'We’re in a good position,' says Tipperary boss Denis Kelly ahead of Galway clash

Tipperary senior camogie manager Denis Kelly says his team are “in a good position” ahead of their highly anticipated All-Ireland semi-final showdown with Galway in UPMC Nowlan Park on Saturday afternoon.

Following a stirring extra-time victory over Kilkenny in the quarter-finals, the Tipp camp has enjoyed a strong build-up to the last-four clash, and Kelly is pleased with how the panel has responded over the last few weeks.

“Yeah, preparation has been very good now. We’ve trained really well, we’ve got a nice few weeks there to just get back on track after Kilkenny and you know the girls have really brought it to the table. There’s been great competition in training, and we’re delighted the way we’re going.”

That hard-fought win over Kilkenny, sealed deep in extra time, offered more than just a place in the semi-finals. It showed the resilience and steel that have been building in this group.

“Yeah, it was huge. We finished very strongly, and that’s the way you want to finish in games. It really put us to the test that day and we came out on top, albeit it took a lot of resilience and character to get over the line, but delighted to get that job done.

"It definitely tested our fitness levels and everything else, so we should get a good bounce off that. But the next challenge now is going to be a big one too.”

That next challenge is a familiar one. Galway edged Tipp in a nail-biting semi-final last year, while the Premier came out on top when the sides met earlier this season in the league. Kelly is under no illusions about the test that lies ahead.

“Look at the game, it’ll be tight. There’s only a puck of a ball in it generally. There’s very little between the two sides. So again, we’re expecting a big challenge from them, but we’ve prepared well, so we’re in a good position now.

"We’re hoping we can bring our A game to the table.”

With the senior hurlers chasing All-Ireland glory themselves this weekend, the buzz around Tipperary sport is building, something Kelly hopes can spill over into a big Tipp support next weekend in Kilkenny.

“Yeah, there’s a great buzz around the county, flags everywhere. We’ll be hoping that supporters will get out the following week and get behind us. Hopefully the lads can do it tomorrow, it would be great if they could, and then we’ll hopefully follow it up the following week. So yeah, there’s a great buzz in the county and it’s brilliant to be from Tipp at the moment.

“The 16th woman would be a big crowd. It really lifted us there in that second half in extra time versus Kilkenny. The crowd coming in and getting behind us lifted the girls, and I suppose we played some of the best camogie we played all year when we had that crowd behind us. So it would be great to get a good crowd again below in Nowlan Park Saturday.”

Having come up short at the semi-final stage in recent years, Kelly admits the group made some subtle adjustments for 2024, but says their focus has stayed on taking each challenge as it comes.

“Yeah, we’ve tweaked things this year. We sat down at the start of the year and brought the team in, brought in a few extra strings to our bow. But again, look, not massive.

"We’re just taking each game on its merits, and we’re not getting carried away with semi-finals or anything else. It’s just the next game up. We’ve prepared similarly to all the other games, so we’re just looking to bring real energy and intensity and see where it takes us.”