Liam O'Shea is appointed Commercial Advisor to Tipp GAA Board

Former Managing Director/CEO of Tipp FM, Liam O'Shea has been appointed to the position of Commerial Advisor to the Tipperary County GAA Board it has been announed.

Secretary Tim Floyd writes in his annual report to Convention that at the November County Management Meeting it was agreed that the Tipperary Co Board, wishing to focus on maximising revenue by generating opportunities in the areas of Marketing the many and varied Commercial activities, etc., would explore the possibilities of how they could successfully do this. It was decided at that meeting that Liam O’Shea, who has just stepped down as Managing Director/CEO of Tipp FM and Clare FM and would have the necessary commercial skillset, business experience and indeed the deep knowledge of Tipperary GAA, would be charged with establishing a commercial framework which would position Tipperary County Board to best establish a commercial revenue through the promotion of the Tipperary GAA Brand.

"A brief look at Liam’s business background shows that before joining Clare FM as CEO in 1998 he spent fourteen years in
RTE and another fourteen years working in Radio and Television with Channel 3 T.V in Saudi Arabia and with CNN during the
Gulf War. Around the recent recession years Liam brokered an alliance deal, a first in his industry, between Clare FM and Tipp FM, reducing considerably the cost structure at both stations and later in that year, 2012, he acquired, with Clare FM, a majority Shareholding in Tipp FM.

"He was one of the founders of Spin South West, as well as being its first Chairman, and was also one of the founders of Newstalk. He also sits on the Board of Shannon Group. With a lifetime of achievements in the Broadcast Industry few have made as many contributions to Radio in Ireland as Liam and this was nationally recognised when he was inducted into Radio’s Hall of Fame in 2013.

"In recent years Liam, or Billy as he might be better known in GAA circles, has become closely involved in GAA affairs as manager of Kilruane MacDonaghs S.H. and Tipperary U21H teams plus also acting as Logistics Manager with the current S.H. team under Liam Sheedy. Tipperary Co Board are fortunate to be able to call on a man of Liam O’Shea’s experience and knowledge at the current time and his commitment to Tipperary and the GAA is unquestionable.

"This whole area of Marketing and Commercial activity is becoming a key factor in the Development of Gaelic Games at Inter-County Level. In 2000 when Con Hogan was Chairman of Tipperary Co Board, I was asked to take on a similar role of “Marketing Co-ordinator”. At the time I was Tipperary Draw Administrator and Con probably felt I needed a few more strings to my bow. I must admit I have enjoyed carrying out this role for the past twenty years as it has brought me into contact with wonderful people and taken me into very new environments.

"It was in May 2000 that we opened the first Tipperary GAA Merchandise Shop in Lar Na Pairce and for nineteen years it became a focal point for Tipperary GAA fans as well as being a valuable source of revenue for Co Board. Looking back, I am proud that we built up an enterprise that is now a franchise contributor to our finances following a retail agreement with Elverys Intersport for the next fifteen years. Over the twenty years I have engaged with five different team sponsors from Finishes, Enfer, Skoda, Elverys and currently TENEO. Since 2000 we have also had various County Championship sponsors like Tipperary Credit Unions, Cidona, Clean Ireland Recycling, Tipperary Water up to our present sponsorship agreement with F.B.D. We also have annual Revenue Streams from generous benefactors like Dornan Eng, Tipperary Co. Co, Thurles Milk and Kit-Van suppliers like Ryan Motor Power Skoda Dealer Clonmel, Pat Cleary Renault Motors Thurles, Damian Mulcahy, Citreon Ardcroney and John Kennedy Toyota Motors Clonmel. Then we have all the generous patrons who support our fundraisers at Galway Races, London and New York every year.

"Apart from all the commercial support streams directly linked to Tipperary County Board there are a host of other benefactors who contribute regularly to our Tipperary Supporters Club, Commercial Board and Friends of Tipperary Football. As you can see from this, the role of Commercial Advisor is a vast and varied responsibility. New challenges added to this will be the streaming of club games which proved to be a great success in 2020. Liam O Shea was the man who introduced me to StreamSport Ireland and it has proved to be a very successful alliance. With Liam’s radio and T.V background I’m sure this is one area we can consider the potential to eventually have our own “Tipp TV” to further promote Gaelic Games within the county and across the globe to all our Premier natives. There is also scope for Commercial Development around our new agreement with ticketing partners “Future Ticketing”. In 2020 this was introduced on a very limited basis with crowd restrictions but as this situation improves so will marketing opportunities around the ticketing administration network.

"Another area that is becoming more and more a responsibility of Tipperary Co. Board is Semple Stadium. Following two difficult years in 2019 and 2020, new Revenue Streams are required as field rental is becoming unreliable to maintain the Stadium at the required standards. Naming rights has got to be a priority in the year ahead and hopefully this will become a reality in 2021 and help to bring a new stream of much needed income to Semple Stadium.

"Liam O’Shea in his role as Commercial Advisor will act as Liaison person with Semple Stadium, Tipperary Supporters Club,
The Commercial Board and Friends of Tipperary Football. It is very important that Liam is acting for Tipperary Co. Board as the controlling body to ensure there are parameters within which they all operate. He will also examine what they all have in
common and maximise the potential of the Tipperary GAA brand both nationally and worldwide. I’m sure Liam has his own
ideas and visions for the role, and I look forward to working with him in the coming year as we put Tipperary on a firm
commercial financial footing into the future," the Secretary writes.

Convention takes place virtually on Tuesday evening next December 15.