Clonmel boss dedicates record title to 'Mr Commercials' Philly Ryan.
Clonmel Commercials goalkeeper Shane Ryan with his girlfriend Ciara, after the Tipperary County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Clonmel Commercials and Kilsheelan-Kilcash at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Tommy Morrissey dedicated Clonmel Commercials’ record-breaking 22nd Tipperary SFC title to “Mr Commercials” Philly Ryan.
The county football manager passed away suddenly last month, and his presence was on all minds as his proteges romped to a 21-point final victory over Kilsheelan-Kilcash.
“Philly is, in my eyes, Mr Commercials,” said club boss Morrissey. “He gave me the passion to do what I'm doing, he gave me the encouragement to do what I'm doing, and he'll always be in my thoughts.
“It's heartbreaking he's not here with us, but we've certainly done it for him.”Â
A touching moment at full-time saw the Commercials team stream towards Ryan’s son, Shane, who has inherited his father’s goalkeeping talents. He has conceded just two goals in their past nine championship games.
Commercials’ semi-final against Upperchurch-Drombane was postponed to last weekend, and Morrissey explained how difficult it was to get themselves right for that game.
“Extremely. I won't lie, I found myself walking the dog last Saturday morning, and I was wondering what it was all about.
“I found myself in a very difficult headspace, just trying to contemplate going out to play a game of football and everything it was about.
“But having gotten over that, I knew the group were in the same headspace. They got through that as well, and that was a massive hurdle for us.”Â
Before the final, Morrissey didn’t need to reference Ryan. He was already at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts.
“Philly will not leave our thoughts, so I certainly don't have to remind anyone.
“It's been an extremely difficult three weeks for everybody involved. The lads have Philly completely on their mind the whole time, so it was just a case of making sure we were composed and we were here to play a game of football. And when the result goes in our favour, we can then acknowledge Philly and all he's done for us.
“But you have to be careful with emotion, too, in that you don't let it take you over and make wrong decisions and that includes management. It was something that we spoke about, and none of us were forgetting Philly for any second, but we just needed to make sure we won a football match.”Â
They face another seven-day turnaround to meet Cork champions St Finbarr’s in Saturday’s Munster quarter-final.
Commercials have played their last three provincial games in Thurles, but Morrissey confirmed they would be bringing it back to Clonmel Sportsfield for the first time since 2017.
“I'll be straight with you. We didn't play in Clonmel the two years prior because the condition of the pitch was brutal.
“There's a huge amount of work that's gone in between ourselves and St Mary's over the last 12 months. There's huge work gone into the field by the sports committee, and that's the reason why we have it in a condition now where we feel it's suitable for an occasion like that.
“We've only the week (to prepare), but that's fine. Three weeks in a row we'll be out, but I'll take that any day.
“I’ve said it from the outset, we're a club that we believe should be on this stage. We're not going into the competition to take it as a token gesture. We want to be in that competition to be competitive.”Â
In the meantime, they will celebrate a 22nd county title, which moves them clear of Fethard atop the Tipp roll of honour.
“It's a bonus, but it is huge,” said Morrissey. “We're a football club. There's only ourselves and Ardfinnan in the county that are sole football clubs.
“For us to be top of that pile now, with the work that's been done over the last 15 years with juveniles and developments, it's coming to fruition now and we're there. It's going to take a lot to take us off it.”
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