Up Tipperary - First-ever All-Ireland Ladies champions to be honoured on Late Late Show

Fifty years on from the day that they wrote themselves into the history books, there is a big night of celebration planned for the Tipperary Ladies Gaelic Football team of 1974, the first-ever winners of the Senior All-Ireland title. Along with the Offaly team, who they beat in the final, the Tipp trailblazers will be honoured on the Late Late Show on Friday, April 5, for what promises to be a great evening of magic memories.

In the first-ever All-Ireland final played at Durrow, county Laois, on October 13, 1974, Tipperary defeated Offaly on a scoreline of 2-3 to 2-2. The Tipperary scores on the day came from Eleanor Carroll 1-2, Mary McGrath 1-0 and Lilian Gorey 0-1. The team was captained by Kitty Ryan (Savage) of Ardfinnan.

Twelve months later, in the All-Ireland final played at Athy, county Kildare, Tipperary completed back-to-back titles when they overcame Galway by 1-4 to 0-0.

The Brendan Martin Cup is now one of the most fiercely contested competitions in the Irish sporting calendar, and the Ladies Football game has grown exponentially to become the success story it is today in terms of participation for young women, but also as a spectator sport with huge numbers now attending the big inter-county games.

While Tipperary may not have won the competition since those halcyon days in the 1970s, there can be no doubt that they played a big part in developing the sport in the early days. 

Keep an eye out for them with Patrick Kielty & Co., on Friday, April 5.