In 1966 Tipp again reached the “Home” League Final but fell to a rare defeat against Kilkenny when they narrowly lost a dour low-scoring affair by 0-9 to 0-7, played in conditions which were too windy for constructive hurling. The semi-final had featured a rare Tipp-Clare encounter at Croke Park, when Tipp narrowly pulled through on a four-point margin. The championship opener was the Munster semi-final against Limerick at the Cork Athletic Grounds and Tipp entered the game with a spate of injuries, namely Mick Roche, Larry Kiely, and Jimmy Doyle, while Tony Wall was posted to Cyprus as part of his duties as an Army officer and was unavailable.
Despite these losses Tipp were expected to win, but a terrific Limerick - with Eamon Cregan exploding on the scene with three goals - had other ideas. The Shannonsiders won by 4-12 to 2-9, their first win over Tipp in either League of Championship for eighteen years. This opened up the championship, and deprived this Tipperary team of probably its last realistic opportunity to add to its illustrious record. On the home front, the most notable happening was the end of Thurles Sarsfields great run of county senior championship victories, when Carrick Davins beat Lorrha in the county final. Davins, powered by Mick Roche went on to win the Munster championship beating Ballygunner in the final (2-17 to 1-11).
Long serving full-back Michael Maher retired before the 1967 season, and the player who was drafted into the defence was Noel O’Gorman of Newport, a classy hurler who earned rave reviews playing on the 1964 Under 21 All-Ireland champions. He also was a panel member of the ’65 senior team, and won an All-Ireland Intermediate medal in 1966, when Tipp beat Dublin in the final at Enniscorthy. Tipperary’s opener in the 1967 championship was the Munster semi-final against Waterford, who had knocked out the defending All-Ireland champions Cork in the first round. On the day, despite concerns about the Tipp team going into the game, it required a late goal and two points for Waterford to get the margin back to ten points.
The Munster Final was in Limerick against a strongly emerging Clare team. Newmarket-on-Fergus had at this time emerged as a powerful force in not just Clare hurling, but in Munster hurling as well. The likes of Pat Cronin, Liam Danaher, and Jimmy Cullinane were central figures in this Clare team and it also included Naoise Jordan a noted goalscorer, and Jimmy Smyth one of the all-time legends of hurling. Eire Og of Ennis also had a fine team in this era, and a notable representative of that club in this final was Tom Ryan who played at centre-field for Clare. This was Tom Ryan from Killenaule who had won All-Ireland medals with Tipp in 1961 and ’62.
Clare put it up to Tipperary in a big way and at half-time and were behind by 2-6 to 2-4 at half-time before bringing it back to level terms within eight minutes of the restart. However, Clare failed to score again and Babs Keating added two goals for Tipp who finished very strongly to win by 4-12 to 2-6. Larry Kiely and Clare’s Jimmy Cullinane got marching orders late in the game. It was a very good display from Tipp in what was always going to be a tricky game for them.
This qualified Tipp for the All-Ireland Final against Kilkenny and defeat was to be Tipp’s lot on this occasion. Tipp were backed by the strong breeze in the first half, but an early goal and point for the opposition was a big set-back. Tipp fought back to lead by six points at half-time but it wasn’t enough, and the Munster champions were simply hanging on for most of the second half and were eventually beaten by 3-8 to 2-7. It was the end of an era for that Tipperary team and legendary players, John Doyle, Kieran Carey, Tony Wall and Theo English who retired after this. The victorious Kilkenny side contained ten of the 1964 team that played Tipp, but on this occasion they were deserving winners. At the other end of the age spectrum, there was good news for Tipp when the Under 21s beat Dublin by a point in the All-Ireland Final. The captain PJ Ryan was winning his second medal, the first player from any county to do so. Other notable member of the team was John Flanagan of Moycarkey-Borris who played a centre-forward in the senior final, plus Tadhg O'Connor, and Noel O'Dwyer who was marked by Gay O'Driscoll who later was to achieve fame with the great Dublin football team of the 1970s..
The National League “Home” final of 1968 was a repeat of the Kilkenny-Tipperary All-Ireland Final of the previous September, and it is fair to say that by this stage that relationship between the counties – rarely one of hurling’s most pleasant – had reached an all-time low. Back in a league match in the spring of ’67, Pa Dillon and Babs Keating had got the line and a three-month suspension for both ensued. However, this game really upped the ante between the counties and from the moment Len Gaynor was tackled by a Kilkenny supporter, the game featured some of the most gratuitous violence ever seen at Croke Park. Tipp won the game by 3-9 to 1-13, and won the actual final over two legs in New York against the “locals”. After much discussion and investigation after the Kilkenny game, John Flanagan and Kilkenny’s Ollie Walsh both incurred a six-month suspension, which meant that both players missed the championship in 1968, or at least the parts that occurred after the suspensions were announced in July. Perceived unfair and hyper-critical press coverage led the Tipperary county board to withdraw co-operation with certain journalists for the All-Ireland final, and the National Union of Journalists responded by refusing to provide any reports or news concerning Tipperary. Kilkenny for their part circled the wagons and deferred their county championship until Ollie Walsh's term of suspension was up.
It was amid this bizarre atmosphere that Tipperary approached the All-Ireland Final against Wexford. Tipp had reached this stage by beating Clare in a high goal-scoring Munster semi-final at Cork. Tipp won by five points as the teams shared ten goals equally, and Noel O’Gorman and Mick Arthur of Newmarket were sent-off. The final, played at Limerick against Cork was a game which had been anticipated since Cork won the ’66 All-Ireland. Cork were well beaten by Tipp (2-13 to 1-7) with Babs Keating the outstanding player on the pitch.
The All-Ireland Final against Wexford was a game of vastly contrasting halves for Tipperary. The Irish Independent said
“at the interval, at which stage Wexford were eight points in arrears – 1-11 to 1-3 – it seemed that a host of Rings and Mackeys could not avert the utter rout of the men in purple and gold jerseys”.
Donie Nealon famously remarked on the way off the pitch at half-time that "an All-Ireland is never won this easily". How right he was. In a mere fifteen minutes the teams were level at 3-6 to 1-12. The momentum was with Wexford in a big way now and 2-2 from Jack Berry was central to their well-deserved victory. Tony Doran, having been moved from centre-half-forward where he had been out of his depth against a rampant Mick Roche - playing a captain’s part in his new position of centre-half-back - also scored a couple of goals in the full-forward-line. One of these goals unbelievably saw him carry the ball for over ten steps on two separate occasions within the same movement. This in an era where players were only "allowed" three steps with the ball in hand ! Nevertheless Tipp, with four All-Ireland final debutants, were well beaten and only a couple of late goals from Babs Keating and the redoubtable Sean McLouglin reduced the margin to four points (5-8 to 3-12), providing a thin unconvincing veil over an appalling second-half collapse. It was one of the most remarkable turnarounds in All-Ireland Final history, and caused much soul-searching and apportioning of blame - some justified, some not - within Tipperary. The remnants of the great 1960s Tipp team were now almost at the end, and the remarkable success of Cork at Minor and Under 21 level suggested that the balance of power in Munster hurling was about to swing towards the deep South.
To be continued……………
Despite these losses Tipp were expected to win, but a terrific Limerick - with Eamon Cregan exploding on the scene with three goals - had other ideas. The Shannonsiders won by 4-12 to 2-9, their first win over Tipp in either League of Championship for eighteen years. This opened up the championship, and deprived this Tipperary team of probably its last realistic opportunity to add to its illustrious record. On the home front, the most notable happening was the end of Thurles Sarsfields great run of county senior championship victories, when Carrick Davins beat Lorrha in the county final. Davins, powered by Mick Roche went on to win the Munster championship beating Ballygunner in the final (2-17 to 1-11).
Long serving full-back Michael Maher retired before the 1967 season, and the player who was drafted into the defence was Noel O’Gorman of Newport, a classy hurler who earned rave reviews playing on the 1964 Under 21 All-Ireland champions. He also was a panel member of the ’65 senior team, and won an All-Ireland Intermediate medal in 1966, when Tipp beat Dublin in the final at Enniscorthy. Tipperary’s opener in the 1967 championship was the Munster semi-final against Waterford, who had knocked out the defending All-Ireland champions Cork in the first round. On the day, despite concerns about the Tipp team going into the game, it required a late goal and two points for Waterford to get the margin back to ten points.
The Munster Final was in Limerick against a strongly emerging Clare team. Newmarket-on-Fergus had at this time emerged as a powerful force in not just Clare hurling, but in Munster hurling as well. The likes of Pat Cronin, Liam Danaher, and Jimmy Cullinane were central figures in this Clare team and it also included Naoise Jordan a noted goalscorer, and Jimmy Smyth one of the all-time legends of hurling. Eire Og of Ennis also had a fine team in this era, and a notable representative of that club in this final was Tom Ryan who played at centre-field for Clare. This was Tom Ryan from Killenaule who had won All-Ireland medals with Tipp in 1961 and ’62.
Clare put it up to Tipperary in a big way and at half-time and were behind by 2-6 to 2-4 at half-time before bringing it back to level terms within eight minutes of the restart. However, Clare failed to score again and Babs Keating added two goals for Tipp who finished very strongly to win by 4-12 to 2-6. Larry Kiely and Clare’s Jimmy Cullinane got marching orders late in the game. It was a very good display from Tipp in what was always going to be a tricky game for them.
This qualified Tipp for the All-Ireland Final against Kilkenny and defeat was to be Tipp’s lot on this occasion. Tipp were backed by the strong breeze in the first half, but an early goal and point for the opposition was a big set-back. Tipp fought back to lead by six points at half-time but it wasn’t enough, and the Munster champions were simply hanging on for most of the second half and were eventually beaten by 3-8 to 2-7. It was the end of an era for that Tipperary team and legendary players, John Doyle, Kieran Carey, Tony Wall and Theo English who retired after this. The victorious Kilkenny side contained ten of the 1964 team that played Tipp, but on this occasion they were deserving winners. At the other end of the age spectrum, there was good news for Tipp when the Under 21s beat Dublin by a point in the All-Ireland Final. The captain PJ Ryan was winning his second medal, the first player from any county to do so. Other notable member of the team was John Flanagan of Moycarkey-Borris who played a centre-forward in the senior final, plus Tadhg O'Connor, and Noel O'Dwyer who was marked by Gay O'Driscoll who later was to achieve fame with the great Dublin football team of the 1970s..
The National League “Home” final of 1968 was a repeat of the Kilkenny-Tipperary All-Ireland Final of the previous September, and it is fair to say that by this stage that relationship between the counties – rarely one of hurling’s most pleasant – had reached an all-time low. Back in a league match in the spring of ’67, Pa Dillon and Babs Keating had got the line and a three-month suspension for both ensued. However, this game really upped the ante between the counties and from the moment Len Gaynor was tackled by a Kilkenny supporter, the game featured some of the most gratuitous violence ever seen at Croke Park. Tipp won the game by 3-9 to 1-13, and won the actual final over two legs in New York against the “locals”. After much discussion and investigation after the Kilkenny game, John Flanagan and Kilkenny’s Ollie Walsh both incurred a six-month suspension, which meant that both players missed the championship in 1968, or at least the parts that occurred after the suspensions were announced in July. Perceived unfair and hyper-critical press coverage led the Tipperary county board to withdraw co-operation with certain journalists for the All-Ireland final, and the National Union of Journalists responded by refusing to provide any reports or news concerning Tipperary. Kilkenny for their part circled the wagons and deferred their county championship until Ollie Walsh's term of suspension was up.
It was amid this bizarre atmosphere that Tipperary approached the All-Ireland Final against Wexford. Tipp had reached this stage by beating Clare in a high goal-scoring Munster semi-final at Cork. Tipp won by five points as the teams shared ten goals equally, and Noel O’Gorman and Mick Arthur of Newmarket were sent-off. The final, played at Limerick against Cork was a game which had been anticipated since Cork won the ’66 All-Ireland. Cork were well beaten by Tipp (2-13 to 1-7) with Babs Keating the outstanding player on the pitch.
The All-Ireland Final against Wexford was a game of vastly contrasting halves for Tipperary. The Irish Independent said
“at the interval, at which stage Wexford were eight points in arrears – 1-11 to 1-3 – it seemed that a host of Rings and Mackeys could not avert the utter rout of the men in purple and gold jerseys”.
Donie Nealon famously remarked on the way off the pitch at half-time that "an All-Ireland is never won this easily". How right he was. In a mere fifteen minutes the teams were level at 3-6 to 1-12. The momentum was with Wexford in a big way now and 2-2 from Jack Berry was central to their well-deserved victory. Tony Doran, having been moved from centre-half-forward where he had been out of his depth against a rampant Mick Roche - playing a captain’s part in his new position of centre-half-back - also scored a couple of goals in the full-forward-line. One of these goals unbelievably saw him carry the ball for over ten steps on two separate occasions within the same movement. This in an era where players were only "allowed" three steps with the ball in hand ! Nevertheless Tipp, with four All-Ireland final debutants, were well beaten and only a couple of late goals from Babs Keating and the redoubtable Sean McLouglin reduced the margin to four points (5-8 to 3-12), providing a thin unconvincing veil over an appalling second-half collapse. It was one of the most remarkable turnarounds in All-Ireland Final history, and caused much soul-searching and apportioning of blame - some justified, some not - within Tipperary. The remnants of the great 1960s Tipp team were now almost at the end, and the remarkable success of Cork at Minor and Under 21 level suggested that the balance of power in Munster hurling was about to swing towards the deep South.
To be continued……………