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Picture below shows Billy Phillips being presented with his running T-Shirt by Joe Bracken purchasing manager with Clancy Construction, latter main sponsor of the three Thurles Crokes AC members running in the Boston Marathon. Also in the photo are John O’Shaughnessy (President Thurles Chamber) and Declan Doherty.
The boys representing Thurles Crokes AC will fly out to Boston on Saturday week next and by competing hope to raise major funding for two Irish charities; Irish Autism Action and Pieta House.
To this end the three lads have created an on-line fund-raising page on www.mycharity.ie/event/john_o__shaughnessys_event where donations can be made by clicking on the ‘Sponsor Me Now’ tab on the home page. The guys would like to thank most sincerely all those that have donated to date and would ask for as much support as possible for these very worthy causes.
NOTE: They are also holding a fund raising night in Larry Fogarty’s pub on the May 4th; to celebrate what they hope will be their success in the marathon and one final night of further funding raising.
Note also that the lads have funded the costs of the trip to Boston themselves and all money raised will go 100% to both charities split on a 50/50 basis.
PLEASE SUPPORT – ALL DONATIONS NO MATTER HOW SMALL WILL BE MUCH APPRECIATED.
 Tipperary beat the Rebel County Cork 3-25 (34pts) to 4-19 (31pts) in what can only be described as a truly thrilling Allianz Hurling League quarter-final here at Semple Stadium in Thurles yesterday. In front of a relatively small crowd of spectators, just 6,615 dedicated loyal supporters watched Tipperary’s man of the match; John O’Dwyer (Killenaule) hit 1-07 (10pts) for the Premier County, to set up a semi-final meeting with Clare in three weeks time.
At half-time, Cork were 3-11 (20pts) to Tipperary 3-09 (18pts) in front, however they were soon to fall six points behind during the course of the second half. Patrick Horgan’s late goal provided just a glimmer of hope for Cork and they could even have snatched a draw had Anthony Nash’s 20m free not been blocked by a determined Premier County gathered in mass on the Tipperary goal-line.
From a sheer defensive point of view on both sides, the game was noteworthy in its openness, with 51 scores in total totted up over the course of the seventy minutes played and which also saw Seamus Callanan take his League tally to a massive 5-40 (55pts) with an added haul yesterday of another 8 pts. Tipperary had edged into the last eight with a three-point victory over Dublin in Thurles just seven days ago and with the threat of relegation now removed, within Tipperary was almost certainly a feeling of freedom in some of their action, which was well documented in the first ten minutes as the Premier county tallied up a ten-point lead.
While S.Harnedy grabbed two goals within the space of three minutes, thus bringing Cork back into close contention, it was the O’Dwyer goal, three minutes before the break which kept the Premier fifteen in contention, levelling twice early in the second half, to establish a 3-21 (30pt) to 3-15 (34pt) lead.
Cork were handed a possible lifeline in the 65th minute when Horgan rifled his fourth goal past Tipperary goalkeeper Darragh Egan, however although Cork were to come within a point of their host team in the final minute, efforts from Noel McGrath and John O’Dwyer ensured the winning result for the Premier side.
Final Score: Tipperary 3-25 (34pts) – Cork 4-19 (31pts).
Tipperary Team: D. Egan; P. Stapleton, C. O’Mahony, C. O’Brien, J. Barry, B. Maher, T. Stapleton, K. Bergin, J. Woodlock, D. Maher, N. McGrath, J. O’Dwyer, S. Bourke, S. Callanan and N. O’Meara.
Subs: R. Maher for C. O’Mahony, J. Forde for N. O’Meara, L. McGrath for S. Bourke, E. Kelly for D. Maher and J. O’Brien for S. Callanan.
Ireland knew exactly what was needed this evening following England’s defeat of Italy by 52-11 in Rome in the RBS 6 Nations title this morning, forcing Ireland to either beat France or miss out on their 2014 Grand Slam title.
This evening however Ireland held on with gritted determination in a truly nail-biting finish, to narrowly beat France 22-20. This was Ireland’s first Six Nations Cup win since 2009, granting retiring player Brian O’Driscoll the perfect send off, in this his final test wearing an Irish green jersey. Their victory today was only Ireland’s second in the French Capital in 42 years.
France, despite their somewhat indifferent campaign this year to-date, came into the game with true determination. Early tough momentum and Maxime Machenaud landing two penalties, following infringements by Chris Henry and Dave Kearney, gave the French an early six-point lead.
France’s lead was to be short lived however as Ireland’s superior disciplined attacking organisation opened up just enough room for Sexton to make Ireland’s first contribution, brushing past Bastareaud to cross the line for the first Irish try of the game, but failing to convert his own score. France now stood 6-5 on the scoreboard.
Next Conor Murray manages to feed Andrew Trimble, who raced in for Ireland’s second try with Sexton making no mistake with the conversion and raising Ireland’s score to 12 against France’s 6. A cross-field kick by Tales, just five metres from the Irish line saw Yohan Huget rise above Dave Kearney, knocking the ball inward towards Brice Dulin, latter who made no mistake collecting and scoring, thus leading France into the interval with 13-12 ahead of Ireland, Machenaud having landed the conversion.
After withstanding early pressure from France in the second half, Dave Kearney grabbed a spilled ball which in time reached Sexton who found the gap to cross the French line untouched for his second try of the match and again making the conversion.
A further penalty from a ruck allowed Sexton to add 3 points making it 22-13; however Ireland was soon to lose Sexton with a little more than 10 minutes to play, when he was injured by the right elbow of a Bastareaud, as he attempted a break.
Dimitri Szarzewsi would now reward France’s continued tough momentum with a controversial try, latter which referee Steve Walsh declined to ask the TMO for an opinion. Scoreboard read Ireland 22 – France 20.
With just over one minute remaining, Ireland’s heart sank when the French No. 8 Damien Chouly scored in the right hand corner. But this try was checked by the TMO and found to be ‘clear and obvious,’ identifying a forward pass from the hands of French Captain Pascal Pape and was quickly disallowed.
Final score Ireland 22 – France 20, thus securing only Irelands second title in 29 years, but nevertheless a truly outstanding performance and completing a perfect finale to Brian O’Driscoll’s truly marvellous career in Irish Rugby.
Disappointment this afternoon for Tipperary in Semple Stadium, when in front of 8,133 spectators, the Premier County slumped to their second successive defeat, allowing Clare to collect their second League victory of the current season.
Clare beat Tipperary by 4-15 to 0-20, giving Clare a seven point win in round 3 of the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A, played this afternoon.
For Clare it was Connor McGrath who proved to be the star of the show, outshining Tipperary’s full-back Paddy Stapleton in the 11th minute, to deliver Clare’s first goal in the first half.
McGrath was on target again in the 30th minute; accepting a well delivered pass from Padraic Collins and with just two minutes remaining of the first half, Clare’s third goal arrived courtesy of Clare’s John Conlon from a neat pass by Colm Galvin
Throughout the game Tipperary were constantly being punished for turning over possession allowing a slick Clare attack take full advantage and with a half-time scoreboard reading; Clare 3-07 (16pts) – Tipperary 0-08 (8pts).
Following their trip to the dressing-room, Tipperary began the second half looking somewhat livelier and began the process of reducing their mountainous deficit. With 20 minutes left to play they were down to a three point difference, the score reading 0-14 to 3-08. However Clare continued to keep the scoreboard slowly ticking over throughout the second half, denying what appeared to be certain scoring opportunities to John O’Dwyer and James Woodlock.
However, in the 52nd minute, McGrath raised his goal tally to hat-trick status, killing off any future glimmer of hope for a Tipperary revival.
The failure by Tipperary manager Eamon O’Shea to name Conor O’Mahony initially in the starting fifteen, must surely be seen as a major over site on his part, resulting in today’s poor, permeable, first half defence and their apparent inability to deal with high ball issues.
Tipperary Team: D. Gleeson, P. Stapleton, T. Stapleton, C. Barrett, S. McGrath (0-01), T. Hamill, M. Cahill, B. Maher, J. Woodlock (0-02), K. Bergin (0-01), N. McGrath (0-1), P. Murphy (0-01), J. Forde (0-02,), J. O’Dwyer (0-07), S. Bourke (0-02).
Subs: C. Kenny for S. Bourke, C. O’Mahony for T. Hamill, D. Maher for P. Murphy, M. Heffernan for K. Bergin and R. Maher for J. Forde.
Referee: J. Owens (Wexford).
The Lár na Páirce GAA Museum, located in Thurles town, latter the birthplace of the GAA, is home to Ireland’s first and oldest collection of Gaelic Games sporting heritage and to be brutally honest if you have not visited this venue at least once since it opened in 1994, regardless of which Irish county you support, you are not really a true dedicated and passionate GAA fan.
Our video hereunder shows just a sample of some of the delights that this venue, at Slievenamon Road, Thurles, has to offer.
(Video courtesy Ursuline Convent, Thurles, Transition Year Students 2013/14 – Photographic Project.)
Recently refurbished, Lár na Páirce GAA Museum houses an impressive collection of memorabilia by any standards – including hurleys, footballs, jerseys, trophies, medals, programmes, publications and banners – which brings to life the development of Gaelic Games from ancient times to the present day as well as showing its unique role in Irish history.
Same is part of what we are, a valuable and treasured expression of our heritage – a storehouse of the culture and traditions of our most popular national pastimes. The venue now features a state of the art audio-visual system to enhance the visitor’s experience at key points throughout the tour.
Lár na Páirce is now a multi-faceted, sophisticated, fully automated experience with the centre-piece of the museum remaining the rare Sam Melbourne collection and is, as our video shows, visited daily by schools at all levels, together with Retirement Groups and visitors from every country under the sun.
The Sam Melbourne Collection
The late Mr Sam Melbourne, a native of Horse & Jockey, Thurles, started collecting GAA material in the 1930s. In 1989, Tipperary GAA Board purchased this unique collection and gave it a permanent home at Lár na Páirce. Over the years the collection had grown in importance and size and remains a unique experience for the visitor.
Museum Site: Lár na Páirce GAA Museum is located at Slievenamon Road, close to the junction with Liberty Square, in the Thurles town centre and for more information on this “state of the art” visitor attraction visit Treasures In Lár Na Páirce Museum.
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