David Power takes pride to be playing on anniversary of Bloody Sunday

Tipperary manager David Power talks to his players after the Munster SFC win over Limerick.. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Tipperary manager David Power wants his charges to emulate the “fast, attractive football” played by the Premier footballers of 1920 in Sunday week’s Munster final.

Power expressed immense pride that the Tipperary class of 2020 will bid for provincial honours on the weekend of the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Tipperary footballer Michael Hogan was one of 14 people who lost their lives at Croke Park on November 21, 1920 when British soldiers opened fire during a Dublin-Tipperary fixture in retaliation to the shooting dead of British intelligence agents earlier that day.

When asked what it meant for Tipperary to have secured Munster final involvement on the weekend of Bloody Sunday, Power replied: “For the group, it is huge. For Tipperary football people, it is huge. For Tipperary GAA people, in general, it is huge.

“It is proud for myself to be even involved. My house, I am only across the road from the parish of Grangemockler/Ballyneale (the club of Michael Hogan). 

It is going to be a huge weekend and it is going to be an honour for us to play.

“One thing from Michael Foley’s [the Bloodied Field] podcasts was that Tipperary football, 100 years ago, were playing fast, attractive football. That is our aim in two weeks time, that if we can emulate that, whether we win, lose or draw, once we go out and perform and leave everything on the field.

"If we are not good enough, we are not good enough, but leave everything out on the field and keep playing the way we want to play.”

Power said Tipperary must respect the decision of Colin O’Riordan’s club, Sydney Swans, who do not want him playing inter-county football during the AFL off-season.

Fellow AFL player, Mitchelstown native Mark Keane, was given dispensation by his club, Collingwood, to line out for Cork in their Munster semi-final against Kerry.

“We have explored it, but Sydney Swans would not allow Colin play. We have to respect that. The difference between Colin and Mark [Keane] is Colin has been in Australia for a number of years. I would say Mark Keane is still on a rookie contract while Colin is on a full-on professional contract. I'd say that's the difference.

"But if Colin rings me in the morning and says, I've got [dispensation], it is something we would definitely think of.”