Whatever about the present, the future certainly looks rosy for Tipperary after their minor hurlers retained their All-Ireland title in fine style last September. Borris-Ileigh's Brendan Maher was one of six players winning his second All-Ireland minor medal, and also had the honour of captaining the side this year. In a year when Tipperary once again failed to live up to expectations at senior level, the county's all-conquering minor hurlers wrote themselves into the history books when they easily accounted for Cork to retain their All-Ireland title. In what was the first All-Ireland minor hurling final to feature two teams from the same province, Tipp confirmed their superiority over the Rebels with a resounding 3-14 to 2-11 victory and in the process joined their great Munster rivals and Kilkenny at the top of the All-Ireland roll of honour on 18 titles. Having won just one minor title in nearly a quarter of a century prior to last year, Tipp have now won two in the space of 12 months and this has inevitably given rise to the hope that senior success will follow suit. It also speaks volumes for the county's excellent underage structure which has produced successful under 14 and 16 teams in the past couple of years as well. "We're getting a bit of consistency now at underage level which wasn't happening a few years ago. The one-off successes are a thing of the past," says Tipperary's All-Ireland winning minor captain Brendan Maher. "There's great work being done at underage level and hopefully it will lead to senior success in the next few years. The Tipp under 16s won an All-Ireland title this year, the under 14s were in the Tony Forristal final and obviously the minors had another great year as well." Brendan was one of six players to win his second All-Ireland minor medal, the other survivors from last year being his midfield partner Noel McGrath, full back Padraig Maher, wing back Michael Cahill, wing forward Seamus Hennessy and corner forward Michael Heffernan. And the hugely promising Borris-Ileigh youngster, who also played at corner back on the Tipperary under 21 team which lost to Cork this year, has no problem admitting that this success was more satisfying that last year's. "Whereas we won it through the backdoor last year after losing to Cork in the Munster final, we went through this year unbeaten and that made it all the sweeter. Apart from the games against Cork (Munster final) and Kilkenny (All-Ireland semi-final), we weren't really tested and I thought it was a great achievement for this team to put All-Ireland titles back-to-back." From early in the year, Tipp looked an exceptionally strong outfit under their new manager Declan Ryan, who succeeded his former county team-mate Liam Sheedy in the hot-seat. Ryan, who holds the distinction of having won All-Ireland senior medals in three different decades, was assisted in the coaching duties by former captain and Hurler of the Year Tommy Dunne, and Maher admits that it was daunting at first for him and his young team-mates to train under the two Premier County legends. "When Declan and Tommy first walked into the dressing-room, everyone was in awe of them," he recalls. "We all grew up watching these lads play for Tipperary and they were idols for all of us. But from the very beginning, they made us feel very relaxed. I remember we had a players' meeting and everyone agreed that if couldn't win under Declan and Tommy, we couldn't win under anyone. There was a calmness about the whole set-up from day one and what also helped was that we had a settled team from a very early stage." Tipperary opened their Munster championship campaign with a 3-12 to 1-11 victory over Clare on May 2 at the Gaelic Grounds. The Banner County were made to pay for 10 first half wides - six in the first 10 minutes - as John O'Neill's goal helped Tipp to a 1-6 to 0-4 half-time lead. A second Tipp goal from Patrick Maher six minutes after the restart effectively ended the game as a contest and O'Neill bagged a third goal before full forward John Conlon scored a Clare consolation deep in injury-time. The Premier boys produced arguably their most impressive display of the year when they returned to the Gaelic Grounds on June 24 and dished out a 3-21 to 0-12 hammering to Limerick. An early Patrick Maher goal sent Tipp on their way and a second major from Michael Heffernan eased the visitors into a 2-11 to 0-6 interval advantage. As the third quarter drew to a close, Tipperary had extended their advantage to 2-16 to 0-9 and Maher then pounced for his third goal in two games to complete the rout. The Munster final at Semple Stadium on July 8 was one of the most eagerly-awaited in years, pitting the reigning All-Ireland champions against the reigning provincial kingpins. Cork, who were seeking their fourth Munster win in as many years, were in no mood to give up their provincial crown and were only a point adrift of Declan Ryan's charges at half-time, 0-8 to 0-7. With Seamus Hennessy unerring from frees, Tipp moved into a 0-11 to 0-9 lead shortly after the restart before Donagh Stack grabbed the only goal of the game to give Cork a slender advantage. Hennessy levelled the game and after Cork were reduced to 14 players, Tipp regained the lead through Noel McGrath and pulled clear in the closing stages to win by 0-18 to 1-11 - Cork's cause not being helped by the dismissal of Eoin McCarthy with 12 minutes remaining. Tipp set up an All-Ireland final rematch with Cork - who bounced back from their Munster final disappointment with wins over Galway and Dublin - when they came from behind to defeat Kilkenny by 1-19 to 2-12 at Croke Park. In what was a repeat of last year's semi-final, the Premier boys recovered from a one-goal deficit midway through the second half to run out convincing winners. A goal from Shane Brennan, followed quickly by a point from Adrian Stapleton, left the Cats leading 2-11 to 1-11 after 42 minutes. But Tipp bagged no less than eight points in the last quarter of an hour thanks to John O'Neill, Brendan Maher, Seamus Hennessy, Sean Carey and Paddy Murphy. Following their earlier victory over Cork, Tipp were in no mood to bow the knee to their arch rivals on All-Ireland final day and they produced a highly accomplished display to which the Rebels had no answer. Apart from the first 11 minutes when Cork opened up an early four-point lead, Tipp were always in control. And they laid the foundations for their victory at midfield where Brendan Maher and Noel McGrath reigned supreme. In the Croke Park drizzle, Maher opened the scoring for Tipperary, only for Cork to hit back with five unanswered points. Lesser teams would have pressed the panic button, but not Tipp who were level after 20 minutes with four unanswered points of their own. Seamus Hennessy then put them back in front before Sean Carey availed of a slip by Jack Herlihy on the greasy surface and rifled home the opening goal. Cork were back in the game when Robert White goaled in the 25th minute, but the Tipp forwards continued to create a lot of space and they were full value for their 1-9 to 1-6 interval lead. The blue and golds continued where they left off on the changeover and they left Cork with a mountain to climb when Michael Hefferan raced clear to score their second goal. Tipp maintained their grip on midfield which kept the pressure on the Cork backs and the points continued to flow with ease, and by the end of the third quarter they held a commanding 2-11 to 1-9 lead. Sean Carey's second goal in the 60th minute put the result beyond doubt, though Cork did manage a consolation goal a minute late when Luek O'Farrell scrambled home from close range. All in all, it was a job well done by Tipp who could hardly have been more impressive. On the weekend before the minor decider, Tipp also retained the Tipperary Supporters' Club All-Ireland under 16 hurling title following an emphatic 1-21 to 0-5 victory over Dublin at Semple Stadium. And on the same day, the Premier County's under 14 and 15 teams contested the Tony Forristal and Carrigdhoun tournament finals, something which highlights the wealth of emerging talent in the county at present. With 14 of this year's successful minor squad available to them again in 2008, including Sean O'Brien, Kevin O'Gorman, James Barry, Noel McGrath, Ciaran Lorigan, John O'Neill and Joe Gallagher who were all regular starters, Tipp will have high hopes of completing a three-in-a-row in the grade. "There's the nucleus of a good team there again," enthuses trainee teacher Maher, who had the misfortune of suffering a broken collarbone in a club game a week after the All-Ireland final. "There are half a dozen lads there who have All-Ireland final experience and that should stand to them next year. The future looks bright and Tipp should have the makings of a very strong senior side in a few years' time as long as these minors don't lose their way." Tweet

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