Frankie McGrath: ‘Loughmore are in a position every club would give their eye teeth for’

Loughmore-Castleiney are once again preparing to contest both the senior and hurling championship deciders in Tipperary

Loughmore Castleiney’s Liam McGrath holds off Borris-Ileigh’s Jody Harkin in the closing stages of the Tipperary SHC semi-final. Loughmore Castleiney will be contesting both Tipperary SHC and SFC finals over the coming two Sundays. Picture: Eamonn McGee

If you know your Tipperary GAA history you will understand accomplishments like reaching both senior finals is old hat for Loughmore-Castleiney.

There was 1983 when they beat Fethard to claim their first SFC title at the start of October and lost to Borris-Ileigh at the end of the month. Four years later and they repeated the feat, getting over Clonmel Commercials before losing the hurling decider to Cappawhite.

In 1988, the Dan Breen Cup was annexed at the third time of asking when they exacted revenge on Borris-Ileigh, current manager Frankie McGrath minding the goal, his brothers Pat, father of Noel, John and Brian, Tom and Michael lining out at wing-back, midfield and corner forward respectively.

After their dual mission reached the final stages for a third occasion last season when it was thwarted in each game by a solitary point (the hurling game going to extra-time), they go again these next two Sundays against Thurles Sarsfields and Commercials.

But what seems spectacular to outsiders isn’t exactly earth-shattering for those at the coalface of it in Loughmore-Castleiney. “Anyone who knows our club appreciates that it’s not something that has come out of nowhere,” says Frankie McGrath. “The group of players we have at present have had great underage careers up along. Many of them won U12 county football and hurling finals in 2002.

“Another group of them won a county minor A football and hurling double that year. People like Ciaran McGrath and Evan Sweeney were involved in that. The U12s involved Noel and John McGrath and John Meagher so 2002 was a catalyst for us.

“Go back to the 1970s, we won a minor double back then and in the 1980s we were reaching both finals in the same year. Being involved at that level time and time again, that’s where the belief comes from. What are we trying to do?

“We’re just trying to maintain that tradition and hopefully on Sunday we’ll have another chapter added.” That isn’t to say McGrath is dismissing how much of an accomplishment it is for the two teams he manages to reach back-to-back finals in both senior codes. The incessant nature of jockeying both horses has been stressful, he acknowledges.

“We thought last year that we had a difficult path to both finals. We had an awful lot of games to play in succession. But this year has been just outrageous in the sense that we are playing our 15th consecutive weekend in championship action this Sunday and we have another one to come the following week.

“It hasn’t been easy trying to balance both codes, trying to balance the squads, trying to cope with injuries and all combined with Covid and work commitments. I think an awful lot of people don’t quite realise what an achievement it has been to find our way back to both finals.

“I think locally people appreciate what has been done but nationally I think you’d have to go a long way to find anything that would compare with it. But the bottom line is we’re in the business of trying to win championships.”

The heartache of the players was palpable at the final whistle of both of last year’s finals but on review they took plenty of encouragement from those appearances. “Sometimes people get obsessed with the winning aspect of things.

“When we took stock of what we did last season, we realised we had a fantastic season,” McGrath remarks.

“This year is another season and what are we doing, we are trying to write the history of the club for this season alone.

“And what we do this Sunday will have a major bearing on how many pages, how many pictures are devoted to what we’re doing.

“We take it in our stride a little bit. Lads will be devastated if it doesn’t work out but it won’t be for the want of trying and it won’t be for the want of preparing.”

This season, Loughmore-Castleiney have been able to call on the expertise of Laois’s Mick Dempsey, who physically fine-tuned Kilkenny senior hurlers for eight of the 11 All-Ireland successes under Brian Cody.

“Mick is a very experienced operator not just with Kilkenny but his day job in Carlow IT.

His input has been terrific and he has added another dimension to what we’re doing. It just so happened that he was available, I’m sure he was delighted to get involved and we’re delighted to have him.” 

There is a romantic hue to what Loughmore-Castleiney are attempting to do these next eight days but McGrath insists the group feel little of it.

“All we’re doing is focusing on the next hurdle. That’s all we can do. There have been quite a few for us to jump over. It has basically been knock-out from day one.

“There is no romance in it for us, I can assure you, because as soon as we’re over one we have another to negotiate. There will always be knocks, accessing facilities for training, when to train based on when the last game was played.

“The logistics of the whole thing can be quite demanding but we’re coping.

“We’re in a position every club in the country would give their eye teeth to be in. While it has been quite demanding and I can assure you quite stressful as well, it’s a fantastic position to be in now.”

Kenyons battle Killenaule for last ‘B’ title

Larry Ryan 

Tipperary crowns its last Senior B hurling champions for the foreseeable future on Sunday, with the grade ‘relegated’ to Premier Intermediate from next season.

The motion was passed by 43 votes to 41 at this week’s County Board meeting, amid some discontent, Carrick Swans’ delegate Sean O’Shea calling it a “betrayal” in the Nenagh Guardian.

On the bright side, Tipp will send its 17th best team to the Munster intermediate championship next year, rather than its 33rd.

It means this Séamus Ó Riain Cup final — curtain-raiser to the Dan Breen decider — is the last of its kind. Another chance to win a first ever senior title for Templederry Kenyons, up against Killenaule.

Nearest the club has come was in 2014, when they made the semi-final of the big one, going down to a Thurles Sars side embarking on a four in a row. The following year brought relegation to the second tier.

They will turn, as ever, to the Ryans — two-time All-Ireland winner Gearóid is captain and enjoying fruitful respite from battles with injury. Cousin Adrian, who also featured with Tipp, is going well too, while many are penciling free-scoring forward Seán onto Colm Bonnar’s long list for 2022.

For their part, Killenaule look to add B success to a South Tipp title earlier this year.

And Gearóid Ryan knows well their marquee threat from his county days.

“I hurled with Bubbles O’Dwyer for a few years. I have seen him night in and night out in Thurles. He is an excellent hurler and has the best pair of hands in the country,” he told the Nenagh Guardian. “He is especially talented like all the Killenaule players. They have a lot of hurlers that have played at county level. They are a serious opposition.”