All on the line for Tipp and the Tribesmen

Last weekend’s preliminary quarter-finals signalled the official start of the knockout stage of the All-Ireland SHC, albeit with expected outcomes.

This week, things go up a notch. With Dublin advancing to take on a Limerick side that are strong favourites to progress to a semi-final clash with Kilkenny, Tipperary and Galway do battle for what is likely to be a tilt at Munster champions Cork.

Each county has put in strong supporting-actor performances on the other’s big days. The late 1980s saw breakthroughs for both as a rivalry grew with each encounter – and Galway’s 1993 semi-final victory over Tipp could be said to have closed that chapter for both.

When Tipp returned to the top in 2001, it was Galway they overcame in the final. The Premier County’s 2010 victory also featured a quarter-final win over the Tribesmen along the way, a game that the Connacht county could easily have won.

The 2016 and 2017 championships brought epic semi-final meetings, a point the difference each time as Tipp went on to glory in the first of those years before Galway finally ended a near-three-decade wait the following season.

One of Tipp’s stars during the regular meetings of the 1980s and 1990s, goalkeeper Ken Hogan – who was later involved in a variety of managerial roles, including guiding them to All-Ireland U21 victory over Galway in 2010 – acknowledges that it is a unique relationship.

The 2016 and 2017 championships brought epic semi-final meetings, a point the difference each time

“Some people wouldn’t be aware of it,” he says, “but Lorrha, where I’m from, borders Portumna.

“In 1986, I was based in Dublin and I went to the All-Ireland final with a few Galway friends. They lost to Cork and they were disappointed but I told them they’d come again – little did I know we’d be coming, too!

“When we won Munster in 1987, there was great hype over the famine ending but Galway took out scalp in the semi-final and then went onto beat Kilkenny. The following year we got to the final but Galway beat us again.

Match memories

“I remember Gerry McInerney scoring two monstrous points from half-back and, obviously, Noel Lane got a vital goal with about five minutes to go.

“We had to regroup and go again and then the 1989 semi-final, Galway were striving to win three-in-a-row and our honeymoon period was over, the pressure was on us to get to the Holy Grail.

“Then there was the suspension of Tony Keady, God rest him; it had nothing to do with Tipperary but it added an edge to the game.”

The passage of time, not to mention the mortality of stars who seemed invincible, have helped to smooth those edges

“That was a great Galway team,” KenHogan reflects.

“The rivalry was bitter at the time, but since then those players would meet regularly.

“The entire Tipperary team attended Tony Keady’s funeral and, just recently, Michael Coleman’s.

“There would be a great relationship there now, with the passage of time. It’s like the Cork and Meath football teams of the same period.

“Each brought the best out in the other.

“You go forward then, 2010 was a big one, obviously – Ollie Canning going off and Tipp getting five or six points in a row and then of course going on to deprive Kilkenny of the five-in-a-row.”

Neither is considered among the favourites to be lifting silverware in the Hogan Stand on Sunday, 20 July but whoever does emerge from the quarter-final will have some momentum with them. Obviously, the loser will be left with a long winter of self-examination, so the stakes are high.

“It’s a well-established Galway team,” he says, “and obviously they only played with 10 minutes to go against Kilkenny, whereas if they played like that for 70 minutes, a lot of teams would struggle to live with them.

“Tipperary’s record has been very poor in the last few meetings with Galway and essentially, two years ago, we were in the same position after coming third in Munster and were defeated in Limerick after a poor display.

“It’s strange in a way, I always worry about how we’re playing every week and then you have this big gap.

“Obviously, you’re trying to prepare as well as possible but you have that gap whereas Galway have had that tough game in Croke Park last Sunday week and they’ll be chomping at the bit.

“Tipp will be coming in, obviously, really willing themselves on after winning the U20 All-Ireland. I think it’s going to be one hell of a game.”

With so much hanging on it, there is a great opportunity for whichever county does prevail.

“Both teams have great incentives to get through to an All-Ireland semi-final to be playing against the favourites, Cork, with a bit of momentum,” Hogan says.

I think it’s going to be one hell of a game

“Tipp versus Galway is always very hard to call, I think there’s very little between them. Really, both are untested in that this is really the big stuff now, the All-Ireland series is what it’s all about.

“Obviously, Galway will be very conscious that they have a good record [against Tipp] and Tipp will be very conscious that we need to turn the books and get through to a semi-final, which will be a very successful year for them. Anything could happen,” he ends.