Graeme Mulcahy insists hurling handpass issue is ‘all nonsense'
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Irish Times
20 hours ago
- Irish Times
John McGrath on storming back to form in a season to remember: ‘I probably was frustrated having not seen game time'
It was the redemption song of the summer. John McGrath, without a championship start for two years, finally got his chance in Tipperary's opening match against Limerick . The season ended with an All-Ireland. This wasn't a triumph of perseverance for a determined underdog. McGrath's first act came in the latter years of the previous decade and yielded an All Star in his 2016 breakthrough season and two All-Ireland medals. The first half of this decade was, until this summer, a fitful narrative of not quite firing properly, an undermining Achilles tendon injury and marathon, dual club campaigns with Loughmore-Castleiney. Yet for most of the hiatus, he was widely regarded as the best club hurler in the county. Subtext: his first All-Ireland came on a drizzly afternoon in 2011 when he lined out at centre forward for the Tipp minor footballers in their sensational takedown of a Dublin cohort, many of whom would go on to feature in the record-breaking senior team later in the decade. READ MORE Even during a media conference to announce his selection as the PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month award for July, the first question concerns how his return to football went, as Loughmore began their perennial trek down two tracks in the age of the FRC. 'Yeah, I thought it was going to be more complicated to get used to. But I suppose after having seen a decent few games, it's nearly the normal now. A few times I had to be running back wondering are you supposed to cross the halfway line, or have we enough lads up or down,' McGrath says. 'You pick it up quick enough, it was good now. Enjoyable.' Not that anybody on the call was going to dwell on football. McGrath's hurling resurgence began in Thurles against Limerick last April. A scattered few appearances in the league didn't sound any trumpets about the likelihood of his first start in Munster since the opening day in 2023. John McGrath of Tipperary with the PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month award for July. Photograph: Sportsfile To what did he ascribe the belated call-up? Did he see selection as reward for form? 'Maybe a little bit, I suppose, but I probably was frustrated as well having not seen game time in our last two league games. So, you're not really sure maybe where you are or that, but when Liam Cahill (manager) came to me and said that they were going to put me in, I probably put a huge emphasis on that game then for myself. 'I probably made it out in my own head to be a lot bigger than the first round of a Munster championship. Maybe that was just what I needed at the time and I got an opportunity maybe for any frustration I had built up, to let it off and release it.' Down went the marker. He worked like a maniac, hooking Cian Lynch at one stage in Tipp's defence. But back in his own lane, he finished the match with 2-1 – the goals as precise and predatory as any in his pomp. On he went. In the remarkable destruction of favourites Cork in the All-Ireland final, McGrath again contributed two goals in his haul of 2-2, and was fouled for the penalty that provided Darragh McCarthy with the third – to go with the one he scored against Kilkenny in the semi-final match. Tipperary's John McGrath scores against Limerick during this year's Munster Championship. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho It was some completion of Tipperary's rebound from two heavy defeats by Cork in the league final and Munster championship. In all, he shot seven goals in the championship in a campaign that has catapulted him into contention for Hurler of the Year. He is at a loss to explain Tipperary's dynamiting of Cork's six-point lead in a second half they won by 3-14 to 0-2. 'It's hard to say that anyone saw the second half coming in the manner it did ... but we took huge belief from that first half. The goal was a right sucker punch going in at half-time [but] we still felt we were really in the game. It's funny that you say it was quite a calm dressingroom – for a minute, I was nearly thinking, this is a bit too calm,' he says. 'I went over to one of the lads and said we need to kind of liven up here a little bit. But it's a credit to the lads that they were able to just stay that relaxed and focused and bring what came in the second half. 'I think the last words that Liam said before we went out – he said he was waiting for this. This is where he wanted to be all year. This is what he had visualised and he just said, 'go out and win the All-Ireland'. A lot of stuff after that is a blur. It was just a mad 35 minutes.' Mad season. Mad comeback – collective and personal.
The 42
2 days ago
- The 42
'In that stage of my Tipperary career, I needed to remind myself and others what I was capable of'
IN THE EXTENSIVE search to rediscover his top form, John McGrath doesn't reckon he tried anything too off the wall to get back in the Tipperary team. He was always tinkering with his approach, though. In the aftermath of a torn Achilles, which flared up on occasion since 2022, it was feared that the Loughmore-Castleiney star's best days in blue and gold were behind him. Indeed, prior to this year, his only championship start under Liam Cahill came in the manager's Munster debut with Tipp in April 2023. 'You do go a bit mad with it at times,' said McGrath, who has been named the PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month for July. 'The club form was probably one of the huge things that kept me going. In the back of your mind, you know it's there. 'You're trying to train extra, and maybe that's not working, and next thing you're trying everything to maybe recover better. 'It's funny, I saw very little League time, and it's not as if I was tearing up trees or anything in training either.' Did he have any sense that Cahill was holding him back for the Munster Championship? PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month for July John McGrath. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile 'No, nothing like that. I played a small bit, didn't see any action in our last League game against Clare or the League final with Cork. Advertisement 'You certainly have conversations with lads. Frustration, at times, not playing, being left out. Look, there's 37 or 38 lads, and a lot of lads are probably asking them the same questions. 'But no, there was certainly never anything like that we're going to hold on to him for championship. 'Maybe I got into a little bit of training form at the right time, and the lads took a bit of a chance on me coming into that Limerick game. 'They said we're going to put you in, you've been there, you have the bit of experience, so it just went well for me that day and kicked on from there.' McGrath consistently stood up in the biggest games on their route to All-Ireland glory, scoring a goal against Kilkenny and two each against Limerick, Clare, and Cork, where he also won the clinching penalty. The 31-year-old doesn't think he arrived with a different approach, just a 're-found appreciation' for being back involved in those showpiece days. He did put a major emphasis on that first day out against Limerick, though. Tipperary's John McGrath to the field before playing Limerick at FBD Semple Stadium. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO 'I remember Liam coming to me a couple of days before that game, and saying they were going to put me in. I put a lot of pressure on myself in that game. I probably made it out to be a bigger game in my own head than it actually was. 'The couple of previous years I had were on and off. Off more than on. In that stage of my Tipperary career, I needed to do something to remind myself and to remind others what I was capable of. 'Thank God it worked out for me a bit that day, and we'd a brilliant battle, but just to be back stuck in it, it's something you don't want to let go of.' In McGrath's own words, it was far from the best game he'd ever played, but he felt at the right level physically and departed filled with confidence. Off the back of a winless 2024, it was a sense he carried throughout the summer. 'We were losing games by double figures more than once, so it was just about getting back and being competitive. 'From the journey that we've come on this year, and where we've come from in the last couple of years, it's just been unreal. To be honest, it's hard to believe at times. 'I'm living in Thurles and you're going down the town and the flags and colour are still up and in some ways, it feels like a bit of a dream 'It's massively special and for something that you thought maybe wasn't going to come again, or maybe that at this level you were done, or weren't going to get to this level again, the satisfaction of it is just unreal.' McGrath admits there was 'an element of shock' in the manner that Tipp prevailed over Cork in the second half of the final. John McGrath celebrates scoring a goal against Cork. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO He feels everything started to go right for them, while the Rebels experienced the exact opposite when hitting the woodwork four times. The biggest satisfaction was the rare achievement of saving 'the best 35 minutes of the year' for the final part of the season. With that Celtic Cross in the back pocket, did McGrath's conversations turn to doing back-to-back at any stage during the celebrations? 'As the year ticks on and it gets into the winter, those sorts of thoughts will be coming to lads. You certainly don't want to just win one and go away for a couple of years again. 'Like Tipp, we want and aim to be very competitive every year. That's not always going to lead to winning Munster Championships or All-Ireland Championships or League finals, but on any given year, Tipp should feel that there's a real chance. 'It's probably for a couple of weeks and months down the line when that kind of talk starts up. We wanted to enjoy the year we had and to celebrate that when we had the chance.'
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- RTÉ News
On This Week: Phil Lynott immortalised just off Grafton Street
On This Week: Irish Moments from History (18th - 24th August) Welcome to On This Week, where we delve into the standout stories from the years gone by, featuring standout news stories, major sporting events, and pop culture highlights that helped shape Irish life. Here's your dose of Irish nostalgia from 18th - 24th August. This Week In Irish News 1995: Microsoft launch Windows 95 for PCs Microsoft launched Windows 95 in Ireland, a new operating system designed to make computers easier to use for consumers. A worldwide launch saw great fanfare as the operating system improved navigation, multimedia use, and internet access. Windows 95 was manufactured in Ireland for distribution across Europe. For £70, demand for it was steady, and it sold out quickly in retailers. 2024: Carlow man crowned Supreme World Ploughing Champion Eamonn Tracey from Carlow has been crowned Supreme World Ploughing Champion at the 69th World Ploughing Contest in Tartu, Estonia's second city. It marked his third successive victory in the Conventional Class. Jer Coakley, from West Cork, also returned home with glory after storming to victory as Reversible World Ploughing Champion. This Week In Irish Sports 1984: Liverpool FC pay a visit to Dublin Liverpool football club visited Dublin to play a friendly against Home Farm, which featured players selected from the League of Ireland. Fans were out in force at Dublin Airport to greet the team, which included players like Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish, and Alan Hansen and is considered one of the club's greatest teams. Rush was awarded a Player of the Year award by the Dublin branch of the Liverpool Supporters Club. Liverpool would go on to win the match 3 - 0. 2018: Limerick hang on to end 45 years of pain Limerick won its first All-Ireland hurling title since 1973, surviving a valiant comeback from defending champions Galway to secure the title. The game exploded into life in the final 10 minutes as Galway cut a 68th-minute eight-point deficit to just one in injury time. But Limerick dug deep to win in front of a full house in Croke Park. This Week In Irish Entertainment 2003: Red Hot Chili Peppers rock Slane Two years after playing support to U2, Red Hot Chilli Peppers headlined a sold-out show at Slane Castle in Co Meath. The band promised to return at their last gig in Slane and did so in front of an 80,000 crowd. They were supported by the Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, PJ Harvey, Feeder, Morcheeba, and Halite. The concert saw music fans travel from all around Ireland and abroad to enjoy the lineup. 2024: Half a million tune in to see Rose of Tralee crowned Over half a million viewers tuned in to watch New Zealand Rose Keely O'Grady crowned the 2024 International Rose of Tralee. It was the second time a rose from New Zealand won the competition; the last time was in 1988. O'Grady was studying Speech and Language Therapy at Canterbury University when she won the 64th Rose of Tralee festival. The Co Kerry festival drew a peak of 599,100 viewers on RTÉ One, while an average audience of 543,000 watched the festival. This Week In Irish Culture 2005: Phil Lynott sculpture unveiled A sculpture of Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott was unveiled outside Bruxelles Bar, just off Grafton Street. Thin Lizzy was regarded as Ireland's first successful rock band, and hundreds turned up to witness the unveiling by the musician's mother, Philomena Lynott, and then-Lord Mayor Catherine Byrne. The life-size sculpture was sculpted by Paul Daly and commissioned by the Róisín Dubh trust, which was established to commemorate Lynott's life and work. What was Number 1 in Ireland This Week? 1970: 'The Wonder of You' by Elvis Presley The Ray Peterson cover became one of Elvis' most successful records in the UK ever and stayed number one in Ireland for three weeks. 1992: 'Rhythm is a Dancer' by Snap! The German Eurodance group's song was an international success, topping the charts in France, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, and the UK. 2000: Rock DJ by Robbie Williams Coming from his third studio album, Rock DJ became Robbie Williams' second number-one single in Ireland, the other being Millennium. Irish Celebrities Celebrating Birthdays This Week Elaine Crowley (48) TV journalist, presenter and newsreader who presents Ireland AM on Virgin Media TV Kevin Long (35) Irish footballer who plays for Toronto FC and the Republic Of Ireland Michael McGrath (49) Fianna Fail politician and EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Other Irish Trivia From This Week 1986: The three-mile human chain formed on Croagh Patrick 3,000 pilgrims participated in a 'hands link' at Croagh Patrick, creating a three-mile human chain from the base to the summit. Croagh Patrick is traditionally climbed by pilgrims on Reek Sunday every year, which falls on the last Sunday in July. This was a special pilgrimage to help raise funds for the Rehabilitation Institute, which was co-organised with Co-Operation North, the 32-county organisation dedicated to creating links between people in the North and South. Looking Ahead
