It is coming up on 18 summers since Noel McGrath first got to experience the brilliant madness of it all – Thurles prepping for the Munster senior hurling championship and Cork coming to town. He was a teenager then, he’s a four-time Liam MacCarthy winner now.
But at 35 years of age, the fire still burns within one of Tipperary’s greatest servants. McGrath’s contribution to last July’s All-Ireland final win was to come off the bench late on and help the Premier get over the line. By doing so, he managed to clip over a point.
In the immediate aftermath, many wondered if McGrath had just inked the last chapter on what had all the hallmarks of a Hollywood script – signing off on a high with a fourth Celtic Cross.
But back he has come.
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The Loughmore-Castleiney man made his Munster SHC debut against Cork in May 2009, having made his National Hurling League debut against the same opposition that February. So, it’s fair to say the Rebels have been a feature of his career, but then the Tipp-Cork rivalry has been a feature of Munster hurling for generations.
The latest instalment will undoubtedly reheat conversations about last year’s All-Ireland SHC final – when Tipp’s incredible second-half comeback buried Cork’s Liam MacCarthy ambitions.
But McGrath does not believe that fixture carries much weight this weekend.
“Once the ball is thrown in, you don’t get a second to think about anything really, let alone think about what happened before or at different games,” he says.
“The game will take on a life of its own. What has happened in the past, whether last year or previous games, they’ll be all irrelevant when it comes to it.”
And McGrath is not placing much relevance either on Donal Óg Cusack’s recent comments on Tipperary’s tendency to fall just as quickly as they rise. It was a good old-fashioned stick it on the dressingroom wall jibe, but McGrath knows no comment ever put a sliotar over the black spot.
“People have their opinions and that’s why I suppose they’re on different shows,” he says.
“Whatever their opinion is, it is. At this stage in my career, I’m not going to lose sleep over people saying one thing or another.”
There is a perception that McGrath’s contribution to Tipp now is best utilised as an impact sub in the closing stages, using his experience and leadership coming down the straight.
However, the three-time All Star insists he wants to be part of the starting 15 named by Liam Cahill.
“You put your trust in the management to pick whatever team they want to pick on any given day. There are 36 or 37 of us in there and we all want to play.
“I’m absolutely no different, I want to play 70 minutes. But you just have to go with whatever the management want to do. I’m not knocking down doors to wonder why [if I’m not picked].
“If you’re training well and playing well in training, it’s out of your hands after that and the management decide whether you’re in or not.
“That’s just the way it is. I think all sports around the world are the same. You want to play and I always will want to play.
“But if you’re sulking because you haven’t been playing, then you’re in a bad frame of mind. If you are asked to come in then [during the game], you’re not preparing right and you’re not doing yourself justice and you’re not doing the team justice.”
Ultimately, what Tipp are hoping to achieve over the coming weeks is something no team from the county has managed since the 1960s – retaining the Liam MacCarthy.
“When you’re successful, you want to go again,” adds McGrath. “But when it comes to January, every team starts at the bottom of the hill. You have to work your way back up there.
“There are no guarantees. The level of teams in the championship now are so high, across the board in Munster and Leinster, so you have to really work to get yourself back up to that level again.
“Everybody’s aim in Munster and Leinster is to be in the three teams that are coming out of it, first and foremost. If you’re looking any further ahead, you get done and it can be over in the blink of an eye.
“It is something that you’d love to do [back to back] but at the moment you can’t really think of it. The whole thing could be over if you’re not on it when it comes to the 19th of April. That’s our main goal and focus.”
Tipp’s league campaign was a mixed bag, they finished third in Division 1A following three wins, two defeats and a draw.
“The Limerick match was obviously the big one where we just totally didn’t perform,” said McGrath.
“When you get one of those performances it’s not ideal but I suppose the fact that we bounced back against Watford was a positive because if you get a performance like Limerick, and a result like Limerick, and you follow it up with another one like that then you’re starting to ask questions.
“I suppose we got what we got out of the league. Last year we got to a final, this year we just fell short of getting to a final but we got some great competitive games.
“Now the championship is starting, everybody’s looking forward to it, feeling good and enjoying it. Can’t wait to get started.”
Noel McGrath was speaking at the launch of Centra’s continuing sponsorship of the All-Ireland senior hurling championship.
