Tommy Dunne is a conundrum of a chap. Iāve dealt with him professionally in the past and found him a thorough gentleman
On the other hand, heās a notorious wanker on a sideline.
Thatās the case for most GAA coaches, selectors, managers etc. The jawing that goes on the day of a match between management teams can get pretty cutting.
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Jaysus remember the 98 Munster Final when Gerald McCarthy assigned various members of the Waterford management team to mark their Clare counterparts. Poor owl Greggie Fives, God rest him, chasing around behind the goals after some Clare cunt.
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We got to an underage county final at U16 number of years ago. Tommy Dunne was coach of Toomevara. Iām sure many in Toomevara had never even known there was another hurling team that wasnāt St Marys from the town of Clonmel.
Their superior class shone through in the end but I must say he gave the best or most magnanimous (is probably a better word) speech at the end when he came over to console our group of players while their other mentors, children and parents were going buck ape. Iām not sure if my aul fella had a word in his ear to try and convince some of our fellas to stick at it and that his words, being who he was at the time, would carry a bit more water. Either way it is something I always think about when I see him.
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Limerick lads like @iron_mike @ciarancareyshurlingarmy @Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr etc coming onto the Tipp GAA thread and feeling sorry for Tipp supporters.
Theyād sicken your shite
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I would agree with you there. I donāt think heās an amazing coach, but heās a proper Tipperary man. Iād say Bonnar would have no coach without him.
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Liam Sheedy: Tipp are down, but now is the time to come together and fight
Itās up to the Tipp players now, come closer than ever collectively or start looking after your own corner
24 April 2022; Ronan Maher of Tipperary after the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 2 match between Tipperary and Clare at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
TUE, 26 APR, 2022 - 07:10
Sunday was tough for all Tipperary people, watching the team being beaten emphatically by Clare with the contest over by the halfway point and our opponents on top in every sector.
Nobody will be hurting more than the players and management team and I can well imagine the devastation felt by all involved in the dressing room.
I have been in those dressing rooms on numerous occasions and it is hard to find the words or the energy when your stomach is churning and it feels like everything has crumbled down around you. I have huge admiration for every player in that dressing room and will be forever grateful for the effort they put in over my last three years involved, so far be it from me to dance on their graves.
They have an ambition for Tipperary to be always eating at the top table and will be gutted that their involvement in Championship 2022 looks destined to end prematurely. Having to face the All-Ireland champions in two weeks in their house is a daunting prospect even with Limerickās injuries, as their form in the first two games has been seriously impressive.
Tipp created the chances to turn over a subdued Waterford in Round 1 and that was certainly a missed opportunity. Last Sunday we never got to the pitch of the game and lacked energy all over the field, while also leaving so many chances behind us which is not at all like this group of players.
Itās important to put things in perspective and note the challenges Colm Bonnar and his management team have faced. Brendan Maher retiring after 13 years followed by PĆ”draic Maher on medical grounds and then losing Seamus Callanan to a broken finger ā three massive leaders no longer on the pitch or in the dressing room.
Bubbles has been magical on so many occasions since his arrival on the scene in 2013 and on top of that you are without the services of Niall OāMeara, Willie Connors and Bryan OāMara, who all have proven pedigree at the top level.
They were hit with another hammer blow at the weekend with what looks a long-term injury to John McGrath and a problem for James Quigley that will have him doubtful for game-time in the short term.
I heard John Kiely talk about ānext man upā in terms of his injury difficulties, but when you are looking to get eight more up it becomes a serious challenge.
So Tipp are in a corner now and will certainly need to come out fighting in the final two games and ensure they leave everything on the pitch against last yearās All-Ireland champions and runners-up.
What is required when you find yourself in that awful position? I can well remember that empty feeling leaving the Gaelic Grounds on June 30th, 2019 after being beaten by 12 points and completely outplayed by Limerick in the final 20 minutes.
You stand on the pitch while the opposition are in full voice and endure the presentation. You are surrounded by your family, the players and their families who will stick by you through thick and thin, the good days and the bad days. You go back into the dressing room and you have to find the words that let them know you still believe in what we are doing and where we are going.
Everyone stands up and you form a circle and make a commitment to each other that everything possible will be done to ensure you do not feel like this again for the rest of the year. Thereās a few drinks but you canāt really stomach them and you head home with everything going around in your head. All the what-if scenarios.
Yourself and the ceiling have another of those chats and the notes are prodded into the phone. A flood of things you will do differently and ways to steady the ship and get back on track.
You visit the gyms on Monday in Thurles and Nenagh that are full of players and you get a huge lift. You sense they still believe and were going to go at it hard. Three steps and seven weeks to win an All-Ireland was worth going for and they were up for it.
Training Tuesday night and the coaches delivered an incredible session with massive energy everywhere. Eamon, Tommy, Daragh and Eoin were in the zone and the players fed off their energy. We all know how things played out over the next 42 days and they got back up those steps to capture a third Liam MacCarthy in 10 years. A climb that looked a mountain away on June 30th was completed at 5.30pm on August 18th.
I try to put a finger on what made the difference and here is what I put the turnaround down to. Firstly, you must believe you can do something and the players certainly had that in spades.
You are faced with a situation where you can either come closer than ever before collectively or drift into looking after your own individual corner at the expense of the team. If you choose the latter itās finished and will not end well.
Thatās a small nagging worry about last Sunday. That I saw one or two signs, towards the end, of lads drifting away from the collective towards individual targets. Itās human nature, but it has no place if you are going anywhere.
Now is the time for leaders to step up inside and outside the white lines. Look at the hugely inspirational performances from Craig Morgan over the last two games. Leadership is all about taking action and the leadership shown by all 40 involved in 2019 ultimately made the difference.
You have to work your socks off in every aspect of preparation. Everyone in training needs to really put the overalls on and get stuck in for the good of the team.
Thereās nuts and bolts stuff to fix, of course. Tipp will need a better defensive structure. They will have to manage a much better conversion rate, which was way off the standards these players have set themselves.
But first of all they have to come together.
When the dust settles in the coming weeks it might be an opportune time to visit the overall development structures within Tipperary to ensure we have the template to enable us to have a strong flow of talent coming through our player pathway.
Our players must be equipped with the skill, power and pace that are vital to challenge for honours in the modern game.
Cork have reaped rewards of an overhaul of their player pathways and development squads with significant success at underage level. Only time will tell if they can convert that to glory at senior level, but it certainly gives them a better chance.
Weāre down. But I also think it is important to acknowledge how fortunate we have been as Tipperary people over the last couple of decades. The joy the players over this period have given to supporters across the county and in all parts of the world has been exceptional. They truly have been a golden generation.
What they have given and continue to give for the jersey is to be commended and my wish is that the players coming through continue to give a similar contribution and commitment to ensure we can look forward to many more great days.
The things I learned today thread
Well fuck me.
Is he purposely rubbing Liam Cahills nose in it?
Fucking shit article
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I know, thatās why I put it up.
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Thatās sickening shite to be coming out with.
Praising players he wouldnāt play and patting himself on the back also. Fuck me
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And not a mention of Kilkenny doing them the favour of all favours in 2019. Not to mind Richie Hogan.
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I know. Sure an idiot could tell us that.
I canāt believe the ego of him or the fact he felt comfortable putting his name to that waffle.
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Straight from his Teneo lexicon thereš¤£
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Civil war in Tipp.
Strange Ken is on Daloās hurling podcast. He cant be partial.
Typical Guard that fella
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I can tell you, reliably, nail on head hit there.
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Someone give us the gist of Sheadys article there Iām not reading that scutter
Itās a load of nothing in it.
What they did in 2019, good characters in that group, bad wides. Poor effort but hard to say anything really given his position