Short border, long history: Storied Tipperary-Galway rivalry

RTÉ News​

4 hours ago

It's not the longest border. Only 30km or so. And by land it measures just 12 metres, the width of the Portumna swing bridge.
But there is no older inter-county hurling rivalry than Galway and Tipperary.
The counties met in the very first All-Ireland final in April 1888 (actually the 1887 championship) when Tipp's representatives Thurles beat Galway's Meelick by 1-01 to no score in Birr, then known as Parsonstown.
The teams had 21 players each and referee Patrick White presumably had little choice but to throw in the red sliotar and let the game flow. Though most reports reckon he sent off Meelick's John Lowry after an opponent retired injured, in the days before substitutes. The goal was scored by either Tommy Healy or Jim Healy.
We salute & remember the Tipperary team (rep by Thurles) that defeated Galway (rep by Meelick) at Birr on this day, Easter Sunday, April 1st 1888 to win the 1st All Ireland Hurling Final which completed the 1887 Championship. Photo: Tipperary's GAA Story by Canon Philip Fogarty pic.twitter.com/faAEAFwlwW
— Tipperary GAA (@TipperaryGAA) April 1, 2018
Travelling downriver from where Galway, Offaly and Tipperary meet – near Shannonbridge - Meelick-Eyrecourt, Killimor (authors of hurling's first rules in 1869) and Portumna GAA clubs all draw players just across the Shannon from Tipperary, until it widens into Lough Derg. On the east bank is Lorrha-Dorrha, home of Tony Reddin (actually a Galway man, who only transferred aged 28), Ken Hogan and Patrick 'Bonner' Maher.
It was Galway's misfortune to be located in a province they dominated - Mayo (1909) and Roscommon (1913) won one Connacht SHC each when it was contested - and deprived of championship clashes with neighbours Clare and Offaly by those counties' lack of provincial success. Offaly didn't win Leinster until 1980.
Galway's border with Clare is nearly three times as long as that with Tipperary but over the many decades that the Tribesmen played a maximum of two championship games per year, Clare didn't emerge from Munster too often. So both counties' 'anTippathy' grew stronger instead.
It took the Tribesmen 36 years and nine (mostly semi-final) defeats before getting off the mark against Tipperary. Having lost the 1922 semi, delayed by the civil war until August 1923, Galway gained revenge at the same stage a year later (3-01 to 2-03), only to lose the 2024 final to Dublin, three months after beating Limerick for their first title. Tipp got their own back in the '25 decider, concluding what was to be the first epic trilogy between the counties on a 5-06 to 1-05 scoreline.
There were only six more meetings over the subsequent 62 years and Tipperary won them all, including the All-Ireland of 1958, which was Galway's last final appearance until 1975, by which time the Premier had waned as a force in Munster.
They also met in the 1961 Munster semi-final after what proved Galway's only victory (over Clare) in a decade-long relocation to the province. Leinster has proved a relatively happier hunting ground. If the Ulster hurling championship gets going again maybe they could make a guest appearance and complete the set?
Galway had re-emerged as a force by the middle of the next decade and contested three All-Ireland finals in a row from 1979-81, bridging a 67-year gap in 1980, when the West was awoken. Tipp native Micheal 'Babs' Keating had been Galway coach to Farrell's trainer in '79 but was not part of the victorious setup the following year.
The men in maroon were again runners-up in 1985-86, to Offaly and Cork, and were waiting hungrily after Tipperary captain Richie Stakelum declared 'The famine is over' in Babs' first championship season in '87.
It was in Munster anyway. But though Nicky English scored the first point just nine seconds into the All-Ireland semi-final, Galway immediately hit back with a goal from Martin Naughton and led by four at half-time. Two majors from Pat Fox had Tipp ahead going into the closing stages but, following a contentiously disallowed English point, a goal from Éanna Ryan put Galway back in front and Noel Lane sealed the 3-20 to 2-17 victory.
It was third time lucky on the big day as Galway beat Kilkenny by six, Lane again finding the net, and they defeated Offaly in the '88 semi-finals to seal a fourth consecutive final appearance. Their opponents were Tipp, playing their first final since 1971.
Defences dominated this time, English and Fox being kept quiet as Galway edged it 1-15 to 0-14, and Lane scoring the sole goal in the final for the second year in a row. It remains the only time Galway have gone back to back.
Closing stages of the 1988 All-Ireland Hurling final
The rivalry had now been firmly rekindled. Babs felt his team had been roughed up in the final and publicly questioned Galway's tactics. Farrell bristled back. They met again in front of over 35,000 at Croke Park in the 1989 league final that April, Galway maintaining their superiority on a 2-16 to 4-08 scoreline.
In Munster, the Premier then made it three in a row against surprise finalists Waterford but controversy overshadowed the All-Ireland semi-final rematch with the champions.
The late Galway centre-back Tony Keady was the Hurler of the Year and had stayed on for a few weeks in New York after the All-Star tour in May. He played for the New York Laois club in a win over their Tipperary counterparts, and was reported and banned for two games in the Big Apple for playing under an assumed name - his brother Bernard's. When word reached Croke Park, however, the reigning Hurler of the Year was hit with a 12-month suspension for playing without clearance.
Galway were scandalised as it seemed Keady was being made a rare example of for a common practice. It later emerged that Tipp defender Paul Delaney had done the same thing but escaped a ban. Farrell threatened to boycott the game if the ban wasn't lifted but the GAA's management committee voted 20-18 to uphold the decision, Tipperary's delegate voting in Keady's favour but some of Galway's Connacht neighbours opted to maintain the suspension.
Keating described the subsequent match as "a nasty affair". Despite Keady's replacement Sean Tracey having a fine game, Galway were too fired up and referee John Denton sent off Sylvie Linnane and Michael 'Hopper' McGrath while John Leahy got away with a pull across Pete Finnerty, later admitting: "I was very lucky to stay on the field. I suppose the two of us bent the rules a small bit in our time. They were hard games." Finnerty reflected: "Nobody ever told John Leahy I didn't have a sister. Nowadays he might have been able to google it and find out'
Tipp won 1-17 to 2-11, Éanna Ryan scoring both Galway goals but English hitting eight points. The Premier had 18 points to spare on Antrim in the final.
There were further semi-final meetings in '91 and '93, Tipperary handing out a hammering on the way to regaining Liam MacCarthy in the former and a much-changed Galway getting revenge two years later. Then a seven-year gap to a first quarter-final and renewal of final hostilities in 2001: Tipp, managed by English, ended a 43-year wait for a final win against the Westerners, Mark O'Leary (2-01) and Eoin Kelly scoring seven apiece as they won 2-18 to 2-15, surviving a late, disallowed Kevin Broderick goal.
There was only a point between them in 2003 (Tipperary), two in 2005 (Galway) and one again in the 2010 quarter-final when Tipperary went on to stop Kilkenny's five-in-a-row bid in the final after edging an electric contest 3-17 to 3-16. Tipperary did have nine to spare in a 2014 qualifier but that was only after a Seamus Callanan hat-trick spearheaded a late fightback from six down. Tipp were beaten by the Cats in a final replay.
The next three years saw three classic All-Ireland semi-finals, each decided by a single point.
Substitute Shane Maloney won it for Galway with his first touch in 2015, taking a Joe Canning pass to make it 0-26 to 3-16, Callanan scoring 3-09 for the losers. Anthony Cunningham's men lost the final to Kilkenny by four points.
In 2016, Canning went off injured at half-time but Galway still led on the hour, before John McGrath set up sub John 'Bubbles' O'Dwyer for a goal and scored one himself as Tipp edged it 2-19 to 2-18. They beat Kilkenny by nine.
Here's the moment that decided ANOTHER #GALvTIPP classic! Joe Canning's late point sent @Galway_GAA into the 2017 All-Ireland Hurling Final! pic.twitter.com/TBqgrG3Ghc
— The GAA (@officialgaa) August 6, 2017
The following year was decided by a Canning wonder point (his 11th) five minutes into injury-time, Galway winning 0-22 to 1-18. They bridged a 29-year gap to All-Ireland glory in the final against Waterford.
Galway have won both subsequent championship meetings. A quarter-final in 2020 – Aidan Harte the unlikely late goalscoring hero after reigning champions Tipperary had had Cathal Barrett sent off – and another in 2023, when the Tribesmen were on top throughout but had to survive a late scare to win by two points after hitting 18 wides.
Their respective provincial displays to date make Tipperary favourites today but history tells us Galway will always raise their game at the sight of the blue and gold jersey.