Tipperary GAA Scene

By Jonathan Cullen PRO

Electric Ireland All Ireland Minor Hurling Final

This Saturday evening, our Minor Hurlers will travel to UPMC Nowlan Park in Kilkenny where they will play Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Final at 5.30pm.

Having put in some very impressive performances through the course of the championship, Saturdays game will be their biggest test to date.

The panel have prepared very well for the game and will travel to Kilkenny well in the knowledge that they have every chance of claiming the title, but they will also know that anything less than a 100 percent performance from every player will put them under severe pressure against a very formidable Kilkenny side who will not want to be defeated on home turf.

Tipperary GAA are hoping that a large support will travel to the game and get behind our players for what will be a massive occasion for all involved. This game will be the last game for our inter county teams for 2024, so we are asking everyone to make one last push and get out your colours and head to the game.

Tickets remain on sale through the GAA website and also in selected Centra and Supervalu stores across the county.

Tipperary Clubs Draw

The 2024–2025 Tipperary Clubs Draw has been launched and tickets can be purchased from your local club, the Tipperary GAA office, or the Tipperary GAA website.

This draw provides substantial financial assistance to the clubs with up to 70% of every ticket going straight to the clubs. The new draw will have substantial cash prizes each month and is well worth the €100 entry.

Club Match Forecast Fundraiser

Moycarkey/Borris and Tipperary GAA have launched a new and very exciting fundraiser that is sure to be enjoyed by people right across the county and further afield.

Participants get the chance to predict the outcome of all the group games in the Senior and Premier Intermediate Hurling Championships which commence in just a few short weeks’ time.

There are cash prizes ranging from €2000 on offer and all for an entry fee of €10. You can enter via the links on both the Moycarkey/Borris and Tipperary GAA social media channels or alternatively by contacting any member of the Moycarkey/Borris GAA Club. The direct link to play is: https://moycarkeyborris.com/products/17678/purchases/new

Promoting Mental Fitness

As a leading national sporting and community organisation, the GAA recognises that it can play a real and important role in supporting the emotional wellbeing of our members and communities. We can do this by:

• Creating a culture and providing activities that support healthy bodies, healthy minds, and healthy clubs.

• Helping end the stigma that prevents many people from accessing the help they so need when in times of distress.

• Developing resources and tools that help our members better understand the building blocks of positive mental and emotional health.

• Develop partnerships with organisations and charities such as the HSE, the PHA, Samaritans and Pieta House that we can signpost and direct our members towards in times of need.

• The GAA’s Mental Health charter is a policy document that helps clubs develop a culture that supports and promotes emotional wellbeing. The resource is designed to reinforce the GAA’s GIVE RESPECT GET RESPECT initiative’s positive message and transfer it into the world of mental wellbeing. Available to download above, it outlines a club culture that is inclusive and open and one that holds dear the following values. Make sure your club adopts the charter.

• The GAA’s ‘Play in my Boots’ packs aim to de-stigmatise mental health by speaking to players in a sporting language familiar to them. Using the term ‘mental fitness’ to emphasise the positive nature of our emotional wellbeing, the packs also aim to remind the GAA population that maintaining mental fitness requires work and skill development in the same way as maintaining our physical fitness does.

These packs, developed in consultation with St. Patrick’s Foundation, Dublin, are designed especially for players from 12+ and coaches and contain useful information which can help us all work through the stresses we all experience, or maybe help someone else work through theirs.

The GAA and Samaritans have come together to offer greater emotional support for people who are struggling to cope across the 32 counties.

The announcement was the first of a series of initiatives undertaken by the GAA to make sure its members have access to emotional support in these challenging times. For Samaritans, working with the country’s largest sporting and community organisation offers the opportunity to extend its important work even further across the country and into every parish on the island of Ireland.

The partnership aims to encourage people who are going through a difficult time to seek help, while also tackling the stigma associated with mental health problems. In doing so, both organisations hope that people will access the round the clock support provided by Samaritans.

While Samaritans’ vision remains that fewer people should die by suicide, the charity’s callers do not need to be suicidal to pick up the phone. People contact the helpline about everything from depression, relationship and family issues to loneliness, physical and mental health issues, abuse, financial worries and much more.

Tipperary GAA Scene

If there is anything you feel should feature in this column going forward, feel free to forward it to pro.tipperary@gaa.ie