Tipperary champions Loughmore will undertake their sixth venture into Munster competition

Has hurling become the forgotten child in the GAA family? Gaelic football has its spanking new format, which has reinvigorated the game after years of decline. It has become watchable again. Hurling, however, trails in its slipstream, where problem areas aren’t addressed and complacency abounds.

The Football Review Committee (FRC) has done its job and done it superbly. The game was in crisis and Croke Park reacted with this high-powered committee under the baton of Jim Gavin, which came up with radical changes. The transformation has been remarkable, with referees now commenting on a culture divide between the two games. In all this hurling is the loser.

The FRC’s success has been widely praised but a few factors fed into that success. To begin with, there was widespread acceptance that football was in crisis. The 2024 championship was a particularly low point. The game had become unbearable; the best footballers were being suffocated by massed defences; attendances were dropping. The FRC faced an open goal in their reform efforts.

Secondly, the committee contained a lot of heavy hitters in the game. Apart from chairman Gavin the twelve-man group featured names like James Horan, Eamon Fitzmaurice, Donegal’s Michael Murphy, Colm Collins of Clare and others. These are heavyweights in the game and their views and proposals were always going to carry through.

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That’s not to deny that Jim Gavin superbly orchestrated the entire process, for which he deserves much credit.

Incidentally, and as a sidebar, for all his organisational ability to get things done, how did anyone think that Jim Gavin was a suitable Presidential candidate? As Dublin football manager he had this taciturn, deadpan persona; his after-match press briefings were cliched and humourless. Great as an organiser but how anyone felt he fitted the bill for a popularity contest like a Presidential race is beyond me.

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I digress. The football revolution has addressed so many areas, from the 40-metre arc to the two-pointers, the cynical foul to the head/neck collisions, the backpass to the goalie to the tap-and-go free, negative play, dissent and many more. It’s truly transformative.

Meanwhile, hurling remains neglected. There’s no attempt to address the thrown ball, the steps rule is widely flouted as is the ambiguous cynical foul rule. Rucks have become an ugly stain on the game and dissent is widespread. Head-high tackles appear to be left to the discretion of the referee, with widely varying interpretations. Ditto with the short puckouts.

But, of course, we’re told hurling is perfect, no need for change here. The chairman of the Hurling Development Committee, Antrim’s Terry Reilly, was quoted during the week as saying, “we don’t think we should be tinkering, the main structure is fine”. He goes on to admit that there is a problem with the thrown handpass but his solution is - wait for it - “referees need to apply the rules”.

Dear God! This has been the standard solution offered for years now and it recalls the quote that’s usually attributed to Einstein: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. It hasn’t worked because the present rule is unenforceable. When, oh when, will the penny drop.

Now, there’s a proposal coming to apply the football rules on dissent to hurling, only this time the penalty will be a 30-metre advance of the free instead of 50. Sounds to me like hurling being tagged onto the coat tails of football. The Gaelic Football Association continues to disrespect hurling.

Meanwhile, the local club scene may be drawing to a close but there’s unfinished business for our champion teams, with Munster assignments to be negotiated. Loughmore head to Ennis on Sunday for a semi-final clash with Banner champions, Eire Og. The Tipperary title holders are favourites but there’s an unknown feel to a game like this.

It will be Loughmore’s sixth venture into Munster competition. Their solitary provincial win was in 2007 when they beat Clare champions, Tulla, in the final, which was played at the Gaelic Grounds. Challenging weather was a factor in a low-scoring encounter (1-6 to 0-7). It was an arm-wrestle and nobody arm-wrestled better than that Loughmore side. Evan Sweeney got the all-important goal.

It was a memorable moment for the club. In earlier rounds they’d beaten Erins Own (Cork) and Limerick champions Adare. Unluckily for the Tipp champions, Portumna were then a major force. Joe Canning and company beat Loughmore in the All-Ireland semi-final (2-18 to 2-13) on their way to the title.

That Munster final win was 18 years ago but Loughmore have two survivors from the successful team. Ciaran McGrath played midfield in 2007 and Noel McGrath, who was then a few weeks shy of his 17th birthday, played wing forward and pointed a free. Longevity is hardwired into Loughmore players.

The club’s other four forays into Munster competition have been unsuccessful, though they always man-up to whoever the opposition is. After their first county final win in 1988 they lost the Munster semi-final to Patrickswell (1-12 to 0-9). The Limerick champions went on to win Munster before losing the All-Ireland semi-final to O’Donovan Rossa, who in turn lost the final to Buffer’s Alley.

In 2013 Loughmore also lost to the Limerick kingpins. This time it was Na Piarsaigh and the margin was tight, 3-17 to 2-18.
Then their most recent trips to Munster featured Ballygunner. In 2021 Loughmore lost to the Waterford champions by 2-11 to 0-12. That was a controversial one. Both McGraths, Noel and John, were red-carded in what to most neutrals were incomprehensible decisions. John’s card was subsequently rescinded on appeal. In Noel’s case the red card was upheld, which amounted to a double injustice.

Anyway, they were close to Ballygunner that day. John McGrath’s red card also involved the cancelling of a penalty at a time late in the game when Loughmore trailed by just a few points. It was a decisive moment that proved very costly.

Adding to Loughmore’s regrets was the fact that the Waterford champions went on to win the All-Ireland. They defeated Ballyhale Shamrocks in a dramatic decider, with Harry Ruddle striking a late goal.

It was altogether different when Loughmore and Ballygunner met last year. This time the Waterford champions were comfortable winners, 1-26 to 1-16. Subsequently they were left stunned by Cork’s Sarsfields in the final, something which adds spice to this weekend’s rematch between the sides.

Loughmore are fancied for Sunday’s game but it is a novel fixture, so there are plenty of unknowns around the event. Eire Og’s title win in Clare saw them bridge a 35-year gap so this is bonus territory. Shane O’Donnell and David Reidy are their best-known players.

How Tipperary sides fare in the various Munster championships will be watched with interest. Our grades are very competitive locally but do they match the standards in other counties? The coming weeks will supply the answer.

Finally, it was a night of celebration for Tipperary at the All-Stars banquet in the RDS. A rich haul of seven All-Star statuettes was capped off with the individual gongs going to Darragh McCarthy and John McGrath. A fitting finale then to a great year for the county.

It’s the sixth occasion the county has received seven All-Star awards - and it’s the maximum we’ve ever managed. In fact, seven has become a standard allocation for All-Ireland winners in recent years, apart from 2021 when Limerick’s seasonal supremacy earned an unprecedented twelve.

The cherry on it all was the individual awards. Darragh McCarthy had a season that mixed turbulence with triumph but his All-Ireland tour-de-force was just incredible. It sits alongside the greatest-ever final displays and for a lad of his age it was phenomenal.

John McGrath’s reinvention in 2025 was one of the stories of the year. Goals became the season’s currency and his seven bankrolled our success.

Our congratulations go to all the winners on a great night for Tipperary hurling.