In Tipp's corner
September 01, 2010Coming up to the one year anniversary of Kilkenny's cruel defeat of Tipperary at Croke Park, Tipp people will recall the moment more than ever which they were denied the sweet taste of All-Ireland success, and none more so than the players.
Once again the Cats will be favourites as they bid to retain their crown for a record fourth time, but they look certain to be without top marksman Henry Shefflin, whose cruciate injury looks to have handed Liam Sheedy's team a major advantage going into the biggest day on the hurling calendar.
One, and maybe the only Tipp man, who is hoping to see the Ballyhale Shamrocks attacker line-out in the black and amber this Sunday is Cashel business owner, Seamus O'Keefe and he explained why:
"I do believe that Tipp will beat Kilkenny," said O'Keefe. "I think there were a lot of bad decisions in last year's final and there is a huge incentive there now for the Tipp players having got back to the final.
"I hope Shefflin is playing," he added. "It would be better if the team were to beat Kilkenny when they are at full-strength and not have any excuses afterwards."
Seamus is clearly a confident man that his beloved Tipperary can upset the odds and overcome Kilkenny's challenge this weekend, but then again you're talking about a man that has nothing to prove when it comes to achievement.
As the Managing Director of Managh International Transport Limited, Seamus has enjoyed 25 years of successful business from the company's headquarters in Farranamanagh, Cashel and has also brought his son Stephen in to help him in the day-to-day running of it.
"We're 25 years established as a company, but have been in this business now for the bones of 35 years and have 45 working here," Seamus explained.
"We would do all types of goods all over Europe for our customers and travel to places like Spain, Portugal, France, Hungary and Poland; we used to do a lot of work in the north of Africa as well - - you could see us in any corner."
Seamus started off his career as a lorry driver from as early as he could and continued to drive for 15 years before he saw an opportunity to set-up his own business and took it.
He comes in: "Tipperary Transport were looking for someone and I decided to invest in a truck for myself. It grew on from there and we developed the business and now we're also doing a lot of work for Tipperary Co-op and the Kepak Group.
"I saw a niche in the market and just went for it. I'm a believer in the saying that 'work makes work' and at that time we started doing a lot of work around Spain.
"My first trip to Spain would have been 32 years ago now, believe it or not."
He added "Business is genuinely good here at the moment, namely because we have a lot customers here that we would have started with and have never fallen out with since.
"If you can stick through it (the downturn), I think it will come good again."
From one lorry, back in 1985, to a fleet of 40 at present, Managh International Transport has grown from strength to strength and afforded them the honour to act as one of the sponsors of the Cashel King Cormacs club.
In 1991, the club captured its first ever Munster senior hurling club championship crown and reached the All-Ireland final at Croke Park under the guidance of current Limerick manager, Justin McCarthy. During that time Seamus helped sponsor 'The Kings' and would do so for a total of ten years.
Seamus is as modest about his involvement in helping the club, as he is in talking about his own playing days with the Golden club.
Instead he prefers to talk up Tipperary - the team he supported from he was a boy - citing their 3-19 to 1-18 semi-final win over Munster rivals Waterford as the perfect way to enter into a final.
"It was a good win and one which they were seriously focused for," he said. "The strategy they used was very good and Lar Corbett gave a fabulous display of hurling, but the whole team was brilliant throughout.
"I think Liam Sheedy has done a very good job with those players and the Galway game was a great game of hurling. On that day it was just good hurling which won out in the end."
Many of the staff at Managh International Transport are Tipperary through and through. Donnacha Cody is one of these and feels that the team's performance against Davy Fitzgerald's Waterford was allied with what team county has been achieving this year at Under 21 level.
"It (the Waterford win) was a continuation of what the Under 21s have been doing," Donnacha stated.
"The seniors are mirroring that and it showed with their performance against Waterford in the semi-final. They are also probably timing their finish better than last year. In his book, Jack O'Connor talks about inches and fractions and that's what it's going to come down to.
"We believe we can beat Kilkenny and if you don't travel with confidence, you're giving yourself no chance. We all have to be singing off the same hymn-sheet, so to speak."
As for the well-publicised 'Henry Shefflin-factor', Donnacha views the injury to the multiple All-Star as having two sides which can be positive or negative for Tipp heading into the final.
"When you have a team down to 14 men they also seem to raise their game - more often than not actually," he pointed out. "But at the same time, if you were asked how to go about beating this Kilkenny team and you could take one player away from the team it would be Henry Shefflin.
"Instead I would point to the kind of effort from Lar Corbett the last day. He was truly phenomenal and if the Tipp players can mimic that then they will win the game.
"The game against Galway showed that their heads never drop and if you look back at last year's games between the two teams you can see that there are small margins, but at the same time they can be huge in the outcome of the game."
This Sunday all the questions will be answered. Tweet
