A Premier service
September 02, 2010For the second year running, the sides meet in the decider as they battle it out for the Liam McCarthy Cup and if this year's decider can be half as exciting as last year's we are in for one exciting match.
Kilkenny have been very impressive throughout the campaign so far even though they always look like they can step it up a gear, while Tipp have bounced back superbly from their surprise defeat to Cork in the Munster championship and have looked sharp ever since, culminating in the excellent display against Waterford in the semi final, when the Déise were brushed aside with relative ease.
This sets it up for yet another intriguing final between the top two teams in the country. Their decades old rivalry adds to the occasion and how it would give the Premier County a sense of joy to stop their neighbours from achieving the coveted four-in-a-row.
The search for tickets is well underway as supporters from both counties bid to get their hands on a coveted ticket to hurling's biggest showcase of the year.
Fans will come from all over to see this match and a mass exodus of Kilkenny and Tipperary fans are expected to travel from the U.K on the first Sunday in September.
One such man is Lorrha native Michael O'Meara, who has been living in London for the past 20 years, but still follows the fortunes of Tipp very closely.
Michael is well known in hurling circles as he lined out for the Exiles for many years, while he is still an integral part of the St Gabriels' side, who are the defending London senior hurling champions.
He is also the managing director of Lorclon Ltd, a civil engineering company that he established in 2006 along with fellow Tipperary patriot and Clonmel native Kevin Leahy.
Michael first travelled to the English capital as a raw 16-year-old in 1990 and like so many other Irish that headed over, he went in search of work.
For the first six years of his time in London, Michael made a name for himself playing with the Brother Pearses club and he soon became a regular on the London senior hurling team.
In 1995, he was part of the London team that captured the All-Ireland 'B' title and the following year, the Tipperary youngster helped the Exiles gain promotion to division two of the hurling where they faced such top flight teams as Cork and Waterford.
London's next big success came in 2005 when they defeated Louth in the inaugural Nicky Rackard Cup final and once again Michael was part of the side. An accomplished midfielder cum forward, the Lorrha native moved to the St Gabriel's club in 1996, winning two senior hurling championship titles, one in 1999 and the second ten years later.
Lorrha's and Tipperary's loss was certainly London's gain as the talented O'Meara consistently performed excellently whether it be for club or county.
Michael revealed that he did get the chance to don the Tipperary jersey at minor level and although like any other he would have loved the chance to win an All-Ireland medal, he is pleased with the way his GAA career has panned out over the years.
"I was in England when I was called onto the Tipperary Under-21 team in 1992. I use to travel home for the games, but unfortunately for us we were beaten in the Munster semi final by Limerick that year," said Michael.
"I had played underage with the club and even played a few senior games before I left. In 1996, I travelled over and back for games with the club and we reached the North Tipperary final that year. We had some great battles with the likes of Borrisoleigh and Toomevara those times."
Lorrha produced some excellent hurlers with the likes of Ken Hogan, John McIntyre and John Madden all representing club and county with distinction.
Despite running his own business alongside Kevin, hurling remains a massive part of Michael's life and he is eager to return to action having been sidelined through injury for the past few months.
"I love hurling. It's a great way of unwinding after work and forget about the trials and tribulations of the business. It's not always the easiest over here as there is such a massive turnover of players, but we have to keep it going regardless."
The fact that almost 75% of Lorclon Ltd's workforce is Irish shows that Michael and Kevin are keen to offer help to young people form Ireland travelling to the English capital.
"I know what it is like to move over here as a youngster. When things were going well at home, there wasn't as many Irish over here, so we relied on the Eastern Europeans to make up the workforce, but now we have more Irish on the books and of the 120-130 that we employ 80 of them are Irish."
Michael travels home to the majority of the All-Ireland finals and he will be present at Croke Park once again this year, cheering on the Premier County.
"I'm delighted to see Tipp back in the final. I thought they played very well against a Waterford side that are very experienced. Tipp seem to be coming at the right time this year and I think the qualifiers suited them.
"Shefflin will be a massive loss to Kilkenny, but I wouldn't at all be surprised if he played some part in the match. It will be very hard for a player of his calibre to miss out."
As stated Lorclon Ltd was established in 2006 and, since then, has worked with many blue chip customers on high profile projects such as the London 2012 Olympic Park and Docklands Light Rail Station Upgrade and Extension Works.
The company specialises in civil engineering, groundworks, rail and underground, mining, underpinning and general building work. With a team of experienced staff, the Wembley based company can complete any project efficiently and on time.
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