COLUMN: Tipperary face pivotal Ennis showdown as championship survival hangs in the balance

Tipperary are in familiar territory after the challenges of the last few years, heading into ‘fortress Ennis’ for a do-or-die round three clash against Clare this Saturday evening at 6pm.

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This game feels like it has more than championship survival for the participating counties at stake, with a defeat unthinkable for both sides for very different reasons.

For Clare, they could have scarcely foreseen the challenge they have had this year, less than a twelve months since they secured just their fifth ever All-Ireland title.

Brian Lohan is in his sixth year in charge and, after delivering the Holy Grail for them in 2024, the pendulum has swung fully in the opposite direction for him and his team with a terrible league campaign - culminating in relegation to Division 1B - has been compounded in the first two championship games with no wins on the board.

Now, they face the very real possibility of bowing out in the Munster round robin stages which would be disastrous for Lohan and it could not only signal the end of his tenure as the manager, but could also be the last we see of some of their more experienced players in the form of John Conlon, Shane O’Donnell and maybe even Tony Kelly.

They know what is at stake, and despite the similarities in outcomes with the Tipperary camp, the Premier challenge is one based on trying to finally get a win in a Munster championship game; something that has eluded the senior team since this very fixture back in 2023.

Since that win, Tipperary have played nine Munster championship games and failed to record a win, a stark statistic and very worrying for all associated with Tipperary GAA, be it players, supporters, or management.

Tipperary boss Liam Cahill highlighted after the defeat to Cork in 2024 that he will be in situ for the remainder of his term, which will take him beyond the 2026 championship, but that will hardly wash with those within Tipperary should they fail to take that winning step in this campaign.

It has been a year that has been injected with fresh optimism though, with a strong league campaign being backed up with a brilliant performance in the round one stalemate with Limerick, but the loss to Cork two weekends ago has painted a slightly different picture and the old doubts have begun to creep into the Tipperary supporters subconscious in the intervening period.

There is no denying that the early red card for Tipperary was a handicap that was highly unlikely to be overcome, especially against a team of the quality and confidence of Cork. But how much should be read into that game, and should there be great concern ahead of this pivotal trip to Ennis?

It’s a tough circle to square.

We have seen this recently, though. The league final loss to Cork and its nature led to the narrative of ‘the same old Liam Cahill’ side that peaks early in the league and fails to deliver similar come crunch time in the championship.

That was comprehensively dispelled in the wake of the Limerick clash, though, and that performance is where we have seen this Tipperary team operate in the main in 2025. The response was emphatic.

So, that would be a big area of encouragement for Tipperary going into this game. The main crux of the first two games is simple. Would any Tipperary supporter have expected Liam Cahill’s team to have a point on the table after incredibly tough openers against Limerick and Cork?

The answer is no, simply.

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This mini-series of games against Clare and Waterford was always going to be where Tipperary would have seen the bulk of their points coming from the outset of the championship, and that hasn’t changed one iota after the first two games.

By all accounts, there is a good vibe around the setup in the wake of the Cork result. The nature of it has made it an easy sell for management in terms of the game plan being thrown out the window after the early red card.

It’s not as if this was a 15 on 15 demolition versus Cork so the belief is that there was a false impression given on the day.

Essentially, as previously stated, this game against Clare has likely been D-Day for Tipperary since the fixtures were announced late last year, and the players will be firmly focused on delivering a performance in a venue that has been a surprisingly happy hunting ground for Tipperary teams since the introduction of the round robin in 2018.

Tipperary have twice in Ennis, in 2019 and 2023, so the venue will hold no fear for the players in that regard, and if you add in the poor Clare performance in round two and for the first half of round one, there will be a scent of blood for Tipperary if they can get the performance they require.

The loss of Darragh McCarthy will be felt as the 19-year old - for frees alone - has made a massive impact but the return to form of Jason Forde versus Cork will be most welcomed.

This Clare team seemed to be running on empty very early in the second half against Waterford, and Jake Morris and co will be keen to test them from the off, and let that uncertainty fester.

Clare though, are still All-Ireland champions and should they get some of their walking wounded on the pitch, they will be a massive challenge for Tipp. This will go to the wire.

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