A new dawn beckons for Tipperary football teams in 2024

The Friends of Tipperary Football are doing all they can to ensure the county’s football teams are going in the right direction.  The sub-committee of the Tipperary County Board, set up by dedicated supporters in the early 1990s, are welcoming new members and are making a huge effort to drive on the teams in blue and gold.

Last week the Tipperary minor football manager Shane Hennessy attended their meeting in Littleton. The Loughmore Castleiney senior footballer impressed with his manner and determination to ensure the stock of Tipperary football rises to the top again. 

Shane says that the county minor footballers are training on a weekly basis in Thurles and are making their last cut to the panel for the season this week:

“We have been training on the pitch in Dr. Morris, doing gym sessions and were over in the pitch in Castleiney for a couple of sessions when wet weather came around as the local club supported me and let us in for a few sessions. 

“Things are going really well,” the new Tipperary minor football manager says. “We are really happy with the group. We have scoured the county looking for the talent that is in it. We held open trials and looked at over a hundred young fellas in trials this year between 15 and 16-year-olds from 2023 that are up to the age for this year. 

“There is a good selection from all the divisions. There are many clubs represented. Clubs that at adult level would be junior B and junior A would be their first teams are represented too,” he says. 

A new dawn is needed in Tipperary football and relative progress last year has been built upon as the county looks to revitalise and reenergise. The minor All-Ireland victory in 2011 kickstarted a good decade for Tipperary football as the county won provincial titles at Under 21 and senior level. 

Currently the Under 20 team are training for their ‘new look’ round-robin campaign while Shane, who coached many of the Tipperary players over the last two years when he was involved as a coach, hopes that his minor side can build some momentum across challenge games to be match ready when the championship commences:

“They are a real hard-working group. There is a lot of talent in Tipperary and it is just a case of putting it all together now. There is a crop of youngsters coming through and if we can keep them going and keep them on the right track - getting good training into them - I think the senior team in the future will benefit greatly from it. There is talent coming,” he says.

The months ahead are going to be busy for Shane who teaches in Leugh NS and is also the senior football goalkeeper with Loughmore Castleiney.

He says he is looking forward to managing the minor footballers on their journey this season: “In February and March we will have several challenge games and us, as a managerial team, can figure out what our team is going to be come the 2nd of April when we face Limerick in Semple Stadium. 

“That is our first championship game. We will go for three weeks in a row then when we play Waterford away, Clare away and hopefully we will be in the Darrel Darcy final at that stage and win or lose, you’re going to play Cork or Kerry in the Munster semi final. We will be targeting that game in May down the line that we can give them a rattle.

“We played Cork the last two years unfortunately things didn’t work out for us but last year we were ahead after 37 minutes of play. Things didn't work out for us going down the straight so we are hoping we can go a step further and reach the Munster final.”

Over the coming season the minor and Under 20 footballers as well as the senior footballers will focus on representing the county to the highest possible level.

The Under 20 footballers, under the stewardship of Niall Fitzgerald, will begin their championship on the 16th of March while the senior footballers begin their league campaign on January 27th when they take on Carlow at 6pm in Thurles.

The new look senior panel secured their first win of the season on Sunday last against Limerick in the McGrath cup pre-season competition and they will be looking to build the foundations now to get promoted in the league this springtime.

The season is one of promise and the ‘Friends of Tipperary Football’ will be there every step of the way. New Tipperary Football Board chair Fearghal McDonnell is hoping that as many people as possible will sign up to support the footballers across their various campaigns this springtime by attending matches or signing up to the Friends of Tipperary Football.

A new dawn brings hope and the work is going on already to ensure 2024 is going to be one to remember for Tipperary football.

Patrons can join the Friends of Tipperary Football via this link: https://www.friendsoftipperaryfootball.com/about/contact-us/