Cahill opens up ahead of Rebels return to Thurles

By Shane Brophy

Tipperary senior hurling manager Liam Cahill feels the structures are starting to fall into place from where the team can compete better on a more sustainable basis.

In an EXCLUSIVE interview with the Nenagh Guardian, the Ballingarry clubman spoke openly and honestly about a range of topics, both on and off the field, in an effort to inform the Tipperary public of the course he and his players are taking.

“I really want to identify and make people aware of it that we, the management and players know that there's an expectation, number one, but a standard that has to adhered to play for Tipperary, and when that standard isn't where it needs to be it does have a knock-on effect.

“Not for one second am I criticising supporters for not coming, build it and they will come as they say. The issue is, the little disconnect there is between the supporters and the team is probably through to a lack of us informing them enough of what is going on, and what is going on behind the scenes.

“Then people make assumptions about what is happening which sometimes is very unjust because, even in the first few minutes of this discussion, you can see where we are trying to go around the various aspects of what we need to go after to lead into having a very good competitive inter-county senior hurling flagship team, and making people in Tipperary and around the world that are Tipperary people, very proud of a where they are from and making sure that the brand that is Tipperary, and I hate getting too commercial about an amateur sport, the Tipperary brand is massive for worldwide, and we need to get more bang for our buck in relation to that brand.”

The early part of the interview, which can be read on pages 78-79, covered structural issues in terms of finance, with Cahill having a larger than expected role in terms of fundraising with the financial pressure the county board has come under in recent years, but he is fully supportive of the work the board officers are doing to put Tipperary on a sustainable footing, and is willing to do his part, including the refreshing of the Commercial Board, set-up in 2019.

“We are definitely going in the right way. The vision of what the people in the executive at the moment, under Jimmy, Murtagh & Eleanor, and the bolt-on people that are helping as well, from my point of view I have a lot of support from the Tipperary Commercial Board, the Premier Club, as it is known, John Tierney is a big driver of that, and has been for years, and the Tipperary Supporters Club, under the new stewardship of Michael Bourke and Billy Coleman,” Cahill said.

On the field, Cahill said that his first two years in charge hadn’t been the most smooth, particularly in 2024 when they failed to progress out of the round-robin stage of the Munster Championship, admitting he had gotten their preparations all wrong.

“In 2024, I felt we hadn't enough work done,” he admitted.

“I know the narrative is out there that with Liam Cahill’s teams, he kills them in training and has them flogged to death before the championship comes around; you cannot help but hear that, but the reality of it is, we've a lot of professional people in there. I just don't arrive to Dr Morris Park and get out of the car and say right lads, what will we do tonight. This is planned.

“It's just a case of getting it right, and it's to do with personnel as well. Younger players are able to take more than older papers and that's something that we are very aware of that we have to improve on is getting that balance right.”

Read full interview on pages 78-79.

One of the low points of Cahill’s term as Tipperary senior manager so far was the hammering at the hands of Cork in last years Munster Championship, which signalled their exit from the campaign, and Tipp will hope things will be different this Saturday evening when they welcome the Rebels to FBD Semple Stadium for a crucial round 4 game in the Allianz National Hurling League division 1A, the second part of a double-header with the senior footballers who take on London as they look to extend their unbeaten start to the campaign.