Tipp talent stream keeps lifting trophies and standards

TIPP TOP: The Nenagh CBS players celebrate in the dressing room after the Dr Harty Cup final win in Ennis over St Flannan's College. Pic: Natasha Barton, Inpho

Dr Harty Cup final: Nenagh CBS 0-20 St Flannan’s College 0-18

ENDLESS emergence of Tipperary talent. Ceaseless collection of top-shelf underage titles. A production line the envy of everyone else.

The broader Premier picture has become so pronounced that there is nowhere else we can begin. The string of victories across post-primary and inter-county connect and overlap. Nothing stands in isolation.

No piece of silverware is exclusive to the dressing-room it has been lifted into. Its importance stretches out across a thriving blue and gold landscape.

Saturday was a perfect snapshot of this point. A wheel traveling full circle all for the betterment and bounty of Tipperary hurling.

Exactly two years ago at the same Ennis venue, 16-year-old Eoghan Doughan contributed three points in Nenagh CBS’ maiden Harty success. 

Two more 16-year-olds, Austin Duff and Joe O’Dwyer, were called down from the stand and left fingerprints on the school’s finest-ever afternoon. Duff’s 1-1 saw him finish as their top-scorer from play.

Doughan top-scored in Tipperary’s All-Ireland minor final win of five months later. Duff came off the bench the same day. O’Dwyer was also among the back-up options at Nowlan Park. Two more Nenagh CBS classmates, Patrick Ryan and Billy O’Brien, were part of the starting line-up.

Turn the calendar to 2025. Doughan was an extended panel member in the county’s All-Ireland U20 winning set-up. The starting team, bench, and extended panel was littered with seven players from Nenagh’s 2024 history-making class.

Fast forward to the last Saturday of January 2026. Doughan has gone from Nenagh corner-forward to centre-forward fulcrum. They do not tick if he does not click. The opening 20 minutes was evidence enough of such.

O’Dwyer and Duff are involved from the off on this occasion. They both raised a pair of white flags. The latter was in hard luck not to sneak the player of the match plaque from Doughan. 

His line-breaking and tackle-beating efforts from midfield up were exhausting and excellent. The aforementioned Patrick Ryan was another busy middle-third operator.

GET IN: Paul Cahalan of Nenagh CBS celebrates after the Dr Harty Cup final . PIC: John Sheridan/Sportsfile

See the connection, the overlap, the development. Doughan, Duff, O’Dwyer and more have grown and graduated within a Tipperary system that is continuing to see the boon of sharing resources, knowledge, and data with all parties inside and outside the inter-county tent. No silos, only silverware.

“Our win is four-in-a-row for Tipperary schools in the Harty, which has never been done before. And to have a group in the dressing-room there with two Harty medals is phenomenal,” began Nenagh manager Donach O’Donnell.

“If they weren't playing Harty, they'd be doing winter hurling or pre-season stuff. Whereas now, they go into the year off the back of five months of really good training and really good, intense hurling at a level not far off U20 inter-county.

“All those players will bring that back to their clubs and inter-county panels, and they, in turn, will benefit.” 

Two years ago, Darragh McCarthy was Nenagh’s top-scoring captain. It hardly needs restarting the heights he has since reached. Doughan was Nenagh’s top-scoring captain on Saturday. O’Donnell is hopeful he too will get his shot with Tipp.

At 0-8 to 0-3 in arrears after 17 minutes, the Moneygall kid roared into a final watched by a crowd of 6,509. He reeled off six points in the ensuing 14 minutes. In first-half stoppages, his second point from the sideline nudged Nenagh in front, 0-11 to 0-10, for the first time. 

He converted two frees in the four-in-a-row sequence that took them from one behind on 51 minutes to 0-20 to 0-17 in front entering injury-time.

“Eoghan is such a phenomenal player. He's actually a very quiet young fella, but a real leader around the group. A huge amount of adoration for him, and hopefully he'll get on with Tipp in a year or so,” the manager continued.

Adoration for an entire group that followed through on their U17 Dean Ryan success. A group that delivered the school’s second Harty in three seasons and second Harty full stop.

“There was a different sort of pressure compared to two years ago. We knew we had the players to do it, it was just a matter of getting them to perform. But that in itself brings a bit of pressure, and you could feel it all over the place.

“Meeting people downtown or wherever, there was an expectation, particularly after a hard semi-final against Thurles. It's a relief to have won it because you're expecting them to do it. Just phenomenal to be here again.” 

Back-to-back final defeats for St Flannan’s. The latest team to endure pain in this age of endlessly emerging Tipp talent.

Scorers for Nenagh CBS: E Doughan (0-12, 0-8 frees); A Duff, P Hackett, J O’Dwyer (0-2 each); D O’Dwyer, P Ryan (0-1 each).

Scorers for St Flannan’s: H Doherty (0-8, 0-5 frees, 0-1 ‘65); D McNamara (0-3); T O’Connor (0-2); C Daly, G Ball, I Hassett, P Finneran, E O’Connor (0-1 each).

NENAGH CBS: P McCormack (Moneygall); D Fogarty (Kiladangan), Cormac Kennedy (Kilruane MacDonaghs), S Cleary (Kilruane MacDonaghs); E Jones (Nenagh Éire Óg), D O’Dwyer (Kiladangan), J Grace (Burgess); A Duff (Toomevara), H Healy (Kilruane MacDonaghs); P Ryan (Borrisoleigh), E Doughan (Moneygall), P Cahalan (Burgess); E Tucker (Nenagh Éire Óg), P Hackett (Toomevara), J O’Dwyer (Burgess).

Subs: T Boland (Kiladangan) for J O’Dwyer (26-HT, temp); T Boland (Kiladangan) for Tucker (HT); R McGrath (Kiladangan) for Cahalan (44); KJ Dunne (Toomevara) for Healy (48); Charlie Kennedy (Kilruane MacDonaghs) for J O’Dwyer (61); D McKelvey (Silvermines) for Hackett (64).

ST FLANNAN’S: L Talty (St Joseph’s Doora Barefield); D Ball (St Joseph’s Doora Barefield), S MacNamara (Clooney-Quin), D Murrihy (Inagh-Kilnamona); J Cullinan (Ruan), C Hill (Ballyea), C Daly (St Joseph’s Doora Barefield); G Ball (St Joseph’s Doora Barefield), I Hassett (Clooney-Quin); R Ralph (Clarecastle), P Finneran (Clooney-Quin), H Doherty (Clarecastle); E O’Connor (Ballyea), T O’Connor (St Joseph’s Doora Barefield), D McNamara (Clooney-Quinn).

Subs: J Barry (Inagh-Kilnamona) for D Ball (27-28, temp); J Barry (Inagh-Kilnamona) for Hassett (38); J Keane Hayes (Kilmaley) for Finneran (45); B Talty (St Joseph’s Doora Barefield) for Ralph (54, inj); D Loftus (Éire Óg Ennis) for E O’Connor (56).

Referee: T Walsh (Waterford).