At first clashes between the two counties’ hurlers were formalities; then they became poisonous; now they are fuelled by mutual respect
Babs contacted the Tipperary Star to clarify his original remarks, without resigning from them: he was sincere in what he said. Raymond Smith in The Sunday Independent weighed in with two columns. The Galway manager Cyril Farrell had his say in The Sunday Press. Everybody put up their dukes.
“It was massive to get the respect [of Tipp, Kilkenny and Cork],” says Noel Lane, the former Galway player and manager. “We probably didn’t deserve it for lots of years. The top three had been the same for nearly 100 years. You had to fight your way into that. We didn’t have the confidence in ourselves to compete with those counties. That all changed. To be able to beat Tipperary, for us, was massive.
“Obviously the supporters got involved as well. There was probably more rancour between the supporters than there was between the players themselves. That’s usually the way anyway.”Recurring duels spiced the rolling narrative. Pete Finnerty and John Leahy were the white knight and the black knight, depending on your allegiance. The jousting was relentless: there was hard-hitting and massive hurling and mouthing.
Galway's Joe Canning looks on after scoring the winning point in the 2017 All-Ireland semi-final, the third in a trilogy of semi-finals between the countries that were settled by a single point. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho Since the turn of the century Galway and Tipperary have played in 10 championship matches, and nine of them have been decided by one score: five wins each. Many of them have been spectacular matches. Strip out the 2014 qualifier in Thurles – when Tipp outscored Galway by 2-10 to 0-1 in the last 20 minutes, coming from six points down to win by nine in an astonishing match – and the aggregate difference between the teams in the other nine games is one point. Count it again.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Joe Canning: Galway under serious pressure as they brace themselves for Tipperary testTipperary have already made significant progress under Liam Cahill but the Tribesmen’s defeat in the Leinster final means they need a big scalp
Read more »
Mary Hannigan: Amber Barrett makes her claim for seat on the plane to AustraliaJoe Canning is feeling apprehensive ahead of Galway’s meeting with Tipperary
Read more »
'He covers everywhere... a freak athlete' - Galway's goal-scoring full-backGalway captain Seán Kelly is equally proficient at attacking as well as defending.
Read more »
The Incredible Backstory Behind This Galway FestivalImagine having a wedding so good that it becomes a music festival? Imagine the festival being such a success that you’re back for a second year. Cormac Jen...
Read more »
Galway jockey produces 150-1 surprise at Royal AscotValiant Force caused a 150-1 shock in the Norfolk Stakes, the opening race on day three of Royal Ascot.
Read more »
Taylor Swift helped Galway girls survive 15 hours at sea - then surprised themGalway cousins Ellen Glynn and Sara Feeney said they sang Swift’s song ‘Exile’ during their ordeal where they drifted some 33km towards the Cliffs of Moher from Furbo Beach on the evening of August 13, 2020.
Read more »