Mid Tipperary hurling feast in store this weekend with three big finals!

Divisional finals in Mid Tipperary have always been precious days. A rarity and always a great occasion, it will be likewise this coming weekend where three hurling finals take place.

The Roadstone Intermediate final between Boherlahan and Drom Inch is on Friday night in Drombane while the Doran Oil Premier Intermediate final is on Saturday at 1pm between Clonakenny and  Gortnahoe Glengoole in Templetuohy.

The Centenary Agri Mid Senior hurling final is in Littleton on Sunday at 1pm. Ahead of the game, hurlers Ronan Maher from Sarsfields and Ger Grant from Upperchurch attended the final launch in Littleton where both spoke of their love for divisional hurling. 

Tipperary defender Ronan Maher said winning a Mid title always means a lot to him: “It definitely does. It has been two years since we have won one, they have proven to be difficult to win down through the years. Another test is coming up now against the 'Church so it should make for a great game. 

“We have a lot of younger lads that wouldn't have as much success with the Sarsfields so it is all about bringing them on and like we haven't won anything in a couple of years so it is up to us now as a group to try and rebuild and start there on Sunday and hopefully put in a good performance,” he said.

The former Tipperary captain played at full back last Saturday when Sarsfields beat Holycross well in their semi final at Templetuohy. Things are slightly different this year for him compared to other years as his older brother Padraic has stepped in as manager alongside his uncle, Paddy McCormack.

For Ronan, it is a new dynamic: “It is still the same as usual with him (Padraic) bossing me around, but it is different alright not having him on the pitch. It is always good to have his experience on the line as well. ”

The All-Star winner says the mix is good now within their team which has evolved in recent times: “There is a good blend there with youth and a few older lads that have had success on the field as well. There is experience on the line too with the likes of Mickey Gleeson and Paddy (McCormack) who have been there down through the years.

“Obviously last year was disappointing for us. We feel that we underperformed throughout the year and there are a good few of us that lost the county final to Loughmore the year before as well. There is a lot of hurt there as well.”

 Upperchurch Drombane go into this final after a convincing win against Loughmore in the semi final. The 'Church beat the Thurles side in last year's Mid hurling championship by a single point while Sarsfields beat Upperchurch by a point in the 2017 Mid Senior hurling final. 

All to play for then. This week 'Church captain Ger Grant said being in a Mid final is the stuff of dreams: “It is a massive occasion. I suppose there is a lot made every year about getting rid of the divisions but still the Mid is the one we all grew up wanting to win in Upperchurch and 'tis no different now. I'm looking forward to it now.”

 Like all sides in the division, the Upperchurch team has evolved. As some players have left the set up, others stepped up he says: “It is a young enough team except for the likes of Paidi (Greene) and Colm (Ryan) who are probably the two outliers.

“It is great to have Paddy Phelan, AJ Shanahan and Mikey Griffin who all made their debuts last Sunday against Loughmore. They performed very well so it is great to have a bit of youth coming in and pushing us on another bit,” he said.

This year's team is managed by Jim Ryan with Eoin Shortt, a former teammate of Gers, in as coach. The Upperchurch captain says training has gone well: “Eoin is a brilliant trainer. We tried to get him in the last few years, we didn't want to retire him either but he is a top class coach and we were delighted to get him in this year and there is a good mix there in the management team so we are happy out.”

The 'Church full back is looking forward to the game on Sunday and the occasion that the Centenary Agri Mid final always is: “There is no other day like it. We have been in a few finals over the last few years but we know it will be a tough test against Thurles as they are a serious team.” 

Mid Tipperary chair Joe O'Sullivan and his committee have run off their flagship competitions smoothly and extremely well this summer.

This bumper weekend of action promises to be top class and if you can't make the games on Saturday or Sunday they will be streamed by Robert Healy AV and IT Solutions and Streamsport so you can be assured of a top class production. The link is here: https://page.inplayer.com/streamsportireland/item.html?id=3606324

Mid Tipperary PRO Mark Dunne says there is a quality weekend of hurling in store: “This is probably our biggest weekend of the year. We have been crying out for matches for so long and we have our club matches back in the height of summer so we have three good games coming up and tickets are on sale at the moment online.

The link is here: https://embed.futureticketing.ie/c/mid-tipp-gaa/?ftredirect=1 

“You can tap and go at the gate as well but I would stress to people that if they can at all go early. There will be a lovely programme with all donations going back to the Mid juvenile board who are doing trojan work promoting the games. 

“It is great that we are going to different clubs for finals and while we would all like to be looking forward to the All-Ireland this weekend, we have our own finals. It will be a fantastic weekend of hurling,” he finished.