Small but welcome compensation for Tipperary's Minor hurlers

Tipperary GAA’s five-year strategic plan was launched recently. The event was low key and subsequent media coverage didn’t garner much attention either. I guess the shortage of takeaway headlines from the plan meant it was mostly overlooked, despite being the framework for the GAA within the county for the next five years.

The plan is the output from a ten-man committee, all good men and true, led by chairman Liam Sheedy, who researched and deliberated over a twelve-month period. Premier Plan is published in a glossy and professionally-produced booklet which, I suspect, few will read.

Such is the typically uninviting nature of these wordy plans. The prose is turgid, full of high-sounding ambition but often vague and imprecise. It’s certainly not reader-friendly, so I doubt if it will become the bible for club officials over the next few years.

I was interested to see what the plan had to say about games development and specifically the academy system currently in place in Tipperary. This pathway for developing players is crucial and yet most people know little of what’s going on.

Unfortunately, reading this booklet won’t enlighten anyone. I’m disappointed that the plan didn’t critique the present system, praise what’s praiseworthy and offer suggestions on what could be improved.

There are worthy proposals, such as the appointment of an overall Head of Athletic Coordination, but no real evaluation of what’s going on at present and how it can be bettered.

Likewise, the report sheds little light for clubs on the issue of integration, which is now a pressing item if Mary McAleese’s deadline of 2027 is to be met (it won’t). Once again there are vague aspirations on the issue but nothing precise. How exactly will integration work? Will there be gender quotas on club committees? Will there be separate committees for the different sports? What about finance? Facilities? What’s best practice in all these, and other, areas?

There’s even a rich irony when you look at the report’s committee. All able men, no doubt, but not a woman in sight. Extolling gender balance in the text is one thing but turning words into action is another. That’s particularly telling when we’re talking about the future of camogie and ladies football.

It’s noteworthy that the committee proposes the establishment of Under 19 and senior development squads in hurling and football. The Under 19 is designed to span the gap between minor (Under 17) and Under 20, though one suspects the best Under 19s will already be on the Under 20 panel. Similarly with the senior squad, the best will already be with the senior panel. It’s still an interesting suggestion, though I’m not totally convinced of its merits given the overlap with existing extended county panels.

The report also recommends the establishment of hurling and football development boards. They want to develop academic supports for post-primary players and there’s a proposal to commission a third level college to do a demographic survey of the county, presumably on the same lines as the national one done by Croke Park.

On the issue of facilities, there’s focus on the centre of excellence at Coolmore Morris Park where three new sand-based playing pitches will be developed on the land very generously donated by John Magnier. This, of course, was already well known.

Curiously, the committee sees the all-weather playing pitch at Fethard Town Park as meeting that particular need for the county. I would have thought that a pressing requirement is another - possibly two - synthetic surfaces geographically spaced throughout the county. There’s a lot of playing activity during the winter months, including post-primary games, where teams often have to travel to Limerick with pitches unplayable locally.

In a sense the report is something of a wish-list where the authors want to develop this, enhance that and encourage something else. Maybe that’s how such reports have to be framed but for me it skips some important issues and is too aery in tone. Too often meaty, workable proposals are lacking.

A final comment: acronyms should be used sparingly. I don’t want to hear of a POC or OCM again for a long time.

Meanwhile, back to reality and round 2 of our hurling championships this weekend offers another feast of entertainment. First impressions from round 1 were interesting but round 2 can clarify harsher realities for teams. The various groups are about to take more definite shape.

I guess the defeated sides from round 1 face the most pressure. Divisional champions, Loughmore and Borris-Ileigh, stumbled the last time. Their clash in round 2 will arguably be the tie of the round this weekend.

For county champion, Loughmore, this is an early tester of their renowned resilience. They seemed to be in fine fettle in the Mid final but Moycarkey’s workrate and industry dismantled them in the opening round of the county series. The evidence was unsettling for the three-in-a-row chasers and we’ll watch with interest their reaction.

Borris-Ileigh too have some atonement to make in this group of death, so expect an engrossing clash.

For Clonoulty and Moycarkey there’s more comfort, though each will want to build on their opening round successes and guarantee qualification with a game still to play.

In Group 1 the clash of Holycross and Thurles Sarsfields will be a big draw. Holycross got lucky the last day in edging out Kilruane and will need something better this time to see off the free-scoring Sarsfields.

Avoiding the bottom of the group will be a top priority for Kilruane and Upperchurch in the other tie in this section.

In Group 3 the clash of Cashel KC and Kiladangan will be a highlight. It’s a repeat of the league final where the King Cormacs scored a telling victory. Kiladangan won’t wish for a repeat.

Finally, in Group 4, Toomevara have some ground to make up after drawing with Mullinahone the last day. They face a Brackens team in buoyant mood after victory over Nenagh in the first round. Eire Og need a big response against Mullinahone or their season could be over.

In other news this week, the All-Star minor hurling selection of the year was announced. Limerick and Tipperary each had six players recognised with Galway, Cork and Kilkenny getting the other three slots.

Three Tipperary defenders won recognition. Corner backs Conor Collins and Colm Ryan were outstanding all year, so it was no surprise that they fill positions four and two respectively. Centre back, James Finn, might have been less noticeable in individual games but his strong, steady command of that pivotal number six post gave him the deserved nod over all others.

It was likewise with Shane Ryan at midfield. His steady displays over the length of the season didn’t escape the notice of the judges, who gave him the number 8 position.

Then in attack there was never any doubt that Conall Morrisson and Chris Dunne would win recognition for their exploits. As the twin towers of the Tipperary forward line, they were exceptional throughout the season.

Limerick’s midfielder, Xazier Neligan, got player of the year. Had Tipperary won it would surely have been Moyle Rovers’ Conall Morrisson. For all six Tipperary players it’s small, but welcome, compensation for missing out on the top prize.

Finally, that most prolific of GAA historians, Seamus J. King, is about to launch his latest offering entitled Tipperary Tales. The book is a compendium of 31 profiles he did over the decades covering an array of personalities, mostly from a sporting background.

The Cashel man (formerly Lorrha) has to his credit a vast catalogue of GAA histories embracing over four decades of researching and writing. This latest book is somewhat different, drawing together a collection of edited profiles which previously appeared in a variety of publications.

From Bill ‘Bob’ O’Dwyer’s time in the trenches of World War 1, to Jim of the Mill’s pub in Upperchurch, there’s an eclectic mix of personalities featured in the book. Sporting profiles dominate, from hurlers Sean Kenny to Jimmy Kennedy; from camogie player Jovita Delaney to referee John Moloney; the scope is wide.

Running to just over 100 pages, it’s beautifully produced and easy to access. Tales of Tipperary is already in the bookshops and will be officially launched later.