Mid Tipperary GAA kept going strong with Joe O'Sullivan at the helm

Mid Tipperary GAA was well served in recent years as the number of games and teams in the division stretched to record highs. At the helm was Moycarkey-Borris native Joe O’Sullivan who stepped down as chair of the division after three successful years in charge.

It was an active tenure, coming out of the pandemic and moving into a new era. Joe kept focused on the task at hand and was on top of it all: “I enjoyed every minute of it,” he says.

“I came in during the split-season so it is now week after week after week so we had to keep every competition going. We had some great games but I suppose we had some disappointing games as well especially when it comes to football.  We have clubs that will pull out of football and play hurling at the weekend with their clubs. That is a disaster going forward for football in Tipperary as we have some great talented footballers. I know there are changes coming from the Football Board on the way they are going to run competitions and I’d say that will be a plus for football. It might get clubs back in.”

New competitions came on board during his tenure and in hurling and football, they ran smoothly. Joe says it was a busy time:  “An Under 19 competition came in then as well. That was a new competition as well, a brilliant competition,” he says, however the fixture calendar became congested with Under 19 games and senior games in the same week, for the same players.

Mid Tipperary is highly efficient in running games for players however the volume of games has increased to massive levels Joe says: “It is very hard to manage all codes especially in a split season. Then you have the Under 21s coming in as well and I suppose a couple of years ago you could play the football Under 21s at the beginning of the year but with the split season you can’t.

“We have Under 21 football and huring at the end of the year. In fairness to the clubs we all agreed on straight knockout. It is not an ideal situation but the simple fact of the matter is we don’t have time because come January the county management wants all the county players. In fairness to all divisions the Under 21 ran really well this year. The plus side to the split season is you know when you’re playing. Going back a couple of years ago you might have one senior game played in March and the next in June - all that is gone out the window now. We draw up a plan now in the division every year for junior A and junior B that they all know when they are playing now. Before you didn’t know whether you’re coming or going,” Joe says.

Mid Tipperary caters for players and clubs to a high level but like many county boards across Ireland, the big issue is finance, Joe says: “It is costing big money to keep clubs going. That is why there are so many fundraisers and why we have to keep the lotto’s going and again at county level. We saw, was it something like €370,000 to keep county teams fulfilled last year,” he says. The key appears to be getting good leaders to show the way. Leaders like Joe O’Sullivan who keep the ship afloat.