Good start will be important for new Tipperary hurling manager Liam Cahill

While the rest of us snowflakes are snuggling up against the winter cold, spare a thought for the inter-county players at the moment who are deep into heavy training in preparation for a New Year return to action. It’s that time of year when I certainly don’t envy the players.

This is the unseen aspect of inter-county hurling and football. The gym work is ongoing but by now the teams are back on the playing fields trying to defy the cold and sharpen up for the opening of a new playing season.

Tipperary’s 2023 playing season starts officially on Tuesday January 3 when the team travels to Dungarvan to take on Waterford in an opening bout of the Munster League. Five days later they entertain Clare at Nenagh in the same competition. Depending on results, they may have a final to play a fortnight later.

The hurling league then starts for Tipperary on February 4 when Laois are in Semple Stadium for the opening round. The final round, on March 19, will see Tipperary in Corrigan Park to play Antrim. It’s a heavy schedule, commencing while the rest of us are still feeling the effects of the Christmas indulgence.

For Liam Cahill, the old Irish proverb about a good start being half the work was never more apt. Last year we began with a Munster League defeat to Kerry on January 8. We could hardly have started at a lower base; it was a harbinger of what was to follow.

Getting early momentum then will be essential for Liam Cahill, who faces a huge task in trying to resurrect Tipperary’s fortunes after such a dismal 2022. It won’t be easy because, essentially, he has to rebuild a new team. It’s no longer a matter of finding a few supplementary players: the entire edifice of the team has to be reshaped.

The vibe coming from the new set-up is very positive. Training is said to be intense while the atmosphere is described as very upbeat. Of course, part of that may be down to a new man making his pitch and finding willing responders in a bid to impress.

Part also, we hope, stems from a realisation that Tipperary’s ranking has slipped considerably and a huge effort is needed to regain lost ground. Whether or not the hurling resources will be good enough to achieve that aim, we’ll have to wait and see.
For the moment getting together a panel that’s fit, organised and motivated is all that we can ask for and on those metrics there’s a strong belief that Liam Cahill and his management can deliver.

The team has already played a number of friendly games as preparations rev up. There were home games against Kerry and Dublin at Morris Park and an away fixture with Offaly at Tullamore. Apart from the nominated panel, a number of other players were drafted in for these fixtures, players who might be regarded as being on the periphery of the panel.

Players like Jerry Kelly (Borris-Ileigh), Dylan Walsh (Ballingarry), Fintan Purcell (Drom/Inch) Cian Darcy (Kiladangan) and Conor Whelan (Mullinahone) were among the extra inclusions.

Jerry Kelly is an interesting option. I felt his displays in Borris-Ileigh’s run to the All-Ireland club final of 2019/20 should have earned him a call up at that stage. Remember he scored 0-7 against Ballyhale in the final (0-6 from play) yet he remained adrift. By contrast, he had a very disappointing season with Borris-Ileigh last year. Timing can be essential.

I’m interested too in Conor Whelan, formerly Davins, now with Mullinahone. From my - albeit limited - viewing of him at club level, I’d see him as one with significant potential and likely to benefit from involvement in the county set-up.

Anyway, one suspects the panel will, as always, remain fluid, with a deal of coming and going as the season develops. On the injury front there appears to be some optimism that John McGrath might be ready for the league campaign - or at least some part of it. Barry Heffernan and Craig Morgan have longer-term issues where the best hope is that they’ll be able for some part in the championship.

What will represent success by the end of the season? A decent - maybe mid-table - run in the league would be satisfying and, of course, a top-three championship finish in Munster would represent major progress. That’s the Santa list.

Elsewhere, while Messi was mastering the soccer world in Qatar, Ballyhale Shamrocks and Dunloy were delivering in Croke Park. Ballyhale will be going for their ninth title in January; Dunloy have yet to win after four previous final failures.

Revenge, they say, is best served cold and the Kilkenny champions bided their time for this day when they’d deliver payback to Ballygunner for last year’s late swoop by Harry Ruddle. For all the cliched comments by managers afterwards, don’t tell me that this wasn’t an essential part of the narrative on Sunday at Croke Park.

I suspect this was a really sweet one for the Shamrocks, who’ll now go in as unbackable favourites in the decider against the Antrim champions.

It was, perhaps, a more emphatic win than the end score line indicates. Like the little boy with his finger in the dam, Stephen O’Keeffe certainly kept the waters at bay with a string of incredible saves. Twice Adrian Mullen was frustrated in the first half by the sheer brilliance of O’Keeffe and then TJ’s first penalty was likewise kept out by incredible reflexes. The pressure for a recall to the Waterford panel will be strong.

The second spot-shot had too much venom even for O’Keeffe. It was the pivotal score in the game, one that ultimately decided the outcome.

The first half was an incredible spectacle – as fine a half-hour of club hurling as one is ever likely to see. That quality wasn’t sustained in the second period, as the errors crept in, but it still remained a truly gripping contest.

Ballyhale had the edge. One sensed they were closing down the free-flow that Ballygunner enjoyed in previous games and, barring another spectacular finish, the outcome was well signposted before the end. The fact that the Shamrocks were missing goals kept the issue alive, though let’s not ignore the wastage of clear chances by Ballygunner also in the second period.

Indicative of the pattern was the fact that Ballygunner’s new-found star, Patrick Fitzgerald, wasn’t a feature this time. Joey Holden and company had matters well tied up at that end. Only once did the Waterford champs threaten goal and then the Ballyhale goalie, Dean Mason, was a match for Hutchinson’s effort.

The Dunloy game wasn’t of the same technical quality but the commitment was just as fierce. St Thomas’ have suffered some frustrating reversals in recent years, including that late winner by TJ Reid last year. However, there was no late dramatics here. Dunloy won from the front, clearly deserving of the margin of victory. Keelan Molloy’s goal was a thing of quality and was essential to the outcome.

It will be Dunloy’s fifth appearance in the final but they’ve yet to win. The closest they came was a 1995 draw with Birr. Can’t see them winning this one either, though they won’t be a pushover. The outsiders will inevitably have neutral support. All for the New Year.

A slightly late endorsement for the newest edition of the Tipperary Yearbook, which has been on the shelves in recent weeks. It wasn’t the greatest of years – heck it was downright dismal in many respects – but it did have its memorable moments.

The All-Ireland minor win stands tall as the single item of inter-county celebration. The sheer dramatics of the campaign makes it one that lends itself to easy recall. The players decorate the back page and Liam Hogan details the championship journey.

Of course the year now fading will always be linked with the terribly tragic passing of Dillon Quirke. The Clonoulty club supplied a very fitting piece on the player and the events of last summer. That alone makes this book a collector’s item.

Elsewhere there’s all the usual record of the past year, material that will fill a lazy hour or two during the festive period. As always, a welcome stocking filler.

Finally, here’s wishing the happiness of the Christmas season to readers.

P.S. A minor correction has been brought to my notice regarding the County Convention coverage last week. Johnny Doyle was not leaving his Munster Council seat because of the five-year rule: he had only served since 2019. Glad to correct and to point out that my mistake was copied from the Convention handbook. Always nice to have someone else to blame!