Very few reach the standards set by Tipperary's John O’Grady in his Cúlbáire column

Above: The Tipperary group who attended the 2024 Munster GAA Awards at Fota Island Resort in Cork. Back, from left: Michael Bourke, Mark McLoughlin, Damian Lawlor, Michael Power, Joe Kennedy, Sean Nugent, Derek O’Mahoney, Ed Donnelly. Front, Jonathan Cullen, Euan Murray (Munster Minor Hurler of the Year), Ger Ryan, Darragh McCarthy (Munster Under 20 Hurler of the Year) and Johnny Ryan

For over 50 years, starting in the early 1960s, John O’Grady’s Cúlbáire column in the Tipperary Star was essential reading each week. Superbly scripted and often searing in content, it was like a soundtrack to our lives, offering unmissable background commentary on our GAA world in all its facets.

Cúlbáire has been silent for over a decade now and last week we learned that Johnno, as he was familiarly known, had passed away just a month shy of his 94th birthday. His passing drew reminiscences from many who had hung on his words over the decades.

As a brother columnist, writing in a sister newspaper (his words), I have more reason than most to reflect on the man and his legacy. In an opinion-driven media, newspaper columnists nowadays are two-a-penny but very few reach the standards set by John O’Grady.

Back in the 1970s I was drawn to two sports writers. Con Houlihan delivered something incredibly unique in his pieces in the Evening Press. Then, locally, we had Cúlbáire who was equally magnetic.

There were two aspects to Cúlbáire that made for compulsive reading. Firstly, his mastery of the language made reading the column a sheer joy. Secondly, his trenchant views and willingness to utter what others dared to whisper made his column unmissable.

Johnno’s hurling background as an All-Ireland winner at senior (1958) and minor (twice – ’47 and ’49 – the second as captain) gave him credibility as a commentator. He had skin in the game, so his views carried weight.

And he was never shy about delivering those views. Back in the 60s the big issue was the “ban”, that relic from the past which had outlived its usefulness (was it ever useful?) and had become an embarrassment to the Association. Johnno was a powerful advocate for removal along with people like Tom Woulfe on the national stage. By 1971 their arguments proved irresistible and Rule 27 slid into history.

In subsequent years, as the Troubles raged in Northern Ireland, Cúlbáire waged another battle. Some elements within republicanism sought to bring the GAA onside with their campaign, seeking, in the words of Cúlbáire, moral support for very immoral actions. Johnno resisted and later admitted that those close to him were concerned for his safety.

In a sense Cúlbáire was at his best in controversy; he was a formidable opponent. For those in authority he was often the bane of their lives. His antagonism with the longtime county secretary, Tommy Barrett, was well-known and long-lasting.

Another one of Johnno’s sparring partners was the late Kevin Cashman, who also passed away this year. Cashman at the height of his prowess wrote for the Sunday Tribune and was a one-time buddy of Johnno’s in the press box. However, for some reason the friendship soured and the falling-out was bitter, with Cashman writing to the editor of the Star, advising on what to do with some of the Cúlbáire copy.

I got an up-close taste of that particular quarrel one day in the press box of the old Páirc Uí Chaoimh. I ended up sitting sandwiched between the pair (on Johnno’s request to swap seats). It was an uncomfortably silent afternoon.

I guess all of this goes with the territory of being an outspoken columnist. People like straight shooters – as long as the shooting isn’t in their direction. It’s one of the great paradoxes of column writing: what makes you popular with some will draw the ire of others.

My relationship with Johnno was mixed - and varied over the years. My first up-close view was as a first year in Thurles CBS. I didn’t have him in class but hurling in the old railway field we’d often see him practising his golf swing on the sideline. Golf became one of his life’s passions.

Later I got to know him on the Yearbook committee and over the years we were often on the same page, comparing notes. There were clashes too, however, where I saw the other side: nobody could deliver a “cut” quite like Cúlbáire.

That aside, I have no doubt about the power and influence of the man over the decades. His legacy lives on in the records of the Tipperary Star where his control of language and incisive observations in turn enlivened, enlightened and enraged over the many decades of the Cúlbáire column. May he rest in peace.

Elsewhere, Clonoulty/Rossmore launched volume one of their club history on Sunday last in their clubrooms. Parish native, Will Ryan, a primary school principal in Cashel, authored the work with PJ Maxwell, the All-Ireland minor-winning full back of 1976, operating as research driver of the project.

The book brings the Clonoulty/Rossmore story up to 1961 with volume two to follow later. On even a cursory flick through, it’s a hugely impressive production. I love how the drier material of match days and dates is broken up with a multitude of photographs and illustrations; the layout of the book is eye-catching.

A novel feature is the inclusion of QR codes throughout the text, enabling the reader to scan with a smart phone and access video and other content. It’s a marvellous enhancement to the book and the first I’ve seen in a club history.

The book is titled The Botheen Men, a reference to the team moniker used back in the 1880s. It refers to the size and weight of the hurley they used, which was heavy on timber, a phrase that was also used in jest on Sunday about some more recent club players.

The Botheen Men won the second-ever county senior hurling title in 1888 and, of course, the club has since added three more in 1989, 1997 and 2018, which will be rich material for volume two.

Former player and local artist, Alan O’Dwyer, produced an impressive design for the front cover, which further embellishes the publication. A foreword by club player, Conor Hammersley, is yet another highlight, as mentioned by Will Ryan in his thoughtful address at the launch.

All-in, I suspect it’s a club history that will rate among the very best of the genre.

Otherwise, County Convention in The Dome on Sunday evening last was as uneventful as these affairs can be. Not a ballot or an argument in sight, just routine addresses and thank yous delivered to a bored audience.

The financial statement was the only item that might have piqued interest, given the well-known difficulties that the Board faces and, indeed, the topicality of the issue at present, with Revenue investigating the affairs of some County Boards.

A revelation of a working deficit of €126,312 for the year was no surprise; it comes on the back of a loss of €78,203 for 2023. A number of expenditure items skyrocketed during the past year, such as player mileage costs going from €296,888 in 2023 to €413,103 this time. The county’s senior footballers topped the mileage list on €181,998.

Expenses paid to team managers and selectors jumped from €189,325 in 2023 to €289,061 in 2024, with senior hurling topping the pile at €117,787; senior football cost €71,942. Overall team administration costs for the year were €2,175,088. The word unsustainable certainly comes to mind.

Finally, the unexpected passing of Roscrea’s Mick Minogue will have stirred memories for many people. A key player with the club in the sixties and seventies, he won five county senior medals as well as an All-Ireland club win in 1971 when they became the first-ever winners of the new championship.

As a county manager he played a major role in Tipperary’s progress out of the famine years. The minor win of ’76 was a key moment, as was the three-in-a-row of Under 21 titles from 1979-81. As a foundation-layer for the ending of the famine, those successes were central.

May he rest in peace.

SEE ALSO: New book tells the story of Clonoulty/Rossmore GAA club