Family-friendly atmosphere at Tipperary games in support of Dillon Quirke Foundation

Above: Tommy Sheehan, manager of Fethard Town Park, made a presentation to Anna Ryan, wife of the former Tipperary football manager, the late Philly Ryan, at the Champions Under Lights fundraiser last Saturday. Also included are Suzanne Ahearn, Fethard Town Park, and Dan Quirke. Picture: Michael Boland

It was a gala occasion at Fethard Town Park last Saturday when the All-Ireland hurling and football champions, Tipperary and Kerry, were the star attractions at a major Champions Under Lights fundraiser in aid of the Dillon Quirke Foundation.

A crowd of over 2,000 attended to see Tipperary get the better of Limerick in the hurling, while a spirited performance from Tipperary saw them push Kerry all the way in the football opener.

The event, supported by Clonmel Credit Union, raised in excess of €40,000 in support of the Dillon Quirke Foundation.

With both the Liam MacCarthy and Sam Maguire cups on display, there was huge interest among the younger fans to get so close to two such iconic pieces of GAA silverware and have their photographs taken beside them.

All the proceeds from the day went to the Dillon Quirke Foundation, named after Clonoulty/Rossmore and Tipp hurler Dillon Quirke, who collapsed and died during a match on August 5, 2022, due to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS).

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His death occurred while he was captaining Clonoulty/Rossmore at Semple Stadium. In his memory, his family established the Dillon Quirke Foundation to raise awareness of SADS and provide free cardiac screenings for young people, which has helped save dozens of lives.

His father, Dan, was among those at Fethard Town Park and he thanked everyone for attending and supporting the foundation. Helping to save the lives of other young men and women across the country from sudden death syndrome was a wonderful legacy for Dillon, he said.

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Well-known sports journalist, Joanne O’Riordan, interviewed Dan as well as the four team managers – Kerry’s Jack O’Connor, Limerick’s John Kiely, as well as Tipperary’s Niall Fitzgerald and Liam Cahill – before the games and all expressed their delight in taking part and supporting such a worthy cause. A pop-up shop was also well supported and will add to the proceeds.

The visiting players and officials from Limerick and Kerry were hugely impressed with the facilities at Fethard. The Limerick hurlers had been there before, but it was a first for the Kerry footballers and as they are planning their own 4G pitch will have returned home with some ideas.

At half-time during the football match, Fethard Town Park made a special presentation to Anna Ryan, the wife of former Tipperary football manager Philly Ryan, whose untimely death left a huge void in Tipperary football.

“We couldn’t let the occasion pass as the first call I made about this event was to Philly Ryan, asking him would he be interested in taking part and to give me a team list for the programme. He was very supportive and when I told him that Tipperary would be playing Kerry, he was very excited, and it was so sad the way everything turned out,” recalled Fethard Town Park manager Tommy Sheehan. “So, we’re planting a tree in the park in his memory so he will be here for evermore”.

Sheehan described a real family-friendly atmosphere at the two games that was appropriate for an occasion to remember Dillon Quirke and to support the foundation named after him.

“I was very proud to be associated with the event and that we managed to get teams of the calibre that we did, including both All-Ireland champions here on the same day, and get both cups here on the same day. For a small rural town such as Fethard to get teams of this quality here would make you feel proud. But the big thing for me was the support for the foundation on the night”, he said.

All four managers involved used the games to test out fringe players. Even though Kerry were missing their All-Ireland final stars, it was still a testing introduction into senior management for new Tipp football boss Niall Fitzgerald. However, he will have been impressed with his side’s performance, as they led midway through the second half before losing by three points.

Liam Cahill also used the occasion for experimentation, and while none of the starting fifteen from the All-Ireland final started, there were a number of panellists, including Peter McGarry, Bryan O’Meara and Seanie Kenneally, as well as a number of debutants. They edged Limerick by a single point, with high-profile names such as Cathal O’Neill, Adam English and Shane O’Brien all starting for the visitors.

Last January, Tipp had their first game of 2025 against Dublin in Fethard Town Park, on the grass pitch. Even though they lost by three points, the year didn’t turn out too badly after that. Maybe this latest excursion to the “walled town” might signal another exciting year in prospect for the blue and gold.