Eimear Ryan: What might represent a positive year for Tipp hurling?

To add to the challenge, Tipp’s first two matches are against the teams currently sitting pretty at the top of the provincial table — and they’re away games to boot.

I quake to think of how Limerick will be feeling ahead of their Gaelic Grounds date with Tipp, having just experienced a powerful reminder of their own great resilience. Truly it’s the hallmark of a great team, to be able to play badly and still cobble together a win out of bubblegum and paper clips, like MacGyver making good his escape.

And victory is a hell of a drug. When a game is in its third act, and you can feel the narrative start to turn against you, and you’re tired — that’s when it’s hardest to stay psychologically strong. That’s when the memories of former losses start to seep in, like ghosts of Christmas past. 

But Limerick don’t have any monsters in the closet: nearly all their memories are of winning. And so when push comes to shove, they remain buoyant, probing, willing to try things. 

Whatever defeats they’ve had over the last few years — and they’ve been few — they can safely classify as anomalies, not inevitabilities.

Tipp don’t have that luxury, and in recent days I’ve been asking myself — what might represent a positive year for Tipp hurling? In some circles, even having this kind of attitude is blasphemy. We’re Tipp, the Premier County, the home of hurling, et cetera. Any year that ends without silverware is a failure.

Tipperary fans of this persuasion would say that Tipp should be All-Ireland contenders every year, as well as in with a shout at the provincial title, and not be meekly eyeing up the third qualifying berth in Munster as the height of our achievement. 

They’d point out that the two previous drives for five — Cork’s in 1945 and Kilkenny’s in 2010 — were stopped in their tracks by Tipp. But it’s eight years since Tipp’s last Munster title, five since the last All-Ireland. What can I say? I’m a realist. And these are my modest hopes for Tipp in 2024...

1. Resilience

It’s faint praise indeed to say that, each time Tipp have faced Limerick in championship in recent years, they have managed to bring their A-game — all without ever defeating them, mind. Famously, Tipp rose a gallop against Limerick in the 2021 Munster final, leading by nine points at the break; we all know what happened in the second half. A seven-point defeat at Limerick’s hands was not the worst of Tipp’s straight flush of losses in 2022. And last year, in a tense, goalless thriller in Semple Stadium, Tipp led for long periods and probably should have come away with two points instead of one. Tipp seem to relish meeting the champions, and usually manage a decent performance. However, the six-day turnaround to their meeting with Waterford in Walsh Park makes them vulnerable. If they can hold their nerve through these two fixtures, and grind out some class of a result, they have a two-week breather before hosting Cork in Thurles.

2. A spine

In the starting lineout, I mean — but yes, savage hunger and palpable desire are also required. Many positions on the team are still not stable: we still can’t really tell who will be at centre-back or centre-forward. In Barry Hogan and Rhys Shelly, Tipp have two good keepers, but are apparently still trying to decide who’s the Ali and who’s the Caoimh. We’re not even sure who will take the frees. We used to expect the league to settle such matters, but not anymore. Perhaps this is all by design, and Liam Cahill is just keeping his cards close to his chest, but a strong, settled framework — with clear roles for the now-venerable Cathal Barrett, Noel McGrath, and Dan McCormack — would be most welcome.

3. A return to space hurling

What struck me in the league was how stifled Tipp looked. Craig Morgan or Michael Breen would emerge with the ball from the full-back line, only to see no options up his own wing, and be forced to turn inward. Jake Morris cut a lonely figure at times, charging out from the full-forward line with three backs on his heels; with no support, often his only option was to strike over his shoulder. This isn’t the Tipp we’re used to. Where are the runners, the diagonal balls, and the pockets of space that the likes of Morris and Jason Forde thrive on? Though he’s on another sideline now, Eamon O’Shea, and his brand of hurling, is still an indelible part of this team’s makeup. In the league semi-final, Morris was visibly appreciative of the low, incisive ball from Dan McCormack that set up his first-half goal, but this type of ball has been in short supply — so far, at least.

4. Composure on the ball

The sheer amount of interference that players in possession have to withstand these days is eyebrow-raising. In an era when players are more skilful than ever, it has somehow resulted in a deterioration of touch. On perfect pitches last Sunday, outstanding players like Shane O’Donnell and Jamie Barron were struggling to pick the ball at times. Players are operating in a heightened sense of anxiety: they’re conscious that they have no room, that at any moment a hurley or a body is going to slam into them, and they only have half an eye on the ball. Tipp have never been short of stickmen: their composure on the ball will need to be their biggest asset this summer.

5. Points on the board

That’s it, that’s the goal: To avoid a repeat of the summer of 2022. Really, it can happen to anyone (except maybe Limerick): This is Munster, where nothing is guaranteed and everything is small margins and high stakes. Davy falling to his knees shows that. Maybe it isn’t quite fair that Munster teams get put through the wringer, as opposed to the relatively temperate canter that Kilkenny and Galway tend to have through Leinster, but the good thing about Munster is that every win feels like taking a major scalp. And sure, that number three berth would be lovely.