Clonmel help Tipp past a club final frontier

Tipperary football crossed another frontier at the weekend when

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won the county’s first Munster club title with a sensational injury-time goal to beat the most successful club in Ireland, Cork’s

Nemo Rangers

.

The breakthrough is described as “hugely” significant by former county manager Séamus McCarthy, the only man to lead Tipperary to back-to-back Munster football finals in the past 70 years and who has served as an Ireland international rules selector.

“It wasn’t just a breakthrough but it came in a tight situation when it looked as if Nemo had it, and they stayed at it and got the reward. I think it’s hugely significant from our perspective and they thoroughly deserve it because they’ve done a pile of work in Clonmel over the past 10 years at under-age.”

He is also full of praise for the scorer of the crucial goal. "Michael Quinlivan is a genuine star. The goal was superb in so far as he broke it to himself and the way he finished it was full of composure, as he slipped it away."

The victory represents Tipperary’s first big football achievement at senior level since the 1930s and follows in a sequence of incremental success that has seen a couple of Munster under-21s, culminating in an All-Ireland appearance this year plus seven minor provincial finals in the past 14 years, including the success of 2011, which was transformed into an All-Ireland victory with another late goal, that time against Dublin.

Exceptional

Clonmel’s success came in the club’s third final and rewarded what McCarthy believes has been exceptional development work.

"They've been progressing nicely and also contributing hugely to the Tipp underage set-up. Michael Quinlivan was on the minor team in 2011. Jason Lonergan was on it, and the Faheys. That's a huge, huge boost to be bringing back into a club scene.

“Quite clearly they had no fear of facing Cork. They’ve all played on teams that have beaten Cork or Kerry at underage level. They had no baggage and no fears.”

Tipperary football has the greatest tradition in Munster outside of Cork and Kerry but the county has lost out to its modern peers in the province in the past 25 years.

Clonmel now face London club Tírchonaill Gaels in this month’s All-Ireland quarter-final and, if successful, will take on the winners of Sunday’s Leinster final between Ballyboden and Portlaoise.

“They’ll be full of confidence,” says McCarthy. “It would be amazing if the county had a football final to look forward to on St Patrick’s Day.”