TIPPERARY GAA SCENE BY COUNTY PRO GER RYAN TIPP IN ALL IRELAND SENIOR HURLING FINAL Congratulations to the Tipperary Senior Hurlers and Management on their comprehensive victory over Limerick in the All Ireland Senior Hurling semi-final in Croke Park on Sunday last. All roads lead to Croke Park again on Sunday September 6th when Tipperary play Kilkenny in the All Ireland final. Kilkenny are seeking to achieve 4 titles in a row for the first time in their history. Cork (1941-44) is the only other county to win 4 titles in a row. Uniquely Tipperary have defeated all the other 4 counties which participated in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship on their path to the final so there is no doubting their status as kingpins of Munster. It will be the 15th All Ireland final between Tipperary and Kilkenny with Tipp winning 9 and Kilkenny winning 5 of the previous 14 encounters. Tipp have won 6 of the last 7 final encounters (1937, 1945, 1950, 1964, 1971 and 1991) with Kilkenny s win coming in 1967. However, history will count for little on September 6th as victory will go to the better team and there is no doubt that Kilkenny will start the game as favourites.   MONSTER ALL IRELAND FINAL DRAW Would you like to travel in style to the All Ireland Final, attend the gala banquet afterwards and go on holiday with the Tipperary team? You can do all this for ¬20 if you become the lucky winner of the Tipperary County Board Monster All Ireland Draw. First prize in this great draw will be 2 tickets for the All Ireland Senior Hurling Final, 2 nights accommodation for 2 in the Burlington Hotel on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September, 2 tickets to the gala banquet in the Burlington Hotel on All Ireland final night and a trip for 2 on the Tipperary team holiday which will take place after Christmas. 2nd prize will be 2 tickets to the All Ireland final and 2 tickets to the gala banquet plus accommodation in the Burlington Hotel on All Ireland final night and 3rd to 10th prizes inclusive will be 2 tickets for the All Ireland final. Tickets at ¬20 each or book of 6 for ¬100 are on sale now through GAA clubs, from Lár na Páirce in Thurles and from County Board officials. Tickets will also be on sale at the 4 divisional senior hurling finals this weekend. All proceeds from the Monster Draw will go to the team training fund. Preparing a team for an All Ireland final requires a lot of effort and cost and your support for this draw will enable the Board to cover many of these costs. We are very grateful to all our supporters for your generosity over many years and your great support for our county teams. We hope you will be able to give us your support again for this Monster Draw. If anybody can assist with selling tickets for the draw, please contact your local GAA club or Lár na Páirce (0504 22702). ALL IRELAND FINAL NIGHT BANQUET In keeping with a tradition of over 50 years, The Tipperary Association Dublin will host the Tipperary Senior Hurling team for the post match banquet in the Burlington Hotel on All Ireland final night.  The function will include a 5 course dinner followed by music and dancing. Tickets are priced at ¬70 each. Individual tickets or tables for 10 or 12 people may be purchased. Please contact any of the following numbers to reserve a ticket 087 2866018, 086 2550073 or 087 6376663. All tickets must be paid for in advance. Payment should be sent to Pat Ryan, Honorary Treasurer, Tipperary Association Dublin, 11 Foxfield Grove, Raheny, Dublin 5.   DIVISIONAL SENIOR HURLING FINALS While the county is becoming gripped with the All Ireland build-up, this weekend is a very important one on the club hurling scene with the four divisional senior hurling finals being played (see fixtures in this newspaper for times and venues). In the South and West there is a familiar feel to the pairings with Killenaule defending their title against Mullinahone and Clonoulty Rossmore defending their title against Cappawhite. However in the North and Mid Divisions there are 2 novel pairings with Portroe making their first ever final appearance against Nenagh Éire Óg and Upperchurch Drombane also making their first ever final appearance against defending champions and neighbours Drom and Inch. They are all attractive games and we wish all clubs involved the best of luck as we do the Divisional Boards for the highlight of their hurling championship year.   DAN BREEN CUP  COUNTY SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP The four losing divisional finalists will join Ballybacon Grange, Borris-Ileigh, Carrick Swans, Golden Kilfeacle, Knockavilla Donaskeigh Kickhams, Loughmore Castleiney, Thurles Sarsfields and Toomevara in the draw for the first round of the Dan Breen Cup which will be made at the County CCC Meeting on Monday August 24th.  SEAMUS O RIAIN CUP The two remaining Seamus O Riain Cup quarter finals will be played this Saturday August 22nd. Kildangan v J.K.Brackens will be played in Toomevara at 7.00pm and Boherlahan Dualla v Lorrha/Dorrha will be played in Dolla at 7.00pm. Extra time will be played in both games in the event of a draw. The winners will join Kilruane MacDonaghs and Roscrea in the semi-finals, the draw for which will take place at the County CCC meeting on August 24th. COUNTY SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP Defending champions Galtee Rovers, Fethard, Killenaule and Moyle Rovers have qualified for the county senior football championship quarter finals. These four teams will be joined by the four divisional winners. If one of the above mentioned four wins a divisional championship, they will go straight to the semi finals. BRENDAN CUMMINS RECORD NUMBER OF GAMES FOR TIPP Congratulations to Brendan Cummins on playing his 55th senior hurling championship game for Tipperary against Limerick last Sunday. In doing so he set a new record surpassing the 54 games played by John Doyle between 1949 and 1967.   JACKIE CAHILL WINS MCNAMEE AWARD Congratulations and well done to Tipperary journalist, Jackie Cahill, who won the McNamee National Media Award for his interview with Niall Gilligan, Clare hurler. The interview provided an insightful look into the demands faced by inter-county players but also reveals the enduring passion for playing for your county in the heat of the championship. Combining a career as a top class GAA player and a businessman in these recessionary times reflects the extraordinary commitment of the top hurlers and footballers and this was captured brilliantly in this article. The McNamee Awards are the GAA National Communication and Media Awards and are named after the late Pádraig McNamee, former President of the G.A.A., Chairman of the GAA Commission (1969-1971) and member of R.T.E. authority.  They are presented annually in recognition of outstanding contributions made by individuals in the area of media and communications. TIPPERARY SUPPORTERS CLUB GOLF CLASSIC The Tipperary Supporters Club are holding a golf classic in the PGA National Golf Club at Palmerstown Estate (outside Naas on the N7 to Dublin) on Friday July 4th to raise funds for the Tipperary Senior Hurling team. Teams of 4 cost ¬700 and tee sponsorship is also available from ¬100. Please contact John Tierney by email at [email protected] or by phone on 01 6217880 or 087 6821398 for further details.   NENAGH ÉIRE ÓG OVER 40S HURLING LEAGUE The over 40s league organised by the Nenagh Éire Óg club was one of the better events to come to the attention of the GAA Scene recently. The brainchild of All Ireland senior hurling medallist, Conor O Donovan, the league attracted widespread interest in the town over the last couple of months and culminated with an attendance of several hundred people in MacDonagh Park, Nenagh, for the finals on Tuesday August 11th.  Well done to all concerned for organising it. 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 Ger Ryan at 086-8149146 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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