TIPPERARY GAA SCENE BY COUNTY PRO ED DONNELLY ALL-IRELAND UNDER 21 HURLING FINAL Next Sunday is D-Day for the Tipperary Under 21 Hurlers as we travel to take on Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Under 21 Hurling Championship Final at Croke Park with a 2:00pm throw-in. Tipperary will be looking for their ninth All-Ireland title in this grade and the first since 1995 when Brian Horgan captained Tipperary to defeat Kilkenny on a scoreline of 1-14 to 1-10. Best of luck to all of the players and backroom team led by team manager Declan Carr (Holycross-Ballycahill) and his fellow selectors Martin Gleeson (Gortnahoe-Glengoole), Eamon Kelly (Kildangan), Ger Maguire (Lattin-Cullen) and Noel Russell (Carrick Swan). TICKET DETAILS Admission to Sunday's games at Croke Park will be by ticket only. The general admission price will be ?25 for adults and Family Tickets are also available in the Cusack Stand at ?5 for each child. There will be a ?15 refund for OAP's and Students with I.D. at the usual stiles in the Cusack Stand only. Patrons are asked to note that only the Lower Hogan and Lower Cusack Stands will be open. Tickets can be purchased online this week at www.gaa.ie or from the GAA Ticket office at 01-8658657. Ticket outlet locations on match day are as follows - GAA Ticket Shop, North Circular Road (opposite Gill's pub), Bishop's Palace on Drumcondra Road, Outside Martin Properties at the Dorset St. end of Whitworth Road & also at the junction of Ballybough Road & Clonliffe Road (opposite the Clonliffe House). The opening time for these outlets is 10:30am on Sunday. REDESIGNED ALL-IRELAND MEDALS The GAA has confirmed that this year's winners of the All-Ireland titles in Hurling and Football will be presented with a re-designed All-Ireland medal. The new medal design includes the newly redesigned heritage crest of the GAA. The original identity of the GAA stemmed from the first All-Ireland medal, crafted around 1910, it drew its inspiration from the Irish High Cross. On the new heritage crest the name, GAA, sits at the heart. The date, 1884 is a reminder of the foundation of the GAA and also of the founding fathers. The words, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael remain, etched within the cross to record the contribution made to the preservation of Irish, the oldest written vernacular language in Europe. The cross itself remains an iconic symbol of Ireland. REFEREES Following the Under 21 final on Sunday at Croke Park, Cork and Galway will contest the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Final at 4:00pm. Congratulations to Eamonn Browne (Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams) who has been selected to referee his first All-Ireland Senior Final having taken charge of numerous All-Ireland Finals at other grades. It will also be a special occasion for Eamonn's umpires, namely John Ryan, Billy Whitley, Padraig Carney and Mark Ryan. Finally, Johnny Ryan (Boherlahan-Dualla) was linesman and stand-by referee for last Sunday's All-Ireland Minor Hurling Final between Kilkenny and Galway. ALL-IRELAND HANDBALL SUCCESS Well done to Ballina's Ger Coonan & Martin McInerney on capturing the 2008 All-Ireland 60x30 Intermediate Doubles Handball title at Croke Park on Saturday last thanks to a 21-16, 21-18 victory over Dublin's Ian Griffin and Kerry Hennessy. Afterwards, Ger and Martin received a plaque and medals from Tony Hannon (Handball President) and Nickey Brennan (GAA President). COUNTY SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP There are two matches in the County Senior Hurling Championship on Saturday next. In Dundrum at 3:00pm, Eire Og Annacarty will play Cappawhite with Noel Cosgrove appointed as referee. Meanwhile at 5:00pm in Leahy Park Cashel, Killenaule take on Loughmore-Castleiney with Sean Bradshaw in charge. Note the change of venue for the Eire Og vs. Cappawhite game. SEAMUS O RIAIN CUP SEMI-FINALS Moneygall will play Carrick Swan in the first of the Seamus O Riain Cup semi-finals on Saturday September 20th at 4:00pm in Littleton. The second semi-final will now take place a week later than originally scheduled with Upperchurch-Drombane playing Kilruane MacDonaghs at Templemore with a 4:00pm throw-in. COUNTY MINOR "C" HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL Lattin-Cullen will play Moneygall in the County Minor "C" Hurling Championship Final on Saturday evening next at 6:00pm. Martin Ryan will be the referee. KILMACUD CROKES ALL-IRELAND SENIOR HURLING SEVENS The annual Meteor Kilmacud Crokes All-Ireland Senior Hurling 7's competition took place on Saturday last and was dominated by Tipperary clubs. Nine clubs from Tipperary began the day with hopes of eventual glory. In Group 1, Cashel King Cormacs finished third behind the eventual group winners St. Martin's (Wexford) and Cloyne (Cork). Cashel defeated Padraic Pearses of Dublin in their last match. In Group 2, eventual champions Nenagh Eire Og won out winning their three matches with a score difference of plus 41. In Group 3, Moyne-Templetuohy finished second behind Craughwell (Galway), losing out by 6-11 to 7-4 to the eventual group winners. In Group 4, Kilruane MacDonaghs finished level on points with Ballyhale Shamrocks (Kilkenny) and Kinvara (Galway) but the Tipperary side progressed due to a superior score difference. In Group 5, Portroe finished top with three wins in a group which contained the Garda College who finished third after a one point victory over Carrickshock (Kilkenny). Group 6 was won by Bishopstown (Cork) with no Tipperary club involved while Borris-Ileigh topped Group 7 with a 100% record from their three games. In Group 8, Toomevara finished top with an average winning margin of 20 points from their three group matches. Finally in Group 9, Upperchurch-Drombane defeated the hosts Kilmacud Croke by 5-9 to 5-7 but lost out to the eventual group winners Killeagh (Cork). And so, five Tipperary clubs contested the Quarter-Finals with Borris-Ileigh getting knocked out at this stage by Portroe on a scoreline of 2-11 to 2-5. The other Quarter-Final results were as follows - Nenagh Eire Og 6-8 St. Martins (Wexford) 4-13; Kilruane MacDonaghs 3-8 Craughwell (Galway) 2-9; Toomevara 4-10 Killeagh (Cork) 4-2. These results ensured that by 4:30pm on Saturday, patrons knew that a Tipperary club would win the title as all of the semi-finalists came from the Premier County. The semi-finals were extremely close affairs with one point the winning margin in both games. Nenagh Eire Og defeated Kilruane MacDonaghs by 3-12 to 5-5 while the second semi-final saw Portroe defeat Toomevara by 6-6 to 5-8. And so the showcase event of the day saw neighbouring club rivals Nenagh Eire Óg battled it out against Portroe in an exhilarating final. At half-time, there was just one point between the teams. In the end, Nenagh Eire Óg proved to be the stronger team finishing with an impressive score of 3-20 to 4-10. The Player of the Tournament was presented to Darren Gleeson, goalkeeper for the runners up Portroe. Well done to all concerned who made it a memorable day for everyone present from Tipperary, supplying all in attendance with some outstanding displays of Sevens Hurling. Check out the Kilmacud Crokes web site for more details and photos from the day at www.kilmacudcrokes-hurling.com. ST. JUDES JUNIOR HURLING SEVENS Rahoon/Newcastle of Galway led by Inter-County player Tony Og Regan defeated Ahascragh/Fohenagh another Galway Club in the Final of the St. Judes All-Ireland Junior Hurling Sevens. Knockshegowna were the only Tipperary club involved, reaching the Quarter-Final before losing out to Ballyroe of Cork. TIPPERARY GAA MEMBERS DRAW 2008 / 2009 The September monthly draw in the 21st Tipperary GAA Members draw for 2008 / 2009 will take place on this Friday evening September 12th at 10:00pm sharp in McCormacks Pub, Kilcommon. On the night, Christy Gorman will be presented with his winning cheque of ?12,000 after scooping second prize in the August monthly draw while ?400 will be presented to promoter Emmet Steede. There will be over 60 prizes given away on the night including - Two Cars, a Holiday, a Flat Screen TV and a Set of Jerseys while a draw for a lotto jackpot of ?5,000 will also take place on the night. MUNSTER COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS Friday September 19th is the deadline for Tipperary clubs who intend to apply for grant aid from the Munster Council for 2008. Clubs are asked to send their submissions to County Development Officer Sean Nugent by this date in order that they can be assessed and approved by the Development Committee. Application forms for Purchase Grant, Dressing Room Grant or Development Grant plus associated guidelines can be accessed from the Munster Council website at http://munster.gaa.ie. POST-PRIMARY SCHOOLS AGM The Post-Primary Schools held Annual General Meeting on Wednesday last September 3rd at Lar na Pairce in Thurles, presided over by County Chairman John Costigan in front of a large attendance which included Divisional Chairman and Secretaries, Sean Fogarty and TJ Egan representing Croke Park, Football Board Chairman Noel Morris and delegates from the Tipperary Post-Primary schools. The meeting discussed a number of issues including the multiplicity of competitions, the impact on club championships and the need to provide more all weather pitches. Noel Morris asked that all schools should look to enter a Gaelic Football team in the coming year. County Chairman John Costigan praised all involved in promoting Hurling and Football in the post-primary schools over the past year. The draws for the Tipperary Post-Primary Schools competitions were made on the night. A booklet will be issued shortly to all of the Tipperary schools. The following officers were elected on the night - Chairman - John Costigan; Vice Chairman - Francis Kearney (Scoil Ruain) and Joe Moran (Presentation Ballingarry); Secretary - Aidan O'Leary (Presentation Ballingarry); Servicing Officer - Tom Collum; Committee - Rory Purcell (Our Ladys), Eamon Buckley (Thurles CBS), Damien O'Brien (Abbey CBS), Liam Rice (CBS Clonmel High School) and Noel Fogarty (Our Ladys). JUNIOR SUPPORTERS PRIZE TO INTERVIEW EOIN KELLY Would you like to meet Eoin Kelly, conduct an interview with him and have it published in the programme for the County Senior Hurling Final? You could win this great prize simply by becoming a FREE Junior Member of the Tipperary Supporters Club. Just log on to www.tippsupportersclub.com and fill out the on line membership form. You will then get details of how to enter this great FREE competition. Anyone who becomes a Junior Member by Monday September 22nd can enter the competition so get on line now! 1983 ALL-STAR HURLERS The 1983 All-Star hurlers were honoured between the Minor and Senior All-Ireland Hurling Finals at Croke Park on Sunday last. The right half-forward on that team was Tipperary and Lattin-Cullen hurler Nicky English, winning the first of his six All-Star awards in seven years between the years 1983 to 1989. TIPPERARY GAA SCENE Information concerning all areas in the GAA will appear in this section in the future. If you wish to include any item of interest in future articles, please contact the County Public Relations Officer Ed Donnelly at 087-2055642 or via e-mail at [email protected] on or before 3:00pm on Monday. Visit the Tipperary GAA web site at http://tipperary.gaa.ie to keep up to date with all the latest news in Tipperary GAA circles. Tweet

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