The GAA History Committee and guests celebrate the Association’s 140th anniversary at Hayes’s Hotel in Thurles last Friday, from left: Simon McKay (descendant of GAA founder), Cian Murphy, John Arnold, Richard McElligott, John Doyle (Tipperary Central Council delegate), Dónal McAnallen, John McKay (great grandson of GAA founder John McKay), Damian White (Chairperson of GAA History Committee), Jack Halley (Hayes’ Hotel), Ger Ryan (Chairperson, Munster GAA), Hugh Maloney (descendant of GAA Vice President Frank Maloney), Tom Hunt, Michael Foley, Murtagh Brennan (CEO, Tipperary GAA)

Tipperary GAA Scene

FBD Insurance County Championships

Congratulations to Burgess who claimed the County Junior ‘B’ Football title thanks to a hard earned victory over Rosegreen last Saturday in the Ragg.

AIB Munster Club Championships

Tipperary had two teams in Munster club hurling quarter final action last weekend.

On Saturday, Junior ‘A’ champions Moyle Rovers hosted Kerry’s Kilgarvan in Ardfinnan. The Tipp champions would have gone in to this game well in the knowledge that anything less than a 100 percent performance may not be good enough. To their credit Moyle Rovers really did bring their ‘A’ game as they proved to be far too strong for their opponents, even without the services of the injured Stephen Quirke.

Moyle Rovers will play Cork’s Russell Rovers on November 16th in a Cork venue.

On Sunday in Newcastle West, the Tipperary Premier Intermediate hurling champions Cashel King Cormacs got their Munster Intermediate hurling campaign underway with a quarter final clash against the host club.

And, It took a late, late blast of scores to see Cashel through. Cashel played in bursts and will hope that the cobwebs are now gone after a three week break since their win in the county final on October 13th. The West Tipp men will now play Kerry senior champions Abbeydorney of Kerry on Sunday, November 17th at a venue yet to be decided.

This Sunday, it’s the turn of Aherlow who will be in action in the Munster Intermediate Football semi-final when they travel to Fraher Field, Dungarvan to play Stradbally of Waterford at 1.15pm. Tickets are available on the Munster GAA website.

Senior Football Trials

The Tipperary senior football management have begun preparations for the 2025 season.

The management team want to explore all avenues to ensure they have the opportunity to look at players that have may have not made the panel in the past.

New manager Phill Ryan and his team will run an inter-divisional round of games, commencing next weekend. We are asking all clubs to put forwards players that have not played Senior football championship for Tipperary in 2024.

An email has been sent to each club secretary in relation to the above and outlines the process to follow for players who may wish to attend the trials.

GAA Memorabilia Fair

On Saturday, November 16th, this year’s GAA Memorabilia Fair will be held at The Dome, FBD Semple Stadium.

It will give you a chance to browse and search a large selection of match programmes, club histories, hurling, football, camogie, ladies football and handball publications as well as other G.A.A. material in the pleasant and spacious surroundings of the Dome.

Sales positions, free of charge may be booked in advance by contacting the organisers before November 12th. Admission for all will be €5, with accompanied children free. The venue will have disabled access, facilities for teas and coffees etc.

For further information contact: Seamus J. King, 0872246245 or Liam Ó Donnchú 0866036547. larnapaircemuseum@gmail.com.

GAA marks 140th anniversary of its founding in Thurles

The GAA celebrated its 140th anniversary with a special event in Hayes’ Hotel in Thurles last Friday.

It was in the upstairs billiards room of Hayes’s Commercial and Family Hotel on Saturday, November 1st, 1884, that the GAA was founded – when a group of thirteen people, predominantly from Tipperary, gathered to elect Maurice Davin as President and Michael Cusack, John McKay, and John Wyse-Power as its first secretaries.

The GAA’s History & Commemorations Committee gathered in the historic setting last Friday on the calendar anniversary of the formation date for a special lunch and then adjourned to the billiards room for a meeting.

Ger Ryan, Munster Chairperson and GAA Vice President, attended along with Tipperary’s Central Council delegate John Doyle and County CEO Murtagh Brennan. Also present was former Tipperary hurler Hugh Maloney who is a great grandson of Frank R Maloney from Nenagh who was heavily involved in the growth of the GAA in its earliest years and was its first Vice President.

On Friday, the GAA presented a specially commissioned commemorative hurley to current Hayes’s Hotel owner Jack Halley and then later adjourned upstairs for a meeting where in attendance was Patrick McKay and his son Simon – the oldest surviving direct descendants of the original GAA founders.

Patrick’s great-grandfather John McKay was from Down and worked as a journalist with the Cork Examiner, and was heavily involved in athletics, which led to him being a part of the group that was assembled by Michael Cusack in 1884.

The McKay family link had been lost until they were tracked down by GAA historian Dónal McAnallen and the family made a historic trip to Croke Park earlier this year where they met GAA President Jarlath Burns.

McAnallen and fellow committee member John Arnold have also worked on verifying long-held accounts in Tipperary of there being at least thirteen people at the meeting in Hayes’s Hotel and not seven as is usually referenced.

As well as Davin, Cusack, McKay and Wyse-Power, there were JK Bracken, JP Ryan and Thomas St George McCarthy. In addition, there was John Butler, Michael Cantwell, Charles Culhane, William Delahunty, T. K. Dwyer, and William Foley.

Damian White, Chairperson of the GAA’s History Committee said: “It was important that on the 140th anniversary of our foundation that there was an official GAA presence in Hayes’s Hotel. It was an honour and privilege to be there in the hotel and especially to be able to meet in the billiards room upstairs., One of our group, Dr Tom Hunt called it the most important room in the history of Irish sport – and he is right.

“When you think of all that has happened in the history of Ireland and how many people have had their lives and their communities shaped by the GAA, we owe so much to those few people who gathered with their vision in 1884 in Thurles.

“The study of the GAA in its earliest years is now a part of the Leaving Cert curriculum and hopefully a new generation will learn about the debt we owe to those men and the dream they set forth from Thurles on a Saturday afternoon 140 years ago.”

North Board GAA Primary School Quiz

The 2024 North Primary School Quiz will take place on Sunday, November 24th in Kiladangan GAA Complex, Puckane, commencing 6.00pm.

Teams of 4 - €20. Schools are welcome to enter more than one team. The Quiz will cover 2024 season of GAA, LGFA, Camogie, Handball, Rounders, male and female players involved in Aussie Rules.

If you require further information or would like to confirm your school will attend, contact: Liam Hogan Liamhogan8586@gmail.com 0872725229 or Cora Moroney Coramoroney@hotmail.com 087 6388039.

Tip for this year know your inter-county referees!