Tipperary hurling legends will reunite for Dillon Quirke Foundation
Golf classic will be held at Cahir Park on Friday April 19
To win an All-Ireland hurling title is an achievement. But to win three in the same year is the celebration of dreams.
Tipperary accomplished this feat in 1989, winning the senior, junior and Under 21 crowns.
Former sponsors Enfer will celebrate that unique year by bringing together the players once again from those three successful teams of 1989 on Friday April 19 at Cahir Park Golf Club in aid of the Dillon Quirke Foundation.
Tipperary has many first and unique achievements in the GAA. It is the only county to have twice won the All-Ireland senior hurling and two other grades in the same year (1930, 1989). The 1930 success meant Tipp were the first county in GAA history in either hurling or football to do so.
We need to look back before 1989 to really appreciate where that unique achievement came from. In 1986 John O’Grady, who wrote a weekly column in the Tipperary Star under the pen name Cúlbáire, summed up the year as “Anatomy of another failure”.
If we look back on that year it will offer a perspective on where Tipperary hurling was languishing.
National Hurling League - beat Roscommon by 8 points; beat Antrim by 8 points; lost to Westmeath by 7 points; beat Kerry by 16 points; beat Meath by 17 points; lost to Wexford by 14 points; beat Down by 19 points.
Tipp failed to be promoted from the league’s bottom level. In the senior championship the team was beaten in the first game and eliminated by Clare, 2-10 to 1-11.
It was a leap of faith by the then County Chairman Michael Lowry, by proposing Michael “Babs” Keating as the new manager of Tipperary, with power to nominate his own selectors.
"Babs" set about putting the county on a sound financial footing by forming the first Supporters Club in the history of the GAA in 1986. That was the catalyst for the success that followed; promotion from the lower echelons of the National Hurling League to Munster Champions in 1987 and 1988, and National League Champions in ‘88; and in 1989 winning the county’s 23rd All- Ireland title.
It was the stuff of dreams, especially for supporters who had lived through 18 barren years since Tadhg O’Connor had lifted the MacCarthy Cup in 1971.
Tipp then won the Junior All-Ireland, beating Galway 0-12 to 0-8 under the captaincy of Kevin Laffan (Gortnahoe/Glengoole) and featuring a man of the match performance from Liam Sheedy. This set the stage for a treble success.
Who will ever forget the Under 21 victory under the captaincy of Declan Ryan, which completed the treble, in front of 30,000 people in Portlaoise in the final against Offaly. Trailing by seven points after 15 minutes, Tipperary found a hat-trick hero in Dan Quirke, who banged in three goals to turn that deficit into a half-time lead. Tipp survived a thrilling Offaly challenge to emerge triumphant by two points.
To mark the 35th anniversary of those successes the players and their supporters will gather again, but with an added purpose in organising a golf classic to raise funds for the Dillon Quirke Foundation - Dillon, that wonderful Tipperary hurler whose sad and sudden passing on the Semple Stadium sod in his club colours of Clonoulty/Rossmore, was son of the 1989 Under 21 final hat-trick hero Dan.
The event is The Enfer Legends Golf Classic at Cahir Park in aid of the Dillon Quirke Foundation, sponsored by Enfer Scientific. This triumvirate of All-Ireland winners, now legends of Tipperary hurling will be joined by the legends of the Tipperary 1971 winning team as the bridge between the years of “famine” before Tipp won again at senior level in 1989.
Teams of four costing €200 per team are most welcome and the organising committee would appreciate if those who wish to take part can confirm their interest so that arrangements can be made.
Non-golfers are welcome to come and join the day by having a meal and socialising with the participants - again you are asked to confirm your attendance so that the golf club can be informed of the number of meals that will be required.
It will be a celebration and a gathering of Tipperary people to reminisce and the organisers stress that everybody is welcome, be it to play golf or join for a meal. Your early response would be appreciated, as it will help the organisation around the day.
To book a team for golf or for more information e-mail:[email protected]
Call or text 085-1021971 and join the WhatsApp group.