Following the decision of Liam Sheedy to step aside from the Tipperary Senior Hurling Panel, the county will now be forced to seek a new managerial team in their defence of next year’s All Ireland title .
His three year commitment as manager of Tipperary hurlers officially came to an end following their All-Ireland success in September, but it had been hoped that he would continue to remain in charge, together with his backroom team of Eamonn O’Shea and Michael Ryan.
However, hopes were dashed following the decision by all three, not to continue at the helm due to various other future commitments.
Following this unwelcome news, the Tipperary County Board issued a glowing and well deserved tribute to their management skills:
“Tipperary County Board announces with regret that Liam Sheedy, Eamon O’Shea and Michael Ryan are stepping down as the Tipperary senior hurling management team, having completed three successful years which culminated in Tipperary’s magnificent All Ireland senior hurling championship victory this year.
The County Board had offered to appoint all three for another two years. However, due to various personal and work commitments, the management team informed the Board that, much to their regret, it was not possible for them to continue. Tipperary County Board is deeply grateful to Liam, Eamon and Michael for the excellent job they did while in charge of the senior hurling team. They brought extraordinary ability, commitment, pride and passion to their roles and they built a team that exhibited the same characteristics. They worked tirelessly on behalf of the team for the last 3 years.
No words can express our deep sense of gratitude too and admiration for them. While we are deeply disappointed with their decision, we totally respect it and we know it was a difficult one for them to make.We wish them and their families every success for the future and we look forward to them being able to make further contributions to the GAA in Tipperary. They have left Tipperary hurling in a very strong position and have established an extremely solid base on which to build future success.”
Sheedy who had a distinguished playing career himself, before taking on a management role, released a joint statement with Eamonn O’Shea and Michael Ryan today:
“We all have responsible, demanding, professional jobs and we are very grateful to our employers for enabling us to carry out our role with Tipperary with such great support in what is a very challenging economic and working environment. However, we have found ourselves working up to 16 hour a days in order to deliver in both roles and this is simply not sustainable on an ongoing basis. This has led to our decision to stand down.”
The County Board will now begin the process of appointing a new management team.
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