2022 Laochra Gael Awards

Willie Hayden

(Silvermines)

A Burgess exile in the parish of Silvermines for over fifty years, Willie Hayden has been a familiar face at many a G.A.A. gate for almost half a century.

His early career was with Burgess with whom he won three North intermediate hurling titles in 1959, 1963 and 1964, a 1959 North under-21 ‘A’ hurling title with Naomh Pádraig and a county junior ‘A’ hurling title with Burgess in 1964.

Willie moved from his native Carrigatoher to Ballinaclough, in the parish of Silvermines in the early seventies and later became involved as a gate-checker with the North division. He progressed to work the county gates under Martin O’Connor and later manned the gates for the Munster Council, under the stewardship of Council secretary, Donie Nealon, a role that saw him marshal the gates at inter-county and club grounds throughout the province.

He also stewarded or the Camogie Association, not only in Tipperary but also in Leinster, Connacht, and Munster. He is still a familiar site on the gates of G.A.A. grounds of Tipperary.

Liz Howard

(Burgess)

Liz Howard was born into a strong G.A.A. family. Her father, Garrett, won 5 All-Ireland senior hurling medals, 3 with his native Limerick and 2 with Dublin. Her maternal granduncle was Frank McGrath.

She and her siblings were born in Deerpark, Carrick-on-Suir. Later the family moved to Clare, where she, and her sisters, Pat & Jo, started a camogie club in Feakle. Both Liz & Joe played for Clare and Tipperary.

Liz won a county championship with Roscrea, a Munster championship with Tipperary, as well as the inaugural National League in 1977. She joined the Celtic Club in Dublin, winning 2 club championships and 2 Leinster junior championships in the 1970s.

She served as PRO for the Camogie Association and as National Fixtures Secretary for a spell. When the Sunday Game commenced on television, she broke new ground being the first analyst for both hurling and football, and she did it for three years. In 1982 she was the first female to be elected Tipperary G.A.A. PRO and she held the position for a number of years. In 2006 she was elected President of the Camogie Association in which she focused on the development of the game and the raising of its profile.

Liz has served on National G.A.A. committees, including Policy and Planning, Presentation and Awards, which she chaired, and Increased Participation, which set the groundwork for the integration of all three Gaelic Associations. integration of all three Gaelic Associations.

In 2007 Liz was selected as Tipperary Person of the Year by the Tipperary Association, Dublin. She was selected as Sport Ireland, Volunteer of the Year, in 2009. Later, she was appointed to Sport Ireland Anti-Drugs Disciplinary panel. In her working life, Liz had a long and successful career in Aer Lingus as ground and cabin crew before moving to human resources, where she trained and specialised in all aspects of recruitment. Later she was manager of the cabin crew on the European Operation.

A passionate Tipperary supporter, her motto is: ‘Move on: Tipperary is bigger than any of us!’

Deirdre Lane

(Lorrha)

Deirdre Lane of Corrigeen, Lorrha had a distinguished camogie career with club and county.

When the Lorrha Camogie Club was founded in March 1967, the fifteen-year-old was both treasurer and captain. During her years with the club, she won a county juvenile title and Ann Frazer Cup.

After the club disbanded, Deirdre joined Thurles for a year and won a Munster senior club title in 1971. She travelled to New York with the club in 1972.

She joined Celtic Club, Dublin in 1973 and won 6 Dublin championships and 8 leagues. Ironically, Celtic’s quest for 5 in a row in 1980 was ended by UCD who were managed by two Tipperary men, Cormac Bonner and Eamonn O’Shea. She captained Celtic to victory in the All-Ireland seven-a-side in 1977 and 1982 and was awarded Player of the Tournament in 1977.

Deirdre played with Tipperary from 1967 to 1984, winning Munster medals in 1969 and 1978, a National League medal in 1977, and was centre-back in 1979, when Antrim beat Tipperary by 2-3 to 1-3 in the All-Ireland final. In 1984 at centre-forward, she captained the Tipp team that was defeated in the All-Ireland final by Dublin.

From 1970 onwards, Deirdre played with Munster and won interprovincial medals in 1980 and 1982. In 1979 and 1984 she was awarded Tipperary Camogie Sports-star of the Year.

In 1985 Tipperary woman, Kathleen McDonagh, invited Deirdre to play with the New York team and they won the North American championship.

Despite living in Dublin, Deirdre always maintained her connections with Lorrha and Tipperary. This balancing of dual loyalties resulted in her youngest daughter Alva moving to Lorrha for two years and playing camogie with the club, winning a Junior A championship in 2009. At the same time her daughter Orlaith won minor and senior All Irelands with the Dublin Ladies football team.

In later years Deirdre has been very involved with coaching and mentoring in all codes in her local club Na Fianna, Glasnevin.

Tess Moten

(Roscrea)

A passionate supporter of Gaelic games in Tipperary, Tess Moloney Moten is a familiar figure to all associated with Roscrea and Tipperary camogie.

Tess began her illustrious career with Roscrea in 1950 and, in 1952 at the age of fourteen years, was picked to play for Tipperary. During her time with the county, she won six Munster medals and six inter-provincials, as well as eleven county championships with Roscrea.

Indeed, Roscrea was the only club in North Tipperary for about twelve years and dominated the camogie scene at county and inter-provincial levels, winning six county finals in a row, a hugely impressive achievement.

As well as dominating the game with Roscrea in the county, Tess also played an instrumental part in organising celebrations in connection with the Camogie Centenary Year in 2004.

Roger Mounsey

(Toomevara)

Roger Mounsey has a distinguished record with Toomevara G.A.A.

He was first noticed in 1953 when the club won the Conway Cup. He progressed to a North minor title in 1954. The following year was a glorious one, when he showed his brilliance as a goalkeeper when Toomevara won the North intermediate championship and went on to county honours with victory over Solohead. His long minor career only came to an end in 1956 with another North title only to fail against a Jimmy Doyle ledThurles Sarsfields in the county final.

By 1958 he was the established goal-keeper on the Toomevara senior team, when the club took their first North senior title since 1946, only to go down to Thurles Sarsfields in the county final. There was revenge in 1960 when, after winning the North final in a canter, Toomevara got the better of Sarsfields in a comprehensive win, 3-15 to 2-9.

Another North title in 1961 was followed by defeat by their nemesis in the county final. A third North final in a row was won in 1962.

In the meantime, Roger had come to the notice of the county selectors when he was called into the senior panel in 1959 as sub to Terry Moloney. He continued in the role, winning an All-Ireland medal in 1961 and a second in 1962 before taking over as goalkeeper in 1963, when Tipperary went down sensationally to Waterford in the Munster final.

Roger continued to play with Toomevara until 1970 and later became very involved with the promotion of camogie in the club.

T.F. Stapleton

(Borris-Ileigh)

T. F. Stapleton has been a major figure in Borris-Ileigh G.A.A. for a long time.

His playing career had its first success in 1962 with a North Uunder-15 1/2 title, followed by an under-16 1/2 the following year. He progressed to North and county titles at under-21 level in 1969.

He won 5 North senior titles in 1972, 1973, 1976, 1981 and 1983. The last two years also brought county honours. He progressed to administration and was club secretary for three years, 1986-1989, During his reign Borris-Ileigh won another county title in 1987 and went on to win an All-Ireland club title.

T. F. was a selector when the club won North and county minor titles in 1985, and North and county under-21 titles in 1987, as well as a North under-21 in 1988.

T. F. had a distinguished refereeing career from 1986- 2009, when he was recognised for his service to the North Board. He has represented his club on the County Board since 1999 and has been club co-ordinator of the County Draw since its inception.

Tony Tierney

(Nenagh Eire Og)

Tony Tierney first came to prominence with Nenagh Eire Óg in the early 1950s. He was goalie on the team that ended a 42-year famine in 1957 with a North senior hurling title.

He played centre-field when the success was repeated in 1964. He continued to play a part in the club’s senior victories when he was involved as a selector in the club’s next success in 1992.

Tony was no stranger to multi-tasking and served as both player and selector on Nenagh’s 1973 senior hurling team. He was also an under-21 selector in 1965 and a minor hurling selector in 1966.

Tony always loved the game of hurling and to give back something to younger players. He has very fond memories of his days as a mentor with the Silver Street team in the 1960s in Nenagh’s legendary street league.

While he also served as a committee member with Nenagh Eire Óg, it will be for his achievements as a player and selector that he will be most remembered for. He was a proud spectator at Cloughjordan recently when Nenagh won their tenth North senior title.