Thurles Information

Local correspondent Mr Gerry Bowe reports.

Congratulations to Ryan Hayes, son of Liam and Pauline Hayes, Harkin Park, Two Mile Borris, Thurles, who has been selected on the Cahir Park A. F. C. team, to compete in the George Best Community Cup, hosted by Disability Football UK.

The George Best Community Cup is a major highlight on the disability footballer’s calendar, with over 500 players representing clubs right across Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England and Guernsey; all competing for this coveted trophy.

The competition is for both boys and girls, who are aged over 15 years and for Disability Football Clubs, Adult Centres and Disability Organisations with teams made up of players with a learning, physical disability and or Sensory Impairment.  All players are required to be able to play without the need for mobility assistance, e.g. crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, etc.

Cahir Park provide training each Saturday between 2.00pm and 3.00pm. The pitch and facilities are provided free of charge and blitzes are held all over Ireland. Cahir Park A.F.C. Tipperary has become the counties first Football Club to develop a ‘Football For All’ Programme.

This year’s 2016 competition takes place on Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th June at the Billy Neill Centre of Excellence, on the Comber Road, near Dundonald, in Co. Down, just 8 miles (32Min) from Belfast city. Divided into four divisions, this 5-a-side disability football event is for clubs and adult centres that provide learning, physical or sensory impairment programs for amateur football players across the province.

Cahir Park will compete in the Medium Section which has twenty clubs, playing on a grass surface on a round format. Each team will play a minimum of five games on day one and, depending on results and performances on day one, the teams will be placed into four competitive bands for day 2.

This competition commemorates the legendary George Best, one of the world’s greatest footballers of his era. Ryan is to be congratulated on his being selected and with colleagues Damiem, Liam, Daniel, Luke and Paudie are wished every success.

Fund raising continues to be ongoing for this event and huge thanks is extended to Billy Lanigan and Gerard Cantwell who have both made kind donations.

Full-time Score Tipperary 0-22 – Cork 0-13 at Semple Stadium to-day

Tipperary go forward, comfortably, to a Munster semi-final game, with a nine-point win over Cork at Semple Stadium, Thurles, this afternoon, in front of a 30,000 crowd.

Despite Tipperary playing with real intensity, particularly as Cork attempted to show real enthusiasm in the second half, the Tipp manager Michael Ryan will no doubt feel that he still has a little work ahead of his meeting with Limerick on June 19th. Overall Tipperary’s half-backs appeared more dominant than of previous years, despite today’s appalling weather conditions, which displayed a mixture of sunny spells, torrential rain, hail and sudden wind gusts.

Today’s game began with four-time All-Ireland referee Mr Barry Kelly throwing in the ball and Paudie Maher putting Tipperary in front, by a point from the start. With rain lashing down, it took until the fifth minute for Cork to register their first point on the scoreboard from Alan Cadogan, following a pass from Bill Cooper.

Today also ‘HawkEye’ had its first ever outing in Semple’s field; used late in the first half, while declaring a ‘Níl’ and confirming a Cork’s Dan McCormack effort, slightly wide of the uprights.

By half-time Tipperary had registered points for the Premier County courtesy of John McGrath, Seamus Callanan, Brendan Maher and Noel McGrath. Cork continued to remain out of range for some 11 minutes, following their first and only point, eventually scoring just 4 further points courtesy of Patrick Horgan, Brian Lawton & Conor Lehane.

The half-time score, with three minutes of stoppage time included, showed Tipperary 0-14 – Cork 0-05.

With the wind gusting now behind them, Cork appeared to show a mini revival, entering the second half.  In the 37th minute of play Tipperary’s Seamus Callanan opened the scoring again with a point, followed by a point in the 46th minute of play from Cork’s Patrick Horgan.

Points from Cork’s Cormac Murphy, Seamus Harnedy, Conor Lehane and Alan Cadogan, however did little to stifle Tipperary’s hunger, with  points answered from Tipperary’s John O’Dwyer, Seamus Callanan, John O’Dwyer & Kieran Bergin.

Full-time Final Score – Tipperary 0-22 Cork 0-13

Tipperary Team: Darren Gleeson (Portroe), Cathal Barrett (Holycross-Ballycahill), James Barry (Upperchurch-Drombane), Michael Cahill (Thurles Sarsfields), Seamus Kennedy (St Mary’s), Ronan Maher (Thurles Sarsfields), Padraic Maher (Thurles Sarsfields), Brendan Maher (Capt, Borris-Ileigh), Michael Breen (Ballina), Sean Curran (Mullinahone), Dan McCormack (Borris-Ileigh), Noel McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney), John O’Dwyer (Killenaule), Seamus Callanan (Drom & Inch) and John McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney).

Subs: B. Maher for S. Curran; K. Bergin for M. Breen and  N. O’Meara for J. O’Dwyer.