How Tipp went top

It may be five years ago but John Costigan recalls the conversation with a great deal of clarity. You don’t forget such defining moments.

County chairman at the time, he had just watched Kilkenny go into the half-time break of a league semi-final with a 2-13 to 1-4 lead over Tipperary in Thurles when the newly-anointed GAA President Nickey Brennan greeted him.

“He just said ‘John, what are ye doing?’” remembers Costigan. “Nickey would never been known to mince his words.”

It would be too easy to suggest that was the instant Tipperary realised the error of the ways. It would be wrong too. Costigan stresses that but it summed up how very real the crossroads the county stood at back then.

As he puts it: “Tipperary people looked into their souls in the middle of the last decade and said something had to be done.”

A lot of it was about getting the right people in the key positions. Tipperary hadn’t been putting enough thought into just how they were getting to fill managerial roles. But there was also the realisation that if Kilkenny were to be rivalled, the county had to provide top-notch support networks.

Given his bank background at the Bank of Ireland where he now leads a team of 16, Liam Sheedy was exactly the type of figurehead to set a precedent adopted and slightly tweaked by Declan Ryan.

“There’s a certain level of preparation you have to do to be competitive,” explains PRO and team liaison officer Ger Ryan.

“The way you use your backroom team effectively is to have enough people there that can be trusted to do supporting roles to free up the core management team for what’s really important — player performance, coaching, team selection, motivation... that sort of thing.

“Whether that is stats or going away on training camps, it’s about having a team of people who can do that effectively and bring the information back to management to make the key decisions.

“Stats and video analysis combine to present the management the information they need but I don’t think it changes the fundamentals that you need a strong management team that are good at coaching and motivating players.”

In Sheedy and Ryan, complemented by coaches of the highest calibre in Eamonn O’Shea and Tommy Dunne, Tipperary chose wisely.

Of course, the fact neither have wanted for anything is a factor as well. While too much can be made of video technology and statistics, they are necessary guidelines for modern managers.

It wasn’t that money was no object. It just wasn’t as much of an obstacle. Much has been made of the fact that since Sheedy’s first season in 2008 which brought a first Munster title in seven years, the cost of Tipperary’s inter-county teams’ preparations have risen dramatically.

That fails to take into consideration the appointment of John Evans as football manager at the end of 2007, who has also been given the essentials to get the best out of his team. The same goes for the underage football structure where the rewards are being reaped, with David Power’s minors reaching this month’s final.

Chairman Barry O’Brien’s lofty claim a couple of years ago that Tipperary aimed to win an All-Ireland SFC title by 2020 doesn’t look as outlandish now. As a county competing for All-Ireland senior football and hurling titles, Cork never balked at breaking the €1m barrier and Tipperary now view themselves as a dual county too.

Combined with the fact they are also a big county like Cork, travel expenses are also more significant and have contributed to the preparations’ total that hit €1.2m last year but should come in slightly less this year.

Finances have been of some concern for Tipperary. Their accounts last year showed a deficit of €126,000. O’Brien pointed out the board intended cutting expenditure by 7.5% in 2011 while Morris Park’s redevelopment in Thurles has been a major investment.

However, although former chairman Con Hogan raised concerns at the 2008 annual convention about the €1m barrier being broken, the board executive aren’t overly concerned.

As treasurer Eamonn Buckley told delegates after the 2008 accounts showed almost a 50% jump from the previous year’s figures: “You won’t have success without cost.”

Even in such stricken economic times, that seems to be the consensus among Tipperary delegates. If it means bankrolling training camps, video technology, statistics and (Avenir and Statsports), sports psychologists (former Armagh footballer Enda McNulty has replaced Caroline Currid), then so be it.

Under Sheedy last year, Tipperary enjoyed the world-class facilities at Maynooth’s Carton House resort on three occasions.

With Ryan at the helm, they returned to the Kildare venue following their league campaign in May this year while they used Fota Island before the Dublin semi-final.

Such preparations are what players have come to expect but in turn appreciate that there are expectations on them to produce results.

“The contribution of Enfer also can’t be overlooked,” says Costigan.

“They gave almost a decade of sustained support to Tipperary GAA, approximately €1.2m and that will never be forgotten. Skoda have come on board now and we’re delighted but we’re constantly looking at fundraising efforts to boost the county’s finances.

“Tipperary being called the home of hurling is held up as a dubious claim by some people but hurling and the GAA is engrained in the DNA of Tipperary people.”

Tim Floyd’s appointment as full-time secretary has been a welcome one and his stewardship, along with O’Brien’s, has brought a stability to the county. Last week, they launched the Premier Plan, the county’s five-year strategic vision and action plan, identifying “financial excellence” as one of their six themes.

As part of it, an audit will be carried out on all team costs later this year in an attempt to make savings.

It’s not that Ryan will be expected to do less with more. Like Sheedy, he has shown a forensic attention to detail. If the board didn’t feel the manager was doing enough to justify funding for initiatives such as training weekends, they wouldn’t be dished out but that isn’t the case.

Plus, paying out in the short-term can often reduce the potential for more considerable costs in the long-term.

“The key thing is to have the right people,” Ryan said, “If you look at the amount of players we’ve lost to injury in the last couple of years there have been very few during the season. Some guys like Brendan Maher, James Woodlock and Paul Kelly injured themselves outside the camp.

“All the teams now are focused on pre-season training and the constant presence of a physio at training. You minimise the impact of injury but you also minimise the expenditure to the injury as well.”

Tipperary also take pride in sustaining the talent. While Galway scratch their heads about where their minor and U21 stars have gone, few have fallen by the wayside in Tipp.

“The kick-start was the minor victories in 2006 and ’07,” states Costigan. “16 of the current senior panel were involved in either or both of those wins.

“There’s been a huge investment of energy and hard work by quite a lot of people at underage level but also since Liam Sheedy’s reign started. I was talking to [substitute goalkeeper] Darren Gleeson the other day about the ’60s and how we took it a bit for granted being involved in so many finals back then before we had that 16-year Munster famine from ’71.

“A third consecutive senior final is a great reward. A second consecutive Liam MacCarthy Cup would be even better but the key for us is to keep it going.” There are no signs of any let-up just yet.