|
|
 Munster rugby star Denis Leamy has now been ruled out of the Six Nations Championship, due to possibly having surgery for a troublesome hip injury. Denis is unlikely to feature again for the Munster side this season.
Munster coach, Tony McGahan, confirmed that the 30-year-old could be sidelined for up to four months, as he attempts to resolve an injury which has consistently caused problems for the last six months. The Tipperary man, has only featured seven times for Munster this season, and will be travelling to London on Thursday, to seek specialist advice.
 Meanwhile Tipperary hurling forward, Seamus Callanan, looks most likely to miss the entire National Hurling League, following a serious ankle injury.
It is understood that the Drom and Inch champion underwent an operation in Dublin this week, to rectify his ankle problem and has been ruled out of action for possibly up to four months.
Callanan’s latest injury setback puts the 23-year-old hurling ace under pressure to be fit for the Tipperary Munster SHC quarter-final, to beheld here in Semple Stadium on May 27th, against Limerick.
 Munster MEP Mr Sean Kelly “The GAA should buy the famous Hayes Hotel here in Thurles.” So says former GAA President and current Fine Gael Munster MEP, Mr Sean Kelly, who has once again reiterated his proposal that the GAA should buy this historic home of the Gaelic Athletic Association.
Mr Kelly stated; “Hayes Hotel is a major symbol of Irish cultural and sporting heritage and the location of the first GAA meeting in 1884. The GAA was founded at this hotel, so it is the perfect site for a museum to showcase GAA history and its continued growing success nationally and globally. A GAA museum would be an enormous tourist attraction for sports fans. The GAA is built on the dedication and success of local clubs and future EU sports policy will reinforce the need to support grassroots sports. Indeed, I have often cited the GAA as a leading example of how sport can boost the physical, social and economic health of regional towns, during my work at the European Parliament. Hayes Hotel could also be used as a regional GAA headquarters with staff tasked with supporting local clubs across the country. The creation of a GAA museum, at this time would be timely, as Thurles has been named the 2012 ‘European Town of Sport’.”
Picture courtesy G.Willoughby
 Tipperary GAA’s financial situation “doesn’t make for pretty reading this year,” that’s according to outgoing chairman Mr Barry O’Brien, when he announced a deficit of €220,000, at Tipperary’s annual convention in Thurles last night..
A figure of €1,171,876 was spent on preparing inter-county teams in 2011, marking the fourth successive year in a row that the county had exceeded the €1m mark. This figure showed a reduction of €61,516, compared to the 2010 figure of €1,233,392, which was an all-time high.
This is now the second year in a row that a financial overrun has been incurred, despite cutting expenditure this year by 13%. This year the county’s incomes dropped across the board, with total gate receipts from local games down by almost 18%, from over €323,000 in 2010 to €263,605 in 2011, and coaching income dropped by €90,000 during the same period.
Mr Sean Nugent, the incoming new Board Chairman, admitted he now faced a difficult task during his term of office. However Mr Nugent stated, “The financial report to convention will cause concern to all present and a major challenge lies ahead to rectify this problem. Our income is decreasing and our costs are rising and we need to reverse that trend. While I am very concerned, I am not in anyway daunted by this challenge ahead and I believe we have the will, the capacity and the public support to turn the tide.”
Officials have warned that further major cuts are now necessary with income decreasing and costs rising. Ideas must now be examined on how to increase commercial income and generate further fundraising activities.
The annual Tipperary GAA County Board convention will take place on Monday evening next December 19th in the Dome, at Semple Stadium, Thurles, commencing at 8pm sharp.
The convention will be preceded by Mass for deceased all members, at 7.15pm also in the Dome .
Current County Chairman, Mr Barry O’Brien (Fr. Sheehys) will step down, having served the full 3 year term as Tipperary Chairman. Mr O’Brien is most likely to be replaced by the current Vice-Chairman, Sean Nugent (Kilsheelan-Kilcash).
There are 2 nominees for Vice-Chairman – outgoing Development Officer, Michael Bourke of Upperchurch Drombane and former Chairman of the South Tipperary Board, Micheál McCormack of Fethard.
There are 3 nominees for Development Officer, namely Michael Bourke, Micheál McCormack (Fethard) and former Chairman of the North Tipperary Board, Jimmy Minogue (Nenagh Éire Óg). All other positions are uncontested with the sole nominees in all cases being the outgoing office holders.
All county clubs are asked to make sure their full quota of delegates attend this Convention.
 The award from the European Capital of Sport Association is given annually to European towns that are both positive and ethical examples of social policy, so Thurles town take a well deserved bow on achieving the accolade of first European Town of Sport in Ireland and a fitting award for the birthplace of the GAA .
Special congratulations must go to the Mayor of Thurles, Councillor John Kennedy, who together with North Tipperary County Council, LIT and Shannon Development, put in all the hard work, resulting in the achieving of this deserved recognition for Thurles.
Thurles has a wealth of sporting infrastructure with Semple Stadium, Thurles Town FC, Thurles Rugby Club and Thurles Golf Club as just four examples of the numerous state of the art sporting facilities available in the our town. Town Manager, Mr Matt Shortt joined with Thurles Mayor John Kennedy in congratulating all of the groups involved in the project which, he said, “blew away the judging panel.”
Our picture above, taken at the European Capital of Sport Association Awards Ceremony in Brussels shows: Front (left to right) Sean Kelly MEP, Phil Prendergast MEP and Cllr John Kennedy, Mayor of Thurles.
Back (left to right) Michael Ryan Thurles Town Clerk, Brian Keating Regional Development Manager Shannon Development and Kevin O’ Connor New Business Development Manager at Shannon Development.
Speaking about the significance of the award for Thurles, Brian Keating, Shannon Development’s Regional Manager for Tipperary and Offaly stated: “We are delighted to be the first town in Ireland to be awarded the title of European Town of Sport for 2012, following a successful submission from Shannon Development, North Tipperary County Council, LIT Tipperary and North Tipperary Sports Partnership. This award comes at a time when Limerick’s reign as a European City of Sport 2011 draws to a close.”
A county steering group will now be put in place to construct a programme of events for the coming year to celebrate this European recognition. It is estimated that properly promoted, sports events in the Shannon Region could generate an estimated €70m in revenue this year.
|
Support Us Help keep Thurles.info online by donating below. Thank you.
Total Donated 2026: €40.00
Thank You!
Daily Thurles Mass Livestream
|
Recent Comments