COLUMN: Questions posed over Cahill's future more than warranted given results

“Umbrage” has been the word of the week in Tipperary after the premature conclusion of the senior hurlers Munster Hurling Championship campaign, losing the final game to Clare in FBD Semple Stadium on Sunday.

Receiving the media in the dressing room in the aftermath of the loss, Cahill took great exception to a question posed by a well-known local journalist over his future as Tipperary boss and whether “he was the man” to take Tipperary forward.

The views on this interaction have been discussed at length online and amongst supporters and GAA people around Tipperary, over what was a more than a legitimate question.

Cahill’s response to the line of questioning was unnecessary and essentially out of order for a man in his position, over a team like Tipperary, with the expectation and weight of responsibility that accrues.

In two years, Tipperary has won just two championship matches in ten attempts, and when you consider that one of those wins came against Joe McDonagh opposition in Offaly last year, the record looks even more unsavoury.

Granted, Cahill and his management team came into the job at a low ebb in the county’s fortune after a poor 2022 campaign, and they managed to get a significant bounce, winning against Clare in round 1, along with draws in Cork and at home to Limerick which ultimately seen them out of Munster which was an achievement in and of itself considering where the county was the year previous.

However, you could argue - and many people are - that the progress and hope from those games have been on a downward trajectory since the no-show against Waterford in the final round-robin game last year where the players failed to fire and ultimately led to a tame exit in the All-Ireland quarter-final to Galway later in the year.

Fast forward 12 months from that game in Limerick and the fortunes have reduced at a rate of knots.

Tipperary finished their 2024 Munster Hurling Championship with just one point from their four games and a scoring difference of minus 36. We scored the least amount (2-90) throughout the four games and conceded the most (10-102).

Along with that, the defeats were made worse by the manner in which the team and panel performed.

A lot of wiggle room was given to the players after the Limerick defeat in that losing by a big margin to one of the greatest teams in history could be explained by a first-day-out flatness, and although the response to that was a battling draw with Waterford, the same failings we have seen since the draw with Davy Fitzgerald’s team last year - with a Munster Final in sight - have continued this year.

So, in that context, why was the question about his future so out of order?

The answer is it wasn’t, and if you consider the fact that Colm Bonner was instated as manager with a three-year term. it will tell you that it was a more than reasonable question despite Cahill reminding journalists that he has a three-year term himself along with the option of one more year.

All that aside, you would certainly have sympathy for Cahill and his management team given the upheaval and background noise coming from behind the scenes in Tipperary GAA currently.

The financial troubles of the County Board have been well-publicised in the County Convention since last December, but some of the stories coming from behind the scenes would have you paint a different picture of why things are going awry on the pitch.

By all accounts, Cahill and his players and management have gone well beyond the remit of their job descriptions in terms of trying to raise funds to compete with the Limericks of this world and it speaks of the ills currently plaguing Tipperary GAA as a whole.

We need only look at the dereliction that is occurring in Semple Stadium at the moment and while it is still a fine venue, it is becoming increasingly outdated with a badly needed makeover.

Speaking last January about investment in the provincial grounds around Munster, Munster GAA Chief Executive Kieran Leddy revealed FBD Semple Stadium would require a €4 million investment for maintenance works “that are mainly maintenance in nature and will add nothing in terms of spectator or player facilities”.

More recently, the issues have become just as stark with an email circulated to the clubs of Tipperary to give €1,000 each toward a planning phase for a Centre of Excellence in conjunction with TUS which will include a three-pitch development and tennis courts. A joint venture.

Other stories are circulating around the failure of the County Board to pay out mileage to players, and management teams paying for supplies for players on matchdays paint the picture for you.

We are in dire straits financially and that is affecting the performances on the pitch.

With that in the background, you can understand the pressure Cahill has been under, and with the poor performances on the pitch, it would take its toll on most.

It looks likely that Cahill will continue into the 2025 season and there will need to be a grand reflection taken by everyone involved in Tipperary GAA over the next six months.

The players and management have put in huge time and effort but there seems to be an element missing in Tipperary.

The other Munster counties look more athletic and better primed for the rigours of the Munster Championship and on the evidence of this year, we are lagging well behind in that regard.

Cahill will get time to right the wrongs of this year, and everyone in Tipperary will be hoping he can do it.

He is a proud Tipperary man and the last few weeks will have hurt him far more than any of us watching in from the outside.

There is great optimism in the county over the success of the underage teams in the last week with the conveyor belt in the county continuing the churn out talent, but there is also nervousness and fear that these players - along with the current senior crop - are failing to get the support they need to make good on the undoubted talent they have.

This weekend, we will get another glimpse of the future of Tipperary hurling as the U20s get ready for their All-Ireland Final clash with Offaly.

They have shown ability and character that has always been a hallmark of Tipperary hurling, and that is something we have to cling onto going forward, and hopefully another All-Ireland title for the county will give everyone another shot in the arm and motivate all involved to start moving in the right direction.

Here’s hoping that this year will be the straw that broke the camel’s back and that the fortunes of Tipperary GAA will begin to turn both on and off the pitch for next year and beyond.