Michael Ryan's Croker reunion with Micheál Donoghue

This time last year, the Michaels stood shoulder to shoulder. This week, they’re squaring up.

As Eamon O’Shea’s ‘eye in the sky’, it was part of current Galway manager Micheál Donoghue’s brief to give the lowdown on his native county.

Information was shared with then Tipp selector and O’Shea’s successor, Michael Ryan.

At the same time, Ryan, who was already confirmed as manager-elect, expected he might one day cross swords with Donoghue.

“I think Micheál was always going to get involved with Galway and why wouldn’t he? He is Galway through and through.

“And, in fairness, it was a very difficult situation for Micheál to be in last year; in our camp, working with us and then we meet Galway in an All-Ireland semi-final.

“It must be a nightmare — it’s one I would personally hate — but I thought he handled it very well at the time.

“He got plenty of stick at various stages but he is a true hurling man and he is a real Galway man.”

A friend of Salthill-based O’Shea, Donoghue would have driven from Galway to Thurles for training with the then Tipperary boss.

“I suppose he brought a different perspective, an external perspective on Tipp. He and Eamon (O’Shea) became close when he was manager of Clarinbridge and he got Eamon in to do some work with them and I think they remained friends after.

“That’s really where that connection was, but it just brought a breath of fresh air to our set-up.

“Micheál Donoghue will always be a friend of us and this group in Tipp. We do wish each other well, but I don’t think we can do it this time around.

“I will wish him well but I just hope he doesn’t win. And that’s how it should be.

“People go and work with other counties and unfortunately you may just meet your own — it’s just a risk.”

Donoghue has since brought in Kieran Shannon of this parish as a sports psychologist, who worked with the Tipperary hurlers in a similar capacity early in O’Shea’s reign.

Donoghue may also have insight into how furious Tipperary were by some of Galway’s on-field behaviour last August.

“But Ryan wonders just how much Donoghue will have on Tipperary that people don’t already know.

“But is there any secrets? Really and truly, we have been out three times and five or six times in the league. Are there any secrets about Tipperary really or any other team for that matter?

“The last surprise I got in hurling was Walter Walsh being parachuted in for an All-Ireland final. Beyond that, I have not seen them.

“There’s no rabbits to be pulled out of hats here. We have who we have.

“We have a very strong squad and our job will be to get that right on the day, put the right guys on the pitch and pick the right guys to come in and support that because, without doubt, this will be a 20-man effort.”

There is certainly no surprise element about the brand of hurling Tipperary are playing under Ryan.

Brendan Maher and Michael Breen are the most physical midfield duo the county have had in several years, while the directness in their Munster campaign was noteworthy.

Heralded as fashioning a team playing a style resembling his own no-nonsense ways as a hurler, Ryan has moved things on from the O’Shea era without taking too much about what made it so promising.

“Continuity was the real reason that appointment was made so early because we believed we were on the right road and that this was the right direction.

“And, in terms of bringing my own stamp to it, what I would consider as different is that we are getting to the intensity levels.

“But that was crying out obvious — that was why we failed, that was one of the reasons why we failed in 2015. We had to get to that level of intensity.

“But I think it reflects the personality of not just me — I am the constant here — but in terms of (selectors) John Madden, Declan Fanning, Conor Stakelum and there is also a wider backroom team supporting us.

“Very early we called it out that we had to get back to a more traditional game, that would compete with the new levels that were being set day in day out, particularly by Kilkenny.

“They are very consistent but Galway were the ones that knocked us out that day. That was the tangible measure for us and we failed at that test.”

Even though Seamus Callanan almost won the game for Tipperary on his own that day, Ryan accepts a result for Tipperary would have been daylight robbery.

“I don’t think we underestimated Galway, I don’t think we ever do to be honest with you, but we were certainly not at the level that we needed to be.

“It would have been a complete injustice to Galway if we had even got a draw out of that game.”