Gardai at the scene of the fatal collision in St Johnston. (North West Newspix)
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25 Feb 2026
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25 Feb 2026
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PICTURES: Sportsfocus
1. Full back line absentees felt
The absence of the All-Ireland winning personnel in the Tipperary full-back line was keenly felt in the loss to Limerick. Robert Doyle, Ronan Maher, and Michael Breen were all impressive throughout last year, and particularly in the All-Ireland final win over Cork.
Bryan O'Mara has stepped into the void at full-back but struggled majorly with Shane O'Brien, but there is no denying that O'Mara does his best work in the half-back line. Cathal O'Reilly did okay, considering the way the game shaped up. In essence, you had two regulars playing out of position along with a very inexperienced youngster starting only his fourth game, and Limerick exploited that.
Doyle is expected back in the coming weeks and may be available for the Waterford game, while captain Ronan Maher was an unused substitute and will be in contention too. There are more concerns over the status of Michael Breen, though with his full injury profile has yet to be revealed.
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