Tipperary GAA on its knees after Cork embarrass Premier to send them out of Munster

Munster Senior Hurling Championship - Round 4

Tipperary 1-21

Cork 4-30

Tipperary hurling is firmly back in the doldrums as a superior and hungrier Cork team completely obliterated the senior hurlers in round 4 of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship which brings the championship season to an end for the Premier for 2024 with a game to spare.

A second-half collapse of monumental proportions greeted the vastly outnumbered Tipperary support in Semple Stadium, and when the Cork flare lit up in the final quarter the Tipp players had simply no response after putting in a good first half in which they trailed by just three points after Alan Connolly backed the first of his hat-trick of goals on the stroke of half-time. 1-15 to 1-12.

However, the second-half performance was incredibly poor from Tipperary - even allowing for Cork’s class - and when the dust settles on this Munster Championship with a now daunting clash against a Clare team needing points next Sunday, serious questions will need to be asked of Tipperary GAA from top to bottom, with the senior hurling and football teams taking an aggregate beating of 34 points.

And these losses aren’t isolated results as we only have to go back to the Limerick game in round 1 for the 15-point loss and with possibly the most lethal forward line in the country to come in Clare next week, the current score difference for Tipperary of -33 could become even uglier by the end of the round robin.

Additionally, this is Tipperary’s biggest championship defeat since the loss to Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2012. Along with that, this was the second double-digit loss to Cork in the Munster Championship in as many years since the round-robin provincial championships resumed in 2022, while Tipp have won only one game out of 12 and have an average losing margin of for Tipperary has been a huge 11-points.

Tipperary hurling could be in the early stages of another famine judging by the level of performances in 2024, and while it might seem dramatic, the old guard in Patrick Maher, Noel McGrath, and Dan McCormack could be heading for the exit door after giving unbelievable service and it will leave a huge vacuum in their wake in terms of leadership and talent that will take a lot of time to fill.

The green shoots of the minor and U20 teams playing in the Munster Finals this coming week will take on an added importance for the county with GAA in Tipperary in a dark place on the field, financially and overall. Fingers crossed the young Premier men can give us all a timely boost in the coming week when endless questions will be thrown in the direction of players, management, and the county board in general

Scorers: Tipperary: Jason Forde (0-5, 0-3f), Mark Kehoe 1-0, John McGrath 0-3f, Jake Morris 0-3, Gearoid O’Connor, Darragh Stakelum, Noel McGrath 0-2 each, Ronan Maher 0-1f, Conor Bowe, Alan Tynan, Sean Hayes all 0-1 each.

Cork: Patrick Horgan (1-9, 0-5f), Alan Connolly 3-1, Shane Kingston 0-4, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Seamus Harnedy 0-3 each, Shane Barrett, Brian Hayes, Rob Downey 0-2 each, Niall O’Leary, Declan Dalton, Conor Lehane, Luke Meade all 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Barry Hogan; Cathal Barrett, Michael Breen, Craig Morgan; Bryan O’Mara, Ronan Maher, Conor Bowe; Eoghan Connolly, Alan Tynan; Gearoid O’Connor, Noel McGrath, Darragh Stakelum; Jason Forde, Mark Kehoe, Jake Morris.

Subs used: Paddy Cadell for R Maher (32, blood sub); Conor Stakelum for Connolly (HT); Dan McCormack for Barrett (41, inj); John McGrath for Forde (43); Patrick Maher for D Stakelum (49); Sean Hayes for O’Connor (56).

Cork: Patrick Collins; Niall O’Leary, Eoin Downey, Sean O’Donoghue; Tim O’Mahony, Rob Downey, Mark Coleman; Ethan Twomey, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Declan Dalton, Shane Barrett, Séamus Harnedy; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes.

Subs used: Luke Meade for E Twomey (32, blood sub); Shane Kingston for Dalton (45); Ger Millerick for O’Donoghue (52); Conor Lehane for Harnedy (59); Jack O’Connor for Barrett (62); Tommy O’Connell for Fitzgibbon (65); Sean Twomey for Connolly (67).

Referee: Thomas Walsh (Waterford)