PICTURES: Memorial tournament in Tipperary proves a great success

The annual Thurles Sarsfields St Stephen’s Day Memorial Hurling Tournament proved another outstanding success this year, with four mixed teams providing plenty of entertainment to work off some of the Christmas excesses.

The tournament commemorates four great clubmen in the late Seamus Maher, Andy Rossiter, Eamon Lawlor and Jack Griffin – four men who passed away long before their time and who left an indelible mark on the club and its members.

All of the participating players were drawn from the hurling, camogie and ladies football clubs as they made up four teams in the names of the four men being remembered and managed by four club stalwarts.

So, the event really was a celebration of the club members as the present recalled the past, enjoyed a post Christmas get-together and entered into the Festive Season spirit.

There was some magnificent hurling on display mixed with a bit of rustiness too.

But the real winner on the day was the great festive spirit which prevailed from the moment people started gathering at The

Outside Field for the first game at 11am. There was also an underage camogie game later on with refreshments and fun in Árus na Sáirséalaigh throughout the day.

In the end there had to be a winner, and it was the Seamus Maher team, managed by his brother Tommy, which prevailed, with the Jack Griffin team winning the Shield.

A host of other awards were also presented, including a special surprise presentation to renowned local photographer John O’Loughlin, who has been capturing images for the club across all grades for many years.

Indeed, John is ever ready with his camera and available to so many organisations in Thurles as he gives freely and willingly of his time and tremendous talent throughout the year.

This Memorial tournament is one of the most eagerly awaited events in the club calendar, and judging by the attendance and the enthusiasm of the participants, it is set to continue for a long time to come.