TIPPERARY has been engulfed in a giddy and happy atmosphere all week but by Tuesday night it was time for Padraic Maher and seven of his senior colleagues to take a step back from the celebrations.

TOTAL attendances at Irish race meetings for the first six months of this year show that some 565,982 punters passed through the gates at racecourses here, up 23,023 (4.2%) on last year.