Niall O'Meara's retirement marks the departure of stylish player for Tipperary

The retirement of Niall O’Meara – Bill to his friends – marks another break with that golden generation of Tipperary hurlers that gave us so much cheer during the course of a decade.

Niall wasn’t there for the first of the three All-Irelands in 2010 but he was involved for the other two, coming in as a sub in 2016 and playing from the start in 2019, when his one championship goal was a pivotal moment.

That goal, I suspect, will be the most remembered moment from his inter-county career. The entire sequence of play still remains vivid in the memory, from Paudie Maher’s huge catch over the head of Walter Walsh, to the delivery into the forwards, O’Meara latching onto the breaking ball and the bouncing finish past Eoin Murphy, never an easy goalie to beat.

Remember, we started poorly in that final, Kilkenny going five-up at one stage, so we needed something big to turn the tide. O’Meara’s goal was that biggie. The game had turned before Richie Hogan was dismissed and thereafter Tipperary sailed home emphatically for a 14-point win.

Niall O’Meara’s inter-county career spanned ten seasons but it was a broken tenure, often interrupted by injury. He made just 18 championship appearances, scoring 1-9 in total, though when you include league outings the figures increase to 45 appearances and 6-39 scored.

His medal haul includes two Munsters, two All-Irelands and a Fitzgibbon Cup with Mary I in 2016. His standout moment with the MacDonaghs was last year when he played a central role from half back in the replay win over Kiladangan.

A lesser-known fact is that he also has a county senior football medal from 2011 when he was part of the north Tipperary combination side, Thomas MacDonaghs, who toppled Moyle Rovers in the decider. Indeed, there’s also the often-forgotten detail of an All-Ireland intermediate hurling medal with Tipperary in 2013. They beat Kilkenny by three points in a final played at Nowlan Park, where O’Meara scored four points from wing forward.

It's a decent innings from a stylish player who worked his way up through the underage grades, though without success at either minor or Under 21. A right-hand-under player, he excelled in open play, where his anticipation and use of the ball was excellent. In recent years he switched back to defence for Kilruane, where his covering role at half back was a significant contributor to their success.

O’Meara’s departure from the county panel, coming after Seamus Callanan’s earlier exit, means that six of the 2019 starting fifteen have now left the stage. By any reckoning we’re into a new era for the county, one of rebuilding. The betting odds for next year’s All-Ireland reflect our position. We’re 10/1 outsiders behind Limerick, Kilkenny, Galway, Cork and Clare in that order. It’s our lowest standing for well over a decade.

Liam Cahill’s task then is a challenging one and I don’t think the evidence of this year’s club championship will have him jumping with glee. Some of the most promising upcoming talent is still very young; bringing them onto the panel will be for developmental purposes rather than expecting an immediate senior impact.

There’s a tricky balancing act here for the Tipperary management. On the one hand you need to nurture young players rather than fast-track them onto the senior set-up. Against that you also need results, so marrying the two requirements is difficult.

It’s a problem John Kiely, for example, doesn’t have, so he can hold back the likes of Cathal O’Neill, Shane O’Brien and Adam English, safe in the knowledge that he already has his winning fifteen in place. It’s a luxury Liam Cahill doesn’t have.

The All-Ireland minor win of 2022 is an obvious point of reference when viewing upcoming talent but the fact that it was an Under 17 championship limits its usefulness. I still remain convinced that the change from Under 18 was an error and it’s interesting to see that Cork recently voted to return to that age bracket for its club championship.

Indeed, nothing has changed in recent years to alter my perception that Under 18 and Under 21 remains the optimal structure for our championships. Part of the problem is that those who championed this change are now reluctant to admit that they got it wrong, so we appear to be stuck with this Under 17/Under 20 model for the foreseeable.

Anyway, players like Paddy McCormack (Borris-Ileigh) and Darragh McCarthy (Toomevara) were 2022 minors, which means they’ll only be hitting 19 next year. You’d expect these players, and other members of that minor group, to be part of a developmental project where Under 20 plays a key role.

There will be a lot of interest in that Under 20 grade next year. I suspect the management is very lucky to be still in situ after such a poor delivery in 2023. If that group misfires again next year, then we really are in difficulty.

Following his impressive showing with Sarsfields this year, Darragh Stakelum will be in his final year at Under 20 next season. He’s been appointed captain of the side and there will be much interest in his development. Sean Kenneally, Moneygall, showed fine potential last year with the Under 20s also so he’s another who will be watched with interest.

This entire group will be under the microscope because they represent the future prospects. Players like Eddie Ryan (Borris-Ileigh), Jack Leamy (Golden), Peter McGarry (St Mary’s) and Michael Corcoran (Silvermines) are among a group who will be a particular focus of interest. Players develop at different stages so we’ll be hoping that a batch of these lads step out from the crowd in 2023.

In all of this we’ll watch with interest the announcement of Liam Cahill’s panel for winter training ahead of the start of the new inter-county season. The National League commences with a Tipperary visit to Parnell Park on the first weekend of February. We then have Galway and Westmeath at home, with away games to Limerick and Antrim.

It’s a five-game run where Tipperary will be expected to do well. At a glance we’d hope to handle Dublin, Westmeath and Antrim, with the Galway and Limerick games posing greater difficulty.

Mind you, I wouldn’t take anything for granted in the Dublin game at Parnell Park.

Anyway, the aim would be a semi-final spot and that will likely require a win over either Galway or Limerick. All matter for the New Year.

In other items, we’re keeping a watchful eye on the experimental handpass rule, which is currently being trialled in the colleges’ freshers’ league. The puckout rule requiring the ball to pass the 45-metre line is also part of the package.

The handpass experiment appears to be doing well with minimal disruption being caused, though it still has its critics.

I noticed Paul O’Brien, head of Gaelic games at DCU, being quoted in the Indo last week suggesting that the experimental rules are “doomed to failure”. He makes the curious suggestion that the games be left alone and allowed to “grow organically”.

Some of us are around long enough to remember when you could drop the hurley to handpass the ball - and handpass to the net. Eventually a change of rule eliminated both unsightly practices. Weeds grow organically – sensible rule changes don’t.

Paul O’Brien makes an even more astonishing assertion later in the piece. “I don’t know any hurler who throws the ball … none of them are throwing it. It’s just a really quick action”.

I wonder did he keep a straight face while saying that? Really, if this is the level of denial that’s around then maybe the proposed change is doomed.