Moycarkey/Borris have been a breath of fresh air in Tipperary county hurling championship

Ahead of semi-finals weekend, much of the hurling talk hereabouts focuses on the presence of Moycarkey/Borris in the mix. The Mid Tipperary club brings freshness to the scene following their shock win against reigning champions Kiladangan in the quarter-final.

Moycarkey is a club with a fine tradition. They’re third in the roll of honour with 12 titles behind Sarsfields (36) and Toomevara (21). They had 10 of that dozen in the locker by 1940 but then hit lean times until the early eighties brought two more, which again has been followed by decades of obscurity.

Those county titles in 1982 and 1984 marked a period or prominence for the parish. They defeated Roscrea in a replayed ’82 final and had the measure of Lorrha in ’84.

I suspect there are still deep regrets around the 1982 season where they went on to topple Limerick champions, Patrickswell, in the Munster final but fell to Loughgiel Shamrocks of Antrim in the All-Ireland semi-final. The long journey north and the local hospitality probably didn’t help their mission; they lost by 2-7 to 1-6.

Their regrets deepened when Loughgiel went on to defeat St Ryanagh’s of Offaly in a replayed All-Ireland final. You get very few chances to lift this title, as the likes of Thurles Sarsfields and Toomevara will readily attest. Carpe diem, as they say.
The Centenary Year win was a significant one given the occasion but there was to be no encore as Patrickswell had their revenge for ’82 in the Munster series.

That Moycarkey team of the early eighties was a sturdy one. Tom Doran kept goal with Willie Ryan and Jack Bergin forming the defensive spine. Wing back, the late Eamon Darmody, was one of the sweetest hurlers in the game at that time. Liam Bergin was one of the younger recruits to the team at midfield while the iconic John Flanagan, hero of ’71, was still a formidable presence in attack. Dickie Quigley was a nifty forward too on that side.

It’s a tradition that will encourage the present generation under the coaching baton of Kilkenny’s Eddie Brennan. The club hasn’t been to semi-final stage since ’84, though they were in a quarter-final in 1991 when, coincidentally, Toomevara were narrow victors (2-9 to 1-10).

In contrast to Moycarkey, this is more familiar territory for Toomevara. The club’s greatest-ever era came to a close in 2008 but in latter years they have remained very competitive without threatening to win out the championship. Out of the last six years, for example, 2021 is the only season where they failed to make the knockout stages and on that occasion they were denied by score difference.

Otherwise, over the past six seasons they’ve contested two semi-finals and three quarter-finals. Their average losing margin in those five games was six points; last year’s semi-final was their biggest defeat when coming up nine short to Kiladangan, a club that has regularly had their measure.

SEE ALSO: Busy Tipperary GAA schedule continues with Under 19 semi-finals

Moycarkey’s emergence this year has taken Tipperary’s hurling world by surprise. Careful watchers, however, of the underage scene will have noticed the green shoots that suddenly broke ground with that win over Kiladangan. Dates and events to note were an Under 16 county title in 2015, a county minor victory in 2018 and a county Under 21 success in 2021.

An extraordinary aspect of the win over Kiladangan was the contribution of 1-4 by their goalie and full back line – an aspect of the modern game no doubt. Elsewhere Kieran Cummins and Joe Maher pitched in with five points apiece and, of course, Max Hackett’s goal was the real gem at the end.

Toomevara’s win was more orthodox, being marginally ahead at half-time but finishing strongly in the last quarter against a fading JK Brackens. Darragh McCarthy contributed 11 of their 26 points, including three crucial ones from play when they turned the screw on the Templemore side in the second half. Otherwise, they had a healthy spread of scorers, which included all six starting forwards as well as three defenders and substitute Conor O’Meara, who twice split the posts in the closing push.

Toomevara’s strong tradition – 11 county titles in the 17-year period from 1992 to 2008 – plus their consistency over recent years will earn them favouritism to burst the Moycarkey bubble.

“Squeeze ‘em up Moycarkey” is the old war-cry of that club and they certainly squeezed up on Kiladangan in the quarter-final. Can they find the repeat button? The parish is abuzz and they certainly won’t lack for effort. It’s a fascinating one to anticipate.

The other semi-final between Thurles Sarsfields and Loughmore/Castleiney is awash with recent familiarity. They met at the semi-final stage last year, when Sarsfields were untypically easy winners. The end margin was seven points (1-22 to 2-12), a level of comfort the Blues don’t often enjoy against their country neighbours.

The 2021 final between the pair was altogether different. It went to a replay, where John McGrath worked the late free that yielded the winner for Loughmore after a hectic tussle.

John McGrath is likely to be central to it all once again, whether through frees or open play. He really is pivotal to this team, hitting ten points against Kilruane. His brother Noel was unusually quiet the last day but don’t bank on a similar outcome this time. Brian McGrath had a fine hour at centre back in the semi-final and apart from the McGrath input it’s the overall combativeness of the side that makes them so difficult to master.

Sarsfields had it all so easy against a compliant Nenagh Eire Og in their quarter-final. With close to 50 shots on goal it was, at times, puckabout fare. Give Sars’ that latitude and you can expect to bleed every day. They have classy hurlers all over and will rack up totals close to 30 points when given the freedom of the park.

Ominously, it has been something of a slow burn for Sarsfields. In both county league and Mid campaigns they were unimpressive but have gradually hit the groove as the county series unfolded. They went unbeaten in their group section, racking up some big scores in the process before easily putting Nenagh to the sword in the quarter-final.

Denis Maher and Ronan Maher were powerful defensive pillars against Nenagh and they had no fewer than 11 different scorers contributing to their 0-29 total. Stephen Cahill topped the list on 0-5 but lively new addition, Liam McCormack, caught the eye with 0-4.

READ NEXT: Tipperary GAA club receives almost €187,000 in Sports Capital Grant

They’ll deservedly be favourites at the weekend but they’ll need no reminding of the suffocating effect of a Loughmore side on form. The contrast in styles is major, as is the attraction of this fixture.

The Premier Intermediate semis won’t lack for appeal either. Cashel’s quarter-final dispatch of Sarsfields’ B team was noteworthy but they now face recent seniors Upperchurch/Drombane, a team hungry for an instant return to the top tier.
After a slow start when falling to Carrick Swans, Upperchurch have done the needful since then and will be slightly fancied to progress here.

The other semi is no less attractive. Swans followed up their South senior win with an immediate impact in the county series of the Premier Intermediate when defeating Upperchurch. They slipped up against Silvermines in the final round but had already done enough to qualify for the knockouts, where Burgess were well beaten.

Gortnahoe are no slouches at this level either. They finished second in their group before swatting aside St Mary’s in the quarter-final. As a team that’s been here before – they got to the final in 2022, losing to Roscrea – they know the ropes. Swans will be marginal favourites.