Tipp GAA would consider moving on from Morris Park

By Shane Brophy

Tipperary GAA CEO Murtagh Brennan said investment in new facilities is essential for the county to keep pace with all other counties in the race for success.

The Loughmore/Castleiney native was speaking in an interview on the Tipperary GAA Youtube channel with former All-Ireland senior hurling winning captain Brendan Maher to promote their ‘Win a House draw’, which has its second bonus draw this Friday, January 31st.

Any ticket purchased during the month, will be entered into a draw for a chance to win a package for Tipperary’s Munster Senior Hurling Championship clash with Cork at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on the last weekend in April. One lucky winner will receive 4 match tickets, a two-night stay in the Maldon Hotel with bed & breakfast, plus one evening meal for 4.

Entering his third year as CEO, Brennan revealed it has taken him much of his first two years to settle in into the role after succeeding Tim Floyd who was there for fourteen years.

“There is so much I thought I knew coming into the job that I didn’t know,” he revealed.

“I’d like to leave a real structure to the role. If I took ill in the morning and Brendan Maher had to come into replace me, I’d like a structure of what the CEO of Tipperary does from January to December, month by month, week by week, plus the officers and members of the executive.”

Brennan became CEO at a time when things both on and off the field were in a difficult place for Tipperary GAA, but he believes the structures at underage will bear fruit at adult level in the coming years, provided they have proper facilities to sustain the progress made.

“It’s the one thing I had in my mind when I interviewed for the job and when I came in and looking at the facilities we have now is a concern,” he said.

“I look at what we are doing at underage and the success we are having for the last three years, a Tony Forristal (U14), 2 Arrabawn’s (U15), 2 minor (hurling) All-Ireland’s, a Munster Under 20, so there are lots of good players coming through.

“They need facilities now to reach their potential so my legacy would be to get a strong, reality checked strategic plan that focuses on a number of streams, and among them are facilities development. I’d like to get that under way with a plan drawn up and a commercial model to finance that.”

Brennan revealed there are two options on the table with regard to the enhancement of facilities, the first is the expansion of Coolmore Morris Park in Thurles, provided they can get additional land to develop upto three more pitches, one of which would be all-weather.

If that cannot be done, he hasn’t ruled out selling Morris Park and moving to a greenfield site to develop a centre of excellence.

“We want something that Tipperary can be proud of and achieve everything in that space,” he added.

“Coolmore Morris Park is serving a purpose, but with the split season every team is arriving in there on January 1st and the weather conditions are always going to be bad at this time of the year, and it disappoints me that we have to get the begging bowl and ring clubs and schools, who have been brilliant.

“If you had a proper centre of excellence with six pitches, additional dressing rooms, dining area, we could have them all training on the same night and using the same buses.

“When something is more centralised, you can put a greater structure on team costs.

“We are running buses for all our minor teams, and they are training nearly all over the county as we have to bring them to different locations, and they cannot train on the same night as we don’t have two pitches available on the same night.

This is where the Win a House draw comes in all the funds raised from it will be ringfenced for facilities development, and not day to day running of the board, with protocols to ensure that is the case.

To purchase your ticket to win a beautiful 4-Bedroom, 3-Bathroom, 121m² state of the art Semi-Detached home in Cashel worth €350,000 or €300,000 in cash, and also be in with the chance of winning our bonus prize for January,

go to www.winahouse.ie