Tipperary Hurling Tipperary GAA Premierview

2.06.05



The June bank holiday weekend approaches, and another date for the County senior hurlers with Clare. Unlike more recent clashes, this fixture will take place in Limerick’s Pairc na Gael, a venue in which both sides have seen championship action during the past 12 months, and in Tipp’s case the last 12 days. Despite public apathy towards the meeting, a pairing which many hurling fans, partisan and otherwise, had grown tired of in recent years due to its regularity, Tipp fans over the age of 30 might view it with a certain fondness. This writer does anyway, especially as the match will take place by the Shannon. For it was in the very same place, against the very same county during the month of May 1983 that he first witnessed Tipperary’s senior hurlers winning a championship match.

Ten years had elapsed since Tipp had beaten Cork to qualify for the Munster final in 1973. A one point loss to Limerick that day saw the Shannonsiders go on to lift McCarthy, while Tipp began a sequence which saw us fail to win a single championship game at senior level until that glorious Sunday in Limerick. “Never mind the quality, feel the result” were the words on the lips of Tipp supporters that day, who chaired goalkeeper John Sheedy from the pitch in jubilation. A John Grogan shot deceived Seamus Durack in the Clare goals; the Cashelman modestly admitted that night on TV that he’d mishit his shot. Carrick-on Suir’s Tom Waters scored a goal and ran out of pitch after striking the ball, having to run around the back of the goals to avoid colliding with the advertising hoardings. But the man everyone was talking about after that game was Nicholas English, an underage prodigy who’d won All-Ireland Minor & U21 hurling medals in a Tipp shirt but was now coming to the attention of the hurling public at large (tellingly enough, there was no shortage of such titles in the county during the senior barren spell, with Tipp annexing 3 of each between 1974-82, better things were to come at senior level, though we didn‘t realise it yet). The caretaker of Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds, as they were known then, was like a flustered publican after closing time who knows the Gardai are on their way, as he tried to clear the place and go home. Not bloody likely, we Tipp fans were in no hurry whatsoever, we stayed and savoured the atmosphere, especially us young lads, who were tasting it for the first time. As long as we were home in time for the Sunday Game to relive the wondrous sight we’d just been privy to, we didn’t care, there was backslapping and bantering to be done. Waterford beat us in the Munster semi-final the next day in a game Tipp could’ve won, but at least that terrible run of results had been broken.

1984 saw us host Clare in Thurles, when a seemingly safe lead was eroded in the 2nd half for Clare to pull ahead with the minutes ticking away. A penalty was won by Nicholas English in the dying moments, Seamus Power’s shot was repelled but the rebound was returned to the net by his clubmate Liam Maher. For once, well in my eyes anyway, Tipp were on the right end of a tight result, and a Munster final place against Cork beckoned in Semple Stadium. This time we were on the wrong end of a tight result against the Blood and Bandage, nothing new there.

Tipp were pitted against Clare again in 1985, this time in Ennis. Michael Doyle scored an early goal but it took a magnificent equalising point from the Cullen tyro to land Tipp a draw at the end of a dour, low-scoring encounter. The replay was scheduled for Thurles, and saw Tipp dish out a heavy beating to the Dalcassians. This writer brings two lasting memories from that game - the display of Donie O’Connell at centre forward was one. The other was that it was the first time that he was confident that Tipp were actually going to win a championship match with more than 10 minutes left. Didn’t have to wish and hope the final minutes away in that match, another unusual and novel experience. Of course the Red Lads again saw to it that a Munster title would have to wait for another year at least, the scoundrels.

1986 saw Clare in the way of a Munster final appearance again. The general feeling was that Tipp would win comfortably. RTE obviously thought so too, as they didn’t bother sending a full camera crew to Ennis. The Clare management must’ve gotten hold of this, as their motivated team pulled off a shock result, beating Tipp by a couple of points. Who ever said that Ger Loughnane patented grievance motivation? The game hinged on a 21 yard free given away for over carrying by Tipp net minder Tony Sheppard. Nicholas English described this match as the nadir of his hurling career, and he wasn’t even playing. Neither was Pat Fox. Clare went on to give a fine display in the Munster Final against Cork, but it just wasn’t enough.

By the 1987 championship Babs Keating was in place as Tipp hurling manager, and things were beginning to change. For the first time since 1982 Tipp were facing a side other than Clare in the 1st round of the championship. Kerry provided the obstacle, it was eventually hurdled, though not without difficulty. The next opponent was a very familiar one. Clare again. The Tipp team was sporting brand new names which would soon be known the width and breadth of the country. Delaney, Hayes, O’Donovan, John Kennedy, Hogan. And what was this Fox guy doing at corner forward? Hadn’t Bobby Ryan just won an All-star at wing back? Why was no. 14 on his back? Tipp nearly won it, only for Gerry McInerney to salvage a draw with a well-taken goal at the death. Interestingly the match had taken place in Killarney. Tipp had never yet lost there. We went back for the replay. Clare were handicapped with the absence of Tommy Guilfoyle through suspension. Tipp won very easily, with Bobby Ryan scoring a goal that most forwards would disown. No matter though. We were back in the Munster final for another tilt at the Red Lads.

At this point the fortunes of that bunch of Tipp & Clare hurlers began to diverge. Tipp went from strength to strength, winning 5 Munster & 2 All-Ireland titles. Clare didn’t win a championship match again until 1993, and some of the defeats they endured in the interim were severe. In 1993 they surprised Limerick in Ennis in a high scoring game. Cork were ambushed in Limerick next, on a wet and dreary day in a very exciting game. This set them up for a Munster final bout with Tipp, who had beaten Kerry, the victors over Waterford in the biggest shock in modern Munster hurling, to qualify. This was a match when Clare were blown away early on by Tipp. The outcome was never in doubt from an early stage. There were chinks of light for the Bannermen in the annexation of 2-12 on the board, and the performance of a hitherto unknown (outside of Clare) James O’Connor who posted 0-4 from play. Progress had been made. Nicholas English afforded himself a little grin that day, as his teammates teased him on the field of play.

1994 saw Tipp win the National League trophy, courtesy of a virtuoso display from John Leahy in the final. Clare had given a good account of themselves in that competition, gaining promotion from Division 2 before falling to Galway in the semi-final. After a gap of 7 years Tipp & Clare hurlers were to meet in the 1st round of the Munster championship. Coincidentally so were their footballers. The footballers played first. Tipp stole the match from Clare with a late goal from Peter Lambert. John Leahy made his sole senior championship appearance in the big ball code and wrecked his ankle. Out for the hurling match. So were Nicholas English, Paul Delaney & Pat Fox. Tipp had won by 18 points the previous year. Surely we’d still win. It was evident early in the game that there would be no runaway victory. Anthony Crosse and Michael O’Meara were withdrawn injured. Pat Fox struggled on for the 2nd half. Drove a shot narrowly over the bar which had goal written all over it, though with Mr Fitzgerald in goals that was no certainty. Tommy Guilfoyle banged in 2 goals. Tipp were out of the championship and May wasn’t over yet. Clare reached the Munster final for the 2nd successive year, a feat not achieved by them since 1977/8. Unfortunately they went home disappointed, just as they did in those two years.

Amazing how fortunes turned. 7 years earlier Tipp were the ones on the cusp of a fabulous journey. Now that right belonged to Clare. 1995 saw them finally break free from the shackles of frustration and disappointment and convincingly win a Munster title in Thurles to scenes of unbridled joy. Two months later they brought Liam McCarthy across the Shannon. Ger Loughnane was now in charge, having previously served as a selector.

1997 was a historic year for the GAA. The hurling championship was revamped, allowing the losers of the Munster & Leinster Championships a 2nd bite at the cherry through the quarter finals. Tipp & Clare met in that year’s Munster Final. For the first time in over 60 years the Clare team featured more All-Ireland medal holders. Clare started as if they’d blow Tipp out the gate. A few shrewd moves, especially the switch of Tommy Dunne & John Leahy, saw Tipp claw their way back. Clare took control again in the 2nd half through a goal from David Forde, but Tipp’s resilience saw them only 3 points behind when John Leahy found himself clear on goal. He scuffed his shot and the ball was cleared by Colin Lynch, Clare legend in the making. Clare were the victors and they qualified for the All-Ireland final by beating Kilkenny, who had themselves lost to Wexford in the Leinster Final. Tipp got as far as the Slaneysiders by beating Down in the 1st quarter final. The Tipp team which lined out against Wexford sported several changes from that which had lost to Clare. Despite breaking his jaw John Leahy hit 1-4 from play before retiring. Tipp kept Wexford at arm’s length and secured a final slot against Clare. It’d be in Croke Park this time. Media hype was at a maximum. Tipp had nothing to lose, so it went. They had of course, there was an All-Ireland title to be won. Tipp went up and won the 1st half. Clare came out and dominated the 2nd. Goals from Liam Cahill & Eugene O’Neill kept us in it. Brian O’Meara won a ball and elected to pass to Leahy. Fitzgerald was equal to the shot. James O’Connor had shot the winner earlier. Conor Gleeson’s long-range effort tailed off. McCarthy crosses the Shannon again.


1998 saw the teams avoid each other, Waterford eliminating Tipp at the Munster semi final stage. That Autumn Nicholas English was appointed Tipp senior hurling manager. Tipp drew Kerry in the 1st round in 1999. A dodgy enough 1st half preceded an emphatic Tipp victory. Clare were next on the agenda. The Tipp team contained as yet unfamiliar names such as David Kennedy, Corcoran, Enright & Fahey. Paul Shelly, an All-star corner back in ‘97, was at full-forward. Nicky was Babs’ star pupil, wasn’t he? Clare had just won 3 Munsters in 4 seasons and had been cruelly served by bungling officialdom the previous year. They had all the household names. In probably the best senior championship game this writer has seen between the 2 counties Davy Fitzgerald salvaged an unlikely draw from the penalty spot. Parallels with ‘87 abounded. They ended there and then though, when Clare decimated Tipp in the replay, winning by an unflattering 10 points and confining Tipp to just 2 points from play. Declan Ryan was left on the bench, but he didn’t stay there. Probably their finest performance of the Loughnane era. They played a lot of matches that year, but didn’t win any cups.

In 2000 Tipp defeated Waterford to qualify for the Munster semi-final against Clare. The Tipp team is rumoured to have viewed a cinema screening of “Gladiator” the night before the game. They tore into Clare from the outset the following day, banishing the painful memories of the previous year with a fully merited win. Clare missed 2 sitters of goal chances, having to content themselves with 2 points instead, one from a 65. Tipp got 2 of the hairiest goals ever seen, one a poorly-struck Declan Ryan penalty effort, the other a gently rolling effort from Paul Shelly, which definitely crossed the line from my view at the other end of the field! Scenes of joy amongst Tipp supporters abounded, it’d been 7 long years since we’d put them to the sword in the championship. A heavy price was paid though, a knee injury to Declan Ryan which kept him out of action for the remainder of the season. 2 penalties were missed in the Munster Final loss to Cork, along with a shedload of easy chances in the 1st half. 2 points was the losing margin, as it was in the quarter final loss to Galway, when both Eamonn Corcoran & John Leahy retired through injury long before the end.


2001 saw the 2 counties meet in the National League final, when Clare’s profligacy in front of goal coupled with Declan Ryan’s great finish of Tipp’s one goal chance saw Tipp take home the trophy one month before the sides were due to meet in the Munster semi final. The June bank holiday weekend was hot and sultry, and a bone-crunching, nerve-wracking encounter ensued. Not a match for the purists, but a compelling contest which saw Tipp prevail by the minimum. If any incident from this game encapsulates its toughness it was the sight of 19 year old Eoin Kelly picking himself up off the ground after having been sandwiched by the Barefield duo of Baker & McMahon, and defiantly driving the ball into the left corner. Not that we needed any proof but we knew he was good! Tipp’s economy in front of goal, Philip Maher’s dominance on the edge of the square, and Declan Ryan’s experience were crucial to Tipp’s victory. Despite the excellent displays of Sean McMahon, Colin Lynch & David Forde (top scorer from play with 0-4) it was the wayward shooting of Clare’s forwards which hurt them most. Richard Murphy from Wexford was the subject of much criticism from the Bannermen afterwards also. This writer holds the view that his mistakes were fairly evenly spread that day, as Tipp were denied a blatant penalty in the 1st half when Brian Lohan tested the fabric of a Tipp jersey inside the 21. Afterwards Tipp completed the season undefeated in league and championship, whilst Clare went home empty-handed. A fine line divides.

In 2002 an injury-riddled Tipp side beat Clare in Cork by 2 points, with fine displays from Eoin Kelly, Conor Gleeson & Noel Morris. David Forde hit 2 goals fro Clare, Colin Lynch gave another master display and Tony Griffin helped himself to 0-6 from play. By this stage the hurling championship had been further revamped, so the do-or-die element was gone completely from the provincial championships. Indeed Clare made it all the way to the All-Ireland final, with great victories over Galway & Waterford, before falling to Kilkenny in September. Tipp qualified for a 3rd successive Munster Final, falling to Waterford on an emotional day for the Deise. We got as far as the All-Ireland semi-final, beating Offaly and Antrim en route, before Kilkenny beat us by 4 points in a memorable contest.

2003 saw us pitted against Clare in the 1st round of the Munster championship again. With the qualifier route as a safety-net, and the fact that both sides were meeting for the 5th year in a row, interest in the fixture was low. Michael Doyle had taken over Tipp, and attempted to put his own stamp on the team. A 10 goal league final saw us lose by 1 point to Kilkenny. A far greater loss the same day was Philip Maher, who injured a cruciate ligament. Tipp were sitting ducks for Clare, and they relished the opportunity to push the advantage home. Early goals from James O’Connor and Andrew Quinn had Clare out of reach from an early stage, and with Lynch giving a master class at midfield their victory was emphatic. It wasn’t without its costs though, David Hoey broke his ankle in an accidental clash with Brian Lohan while Sean McMahon was red-carded for striking Conor Gleeson. Clare’s next game was against Cork, who beat them easily. Colin Lynch saw red in that game, and when Clare went on to meet Galway in the 1st round of the qualifiers it was with a seriously weakened team. Even so, they lost by just one point. That game was over before Tipp ran out to meet Laois in our 1st qualifier game. We managed to reach the All-Ireland semi finals for a 3rd successive year. The less about that game the better.

So now the weekend will bring us another instalment in the Clare-Tipp saga. Tipp are already seriously hindered by the absence of Philip Maher with a leg injury, and best wishes are extended to the Borrisoleigh man. The prize for the victors is a Munster final slot, and more importantly guaranteed progression to the last 8. With memories of the loss 2 years ago still fairly fresh, Tipp shouldn’t lack for motivation. Meanwhile Clare will want to erase memories of their last 2 big games in Thurles. Hopefully the game will worthy of some of those mentioned above, which have brought much pleasure to hurling fans everywhere.
Ardan Ui Chinneain






27.04.05



Monday next sees Kilkenny and Clare battle for National League honours in Semple Stadium in a repeat of the 1995 decider, which was the prelude to an extraordinary change in hurling fortunes for the Banner men. The 1994/95 League campaign had yielded some unusual dividends, such as Meath hurlers defeating both Wexford (then managed by Liam Griffin) and Offaly (then reigning All-Ireland Senior Hurling champions) in Division 2, whilst Waterford hurlers racked up 2-7 in the 1st half of a League quarter-final against Galway, confining the Tribesmen to nothing but wides in those same 30 minutes. Tipperary hurlers finished that campaign needing to beat Laois to remain in Division 1. This was achieved, but not after experiencing difficulty against the Midlanders, who were extremely unlucky not to take Kilkenny’s scalp in Carlow during that year’s Leinster Championship.



Yet, after such a dismal league campaign by Tipperary in 1995, confidence remained that we would have a considerable say in the destination of that year’s championship honours, despite having being shocked the previous year in the 1st round of the Munster Championship by Clare, a result which precipitated the resignation of Babs Keating as team manager (though a look at Tipp’s injury list for that game might have caused many a bookmaker to shorten his odds on Clare). We still had plenty of the ‘91 guard on board, and younger players such as George Frend and Raymie Ryan had comfortably slotted into defence. Anthony Crosse had been plucked from obscurity prior to the 1993 Munster Championship and was such a success at full forward that Anthony Daly never played full back for Clare again. The 1st round of the Munster championship in 1995 saw Tipp annihilate Waterford by 20+ points in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, and things were looking bright. Then former Sunday Game analyst Ciaran Barr decided he’d stir up a hornet’s nest by drawing attention to some of the less savoury incidents from the game that night on TV. The next thing we knew Tipp were down 2 players for the Munster semi-final against reigning Munster champions Limerick. Tipp fell short by 1 point to the Shannonsiders in a game where Anthony Crosse was lost to a career-ending eye injury, and Gary Kirby gave an exhibition of free-taking.



There were complaints afterwards that Tipperary shouldn’t have disrupted the lineout so much to replace Michael Ryan at corner back, as Colm Bonnar was switched from midfield to corner back, thus resulting in John Leahy moving to midfield from the forwards. Paul Delaney was replaced directly by Brendan Carroll at wing back, and the Sarsfields man played soundly on his championship debut. Nonetheless, after that defeat 1996 was awaited with optimism, especially after the impressive All-Ireland U21 Final victory over Kilkenny in Semple Stadium in September.



Move the clock on 10 years, and the similarities are uncanny. 4 years have elapsed since Tipp last brought McCarthy home, the team manager who oversaw that amazing season has handed the reins to someone else. The league campaign was experimental, commencing with a bit of a fright from Division 1 minnows Down (who incidentally avoided relegation last week), if eventually more comfortable than it was a decade ago, though the new format certainly now renders Division 1 survival much less precarious for teams like Tipp.

Yet the pessimism which has enveloped the county this year is a notable contrast from the situation in 1995, with Ken Hogan fielding much criticism, especially in cyberspace. This writer, whilst in Salthill at the Galway match a couple of Sundays ago, encountered a Lorrha man, now stationed in Galway. As we bade farewell at the end of the match, this man mentioned that he was going to go down and shake Ken’s hand, as he reckoned that the Tipp manager could do with a bit of encouragement, judging by the remarks he’d seen about Hogan on the internet.



It struck me as a gentle reminder that managers are human too, needing praise and motivation just like their foot soldiers. Ken Hogan, Jack Bergin & Colm Bonnar are men who served Tipp immensely well on the playing fields, despite Jack never reaping any tangible reward for his toils. Now they’re giving of their time outside the white lines, and all have been involved in fantastic successes as selectors, Bonnar as part of Justin McCarthy’s sideline team which engineered Waterford’s marvellous Munster triumph in 2002, Ken & Jack during Tipp’s unbeaten run in league & championship in 2001. They’ve introduced some players to championship action who were among the county’s best performers last year, such as Declan Fanning & Diarmuid Fitzgerald. Colin Morrissey got a proper chance during their tenure also, and grabbed it with aplomb. This year has seen opportunities handed to men such as Mick Webster, Francis Devanney, Conor O’Mahoney & Darragh Egan, though it remains to be seen how these lads will fare in the cut and thrust of championship hurling. This writer is of the opinion that the league is a useful source of competitive games in which ideas, systems of play and players can be tried out, and is more important in that regard rather than as a source of silverware. I’d be happy enough with the approach taken to it in both years by Ken and his men; they’re not likely to win plaudits for making the same mistake Michael Doyle made in 2003, when misplaced emphasis in Spring cost the side heavily in Summer.



The ravages of injury and time have seen Brian O’Meara and Conor Gleeson finally hang up their boots, after combined service of nearly 20 years to the county senior hurling side. Tommy Dunne remains as the longest serving senior player, having debuted in the 1992/3 NHL as a teenager. The silky wrists have lost none of their magic, as anyone who witnessed an outstanding (and successful) strike for a point in Salthill a few Sundays ago will attest. Whether Tommy will be a 70 minute man, or reserved as a weapon to spring from the bench a la John Leahy in 2001 (though unfortunately that particular gambit never really got a chance to be properly tested), remains to be seen.



One noticeable aspect in the composition of the current panel is the lack of Minor & U21 All-Ireland hurling medals in the squad. Presently the only panellists with underage success on the All-Ireland stage are men who collected Senior medals in 2001. Brendan Cummins & Tommy Dunne remain from the victorious U21 side in 1995, whilst amazingly only Paul Kelly and Paddy O’Brien from the 1996 Minor winning squad are currently on the senior panel. Lads from the latter side, such as Eugene O’Neill, John Carroll, Micheal Ryan, Michael Kennedy, Tom Costello and Donncha Fahey, all of whom hurled senior championship for the county in recent years, are still young men but for one reason or another, no longer feature. Perhaps this might explain why there’s an air of unease about the county at the minute, as all newcomers to the senior squad have no underage All-Ireland honours in their pockets, and some have been on the receiving end of humiliating defeats from Kilkenny in Minor & U21 All-Ireland finals. Whereas back in the late ‘80s, when things finally turned for the county senior hurlers’ fortunes, the squad that Babs & co assembled had an impressive array of Minor & U21 all-Ireland medals to their credit. Their turn at senior level was coming, so to speak.



Whatever happens in this year’s championship I’d expect, well hope, from a Tipp perspective anyway, that the NHL be an unreliable barometer of what unfolds during the Summer. Just as it was for both Clare and Kilkenny in 1995.

Ardan Ui Chinneain







Backs & Forwards



Plenty of comment concerning Tipp hurling has been directed at the selection of players in seemingly unfamiliar positions, the most recent case being John Devane’s positioning at wing forward where he bagged 1-2 from play against Cork last Sunday. The Clonoulty-Rossmore man would be familiar to most as a full back line player, indeed he recently picked up the Fitzgibbon Cup player of the tournament award for his performances in the No. 3 jersey for UL. Far from being a recent phenomenon though, this line of thinking amongst Tipp hurling selectors has existed for a long time now, with examples of similar experimentation dating back to the 1950s & 60s.



Tony Wall is recognised as being one of the greatest Tipp centre backs, yet he spent some time playing as a forward for the county in the early days of his career without the great successes he achieved while lynchpinning the defence. Liam Devanney found himself a victim of his own versatility during the golden era of the 60s, when he found himself warming the bench as a result of having being shifted from pillar to post during the 1964 championship campaign. Mick Roche, one of the county’s great stylists and the benchmark by which all subsequent wearers of the no. 6 jersey in the county have been measured, lined out at centre forward in the 1973 Munster Final, and watched the Tipp defence concede 6 goals that day in a dramatic 1 point loss to Limerick. Noel O’Dwyer won an All-Ireland medal in 1971 as a forward, but was at centre back during the subsequent barren years before returning to play at corner forward in the heartbreaking Centenary Munster Final loss to Cork in 1984, a game which saw Boherlahan’s Seamus Power dramatically switched from attack to defence. Tipp lost 3 defenders to injury in that game, and it was one of these which precipitated Power’s journey back, much to the relief of Cork’s Donal O’Grady who had suffered a torrid time at full back for Cork whilst marking him.



There are happy tales of such moves, especially since Killarney in July 1987. Pat Fox, who’d made his senior championship debut in 1980 at midfield, had a fantastic season that year wearing the no 13 jersey, which he’d first worn in the Senior championship as far back as 1981 in Thurles, when Tipp failed to hold a seemingly unassailable lead against Limerick. Pat had played in the 1985 Munster Final at left corner back, but after the wonderful 1987 campaign there was no going back. Bobby Ryan was in the unfamiliar position of full forward in 1987, one year after winning an All-star at wing back. However that was not to last, as the return of a man who had won an U21 All-Ireland hurling medal at full-back to the panel in 1988, freed Bobby to move to his optimum position in the half back line. The returnee was the bearded Cormac Bonnar, who went on to win 2 All-Stars at full forward in 1989 & 1991, the same years that Tipp took home McCarthy. Those teams featured the stylish opportunist Michael Cleary at wing forward, a young man who played in the 1984 Munster Minor final at wing back before his skills were given a chance to busy the scoreboard operators. Declan Ryan too played in a Munster Minor Final in the half back line, back in 1986 when Tipp lost to Cork in a replay. Indeed Mr Keating saw fit to play Declan at centre back during the 1990/1 league, until an abject display by the team’s forwards against Offaly in the league semi-final helped him to reconsider his decision. While Noel Sheehy, who won an All-Ireland Minor medal in 1982 at centre forward, went in the opposite direction, becoming a mainstay of the Tipp full back line during a lengthy career who saw him collect a couple of All-stars for his displays at full back



Nicholas English was a manager who wasn’t afraid of a bit of experimentation himself, having lined out at centre back for the county U21 hurling team back in 1983, despite being considered one of the up and coming forwards in the country at the time. He caused a few jaws to drop by sending former All-star corner back Paul Shelly up to full-forward, where the Killenaule man had limited success. Brian Lohan was never too happy to see him in the vicinity though, and the pair had a few titanic clashes in the 1999 & 2000 championships. In 2001, which seems to be receding all too fast from the memory, John Carroll bade farewell to wing back, where he seemed to have taken up permanent residence after an excellent season in 2000, and took up station on the ‘40’ to lead the Tipp attack. He was never to play championship hurling in the backs again after that. Paul Kelly also went to pastures new in 2001, taking up the left half back position where he excelled in 2001 & 2002 especially. Previously seen as a wing or corner forward, his senior championship appearances before then had been confined to cameo substitute appearances in attack, though anyone who remembers his fireman job at centre back for the county minors in the 1997 Munster final, and the exhibition he gave in the same position in the bizarre All-Ireland semi final loss to Galway later that year, would’ve smiled contentedly to themselves. Nicky too saw merit in trying Benny Dunne as a forward, despite the latter being thought of mainly as a defender. Benny did play Harty Cup hurling with St Flannans in the forwards though, maybe Nicky had been keenly scanning the papers. Conor Gleeson probably played the best hurling of a lengthy career for Tipp at centre forward, despite being always considered a typical centre back. Another move prompted by Mr English, though I do remember Fr Tom Fogarty giving Gleeson a few outings at centre forward during the league in the mid-90s.



Other counties experiences will point to the same sort of open-mindedness when it comes to positioning players. Cork’s last 2 All-Ireland final victories contained men more widely recognised as defenders in central attacking positions, namely Fergal McCormack in 1999 and Brian Corcoran in 2004. Sean O’Gorman was an excellent corner back in Cork’s 1990 triumph, but the man lined out in the full forward line for Cork in the 1989 championship, though Cork GAA people won’t be recalling 1989 for their exploits on the hurling field. Limerick’s last All-Ireland triumph in 1973 saw their former full back switched to full forward for the Munster Final (Ned Rea), and their most talented forward switched to centre back for the All-Ireland Final (Eamonn Cregan). Ciaran Carey’s first few championship seasons were in attack, before he began to alternate between centre field and centre back with much more success. Waterford’s Ken McGrath won his first Munster Senior medal with Waterford at centre forward in 2002, helping himself to 0-7 from play. Yet last year he was at centre back in their superb victory over Cork in Thurles in a thrilling decider. The Noresiders’ Peter Barry, who has won all of his All-Ireland senior medals in the half back line, played at centre forward in Kilkenny All-Ireland U21 victory in 1994. Pa Dillon, renowned as a tough old style full back during the ‘60s, also played in the full forward line for his county. Brian Cody won numerous All-Ireland medals with Kilkenny in defence, and indeed captained the 1982 victorious side from full back. He also played in the 1978 Final at full forward, though his September memories from that year won’t be the fondest. John Power’s intercounty career began further back the field too, though his experiences at wing back were a painful prelude to the fruitful years he spent toiling at centre forward. Recently DJ Carey lined out at centre back in a couple of league games, though it’ll be a naïve bookmaker who’ll take bets on him seeing championship action there.



Offaly hurlers have seen plenty of the playing field in their time too. Padraig Horan played Railway Cup hurling for Leinster in defence before captaining his county to All-Ireland success in 1981. Eugene Coughlan and Pat Delaney won Leinster medals in 1988 whilst playing in the forward line, despite being far more experienced in defence. Johnny Dooley won his 1st All-Ireland minor medal as a wing back, before moving up the field with great success. Joe Errity was a successful convert to the full forward line in 1998, the year which saw Brian Whelehan move to the edge of the square to escape the torment of Brian McEvoy and end up bagging 1-3 from play in a famous victory. The latest experiment from the Faithful County is the placing of big Gary Hanniffy at centre back, after years spent in the half forward line. Anthony Daly currently seems to be of the Nicholas English school of thinking, as he’s attempted to fashion a forward out of Frank Lohan, who’s had a fine career at corner back. Similarly Alan Markham, previously seen as a forward, seems to be slotting in comfortably at wing back.



So it looks like we’re not alone in testing players’ versatility. Of course hurling keeps changing, forwards can no longer stand back and usher backs by as they’re clearing the ball, as they apparently did with impunity back in decades gone by. Forwards need to tackle like backs now, and have done so for a good while. Maybe the managers who move players to seemingly unfamiliar positions are not crazy, just deploying common sense. More than likely, they’re just playing with the cards they’ve been dealt.



Ardan Ui Chinneain