Nenagh’s Minogue elected Tipperary GAA Chairperson
By Shane Brophy
Jimmy Minogue became the third Nenagh Eire Og clubman to rise to one of the biggest roles in the county when he was elected chairperson of Tipperary GAA County Board at its annual convention at The Dome, FBD Semple Stadium on Saturday evening.
Minogue follows in the footsteps of Michael Gleeson (1888) and Frank Moloney (1907-1910) who were chairpersons of the board which celebrates its 140th anniversary in 2024.
The former North Chairperson from 2003 to 2006 has held roles on the county board as development officer, Munster Council rep and most recently was the vice-chairperson with the Nenagh man elected unopposed for the role to succeed Joe Kennedy who completed his three-year term on Saturday.
In reflecting on his path to becoming county chairperson, through his playing days and then as a coach, he paid particular tribute to club-mates Jimmy Morris, and the late Ger Gavin and Rory Flannery, whom he worked with during his seventeen years as secretary of the Nenagh Eire Og club.
“I believe with the experience I have gained during my lifetime involvement in the GAA, I can fulfil the role of Chairman to the required standard,” Minogue told delegates.
“I can assure you that the honour and responsibility which goes with it, will not change the person I am.”
Looking ahead to his term as chairperson, Jimmy Minogue admitted that Tipperary GAA face many challenges, both on and off the field, the latter including the completion of Dr Morris Park and the refurbishment of FBD Semple Stadium, both of which require significant investment.
“Raising the finance to complete these projects will be challenging for our county,” he said.
“But we can be ambitious in our fundraising targets into the future. I believe if these proposals are presented correctly, Tipperary people, both at home and abroad, will respond positively.”
On the field, Jimmy Minogue feels Tipperary are in a good place to build on the experiences of 2023 and in terms of the senior hurlers, feels “we can match the best” and believes that Tipperary are more than capable of emerging from Munster once more and had targeted a return to Croke Park as an aim for next year.
His successor as vice-chairman of the board remains up in the air after an embarrasing voting error which saw too many votes cast in the race between Roscrea’s Mark McLoughlin and Borris-Ileigh’s Michael Tierney.