Tipperary GAA Scene

By Jonathan Cullen PRO

FBD Insurance County Championships

Last weekend was a very busy one on the playing fields of the County and supporters who went along to the games were treated to some very entertaining fair in all the grades. See match reports and round-up.

The action next weekend will focus predominantly on the football side, with quarter finals in Senior, Intermediate and Junior ‘A’.

Tickets can be purchased on the ticket section of the Tipperary GAA website, while Tap & Go will also be in operation at each venue. Weekend passes will also be available for supporters who may wish to a number of games.

Club Planning Programme

The Club Planning Programme in Tipperary is now accepting expressions of interest from clubs who are interested in developing a Strategic Plan for the club. With the club season almost drawing to a close now is the ideal time to give this consideration. Trained facilitators from inside the county or outside are available to guide and support clubs through this process.

To get the ball rolling, clubs are asked to fill out and return the Expression of Interest form which was circulated by County Planning & Training Officer, Mark McLoughlin by Friday, October 18th.

Munster GAA Student Bursaries 2024/2025

The GAA have again reiterated their commitment to the ongoing educational development of its players and members by announcing details of the 2024/25 GAA National Student Bursary scheme.

The scheme is open to members of the Association who are attending a full-time Higher Education course (except those who hold another GAA-related or college scholarship/bursary) and who are active participants in their Higher Education club; to date the GAA has invested over €1.5 million in the time that its Bursary Schemes have been in existence.

The schemes are administered by the respective Provincial Councils and recipients will again be selected based on a range of criteria, including their playing, coaching or administrative commitments to the GAA. A number of awards in each province will be reserved for those excelling in the areas of coaching and administration.

Applications for the scheme will be considered by a sub-committee in each province; each bursary granted will be for €1,000/£800. Further information and application forms for this year’s scheme are available to download from provincial council offices and respective websites.

All completed forms should be returned to the relevant Provincial Council and the closing date for applications will be Thursday, October 10th.

Senior Intercounty players who were on their County’s Senior Panel in 2024 should apply for Bursaries via the Gaelic Players Association; further information at www.gaelicplayers.com.

Health & Wellbeing

Coiste Tiobraid Árann Thuaidh in association with Tipperary GAA Health & Wellbeing and Silver Arch Family Resource Centre are hosting a Gambling Information Event on Wednesday, 25th September at 7.00pm in the Nenagh Eire Og Complex.

Guest-speaker is renowned author, lecturer, and gambling Counsellor Tony O’Reilly. Tony’s impressive credentials include a top selling book called ‘Tony 10’ which tells the astonishing story of the postman who gambled €10,000,000 and lost it all, numerous podcast appearances, radio interviews, and TV shows.

The North Board are well aware of the difficulties addiction brings to families and communities we feel this is an excellent opportunity to promote the Health & Wellbeing side of the GAA. We are encouraging all clubs to send a representative to this talk. By doing so, your club will have the knowledge on how to sign post and raise awareness of gambling support services to your members and local community.

Semple Stadium to feature in new TG4 Series

Pobail na Páirce, a four-part series for TG4, tells the stories of Ireland’s most iconic and revered provincial GAA grounds.

Spending a day in the life of historic stadiums across the four provinces of Ireland on their biggest matchdays of the year, this series reveals the incredible logistics required to make GAA matches happen, the history of these magnificent amphitheatres, and the importance of these places in our lives, today.

Over four weeks Pobail na Páirce journeys across the country, pulling back the curtain on these homes of GAA to explore how these sports grounds are so much more than bricks and mortar; they have become the beating heart of our provinces. From the birthplace of GAA in Thurles’ Semple Stadium for the Munster Hurling Final, to the historic site for women’s sport in Navan’s Páirc Tailteann as the Meath ladies football team clash with Dublin. And from the home of the Ulster Final in Clones’ St Tiarnach’s Park during the fierce Ulster Championship to the beating heart of Galway GAA in Pearse Stadium for the Senior Club Hurling Final.

Along the way learning all about the past, present, and future of these revered stadiums from some of the figures whose greatest sporting moments occurred on these same pitches. Join Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Gemma O’Connor, Máire Ní Bhraonáin, Emer Gallagher, Gary Sice, Kevin Cassidy, Fiacha Ó Braonáin, Jamie Ó Tuama and current GAA President Jarlath Burns as they explore the importance of these stadiums across the country.

Whether they were central in the origins of the GAA, the leaps and bounds made by ladies' sport in Ireland, bringing Ulster GAA together or maintaining the spirit of the GAA at a club level, each stadium has a story to tell.

Produced by Below the Radar TV, with support from Northern Ireland Screen’s Irish Language Broadcast Fund, Pobail na Páirce will broadcast on TG4 weekly, starting this Thursday, September 19th at 9.30pm.

Michael Cusack Mosaic

An extensive refurbishment of Croke Park’s Cusack Stand is underway, as part of the overhaul the GAA will hero the vibrant spirit of volunteerism that drives our Association.

We are a volunteer-led organisation and the success of the GAA has always been down to the people who, through their loyalty, selfless dedication and commitment, have invested so much to ensure that for 140 years the Association has gone from strength to strength.

One of the flagship pieces envisaged is a montage made up of hundreds of photos of today’s volunteers, coming together to represent an image of GAA founder, Michael Cusack. This idea is for this to hang proudly in the Cusack Stand for many years to come.

We would love to spread the word and have volunteers submit their images soon!

Here is how:

• We’re looking for approx. 500 images of volunteers from our clubs at home and abroad.

• The image must be a head and shoulders shot of the volunteer against a plain, bright background.

• The image file size needs to be a minimum of 4MB (megabytes). A photo taken on a smartphone, for example, is sufficient.

• The person being photographed must be over 18.

• The person must give their consent for their image to be used in this piece of artwork. Consent is given by completing the document linked on the website page https://crokepark.ie/stadium/michael-cusack-mosaic, and submitting this together with the photograph to cusackmosaic@gaa.ie

• The image will be used for inclusion in this montage and nothing else.

We hope to get a great response from clubs and create something unique that represents our voluntary ethos and celebrated the contribution of our volunteers.