They have our deepest sympathy.