West Tipperary Senior Hurling Final Match Programme 1988 1 CLUICHI TIOBRAID CEANNAIS ARANN IOMANA THIAR Pairc na Gael, Ceapach ba bhFaoiteach SINSEAR: CAISEAL RI CORMAC v. CUMANN CIOCAIM MARTIN SLA'f'rERY McGRATH TOSNU: 2.30 Reiteoir: Padraig 0 Ruiseal MIONUIR: An Ceapach v. Caiseal Ri Cormac T08nu: 4.00 Reiteoir: Padraig 0 Lonergain THEO __ BUCKLEY MURPHY SOISEAR Sean Ui Treasaigh v. Cluain Ultaigh/ Ros M6r Reiteoir: S. 0 Riain CLAR OIFIGUIL .. LUACH 50p 0.0 RINN. Runa' It is an honour and a privilege for me as Cathaoir­ leach ofCoisteThiobraid Arann Thiar to extend a cead mile failte to all in attendance here today for this eagerly awaited clash between old rivals, Cashel and Kickhams. His fitting thatCappawhite are hosting this final. As holders of the Dan Breen Cup, they have played their part in the hurling resurgence in the West and in the County. Indeed, only lastSunday, Pa O'Neill accepted the Munster Championship Cup on behalf of the victorious County team and earlier this year he led Tipperary to victory in the Royal Liver National Hurling League. It is my wish today that our finalists would provide leadership for the County in the footsteps of Cappa white to bring further honours to the County. The west Final is always a special occasion. The build up this year has been tremendous. Large crowds have attended all the games. I thank the clubs and especially all the players who have given us so much during the year. A special thanks to all our patrons for their loyal support. Todays game has all the ingredients for a classic encounter between two old rivals. Its nice to see the semi-final clubs, Clonouity/ Rossmore and Sean Treacys in action in the Junior game. Cashel and Cappawhite are a novel pairing in the Minor Final. Finally, I thank all who have contributed to make this final day a great occasion agus ar aghaidh leis oa cl uichi. MICHEAL MAGUIDHI R, Cathaoirleach Tiobraid Arann Thiar. Is mor an pribhleid domsa failte a chur roimh gach duineagaibh godti Paircna nGael i gCeapach na bhFaoiteach. It is my privilege to welcome each and everyone of you here today to Pairc na Gael, Cappawhite. A special welcome to the participating teams in todays Divisional finals. Wishing them all the best of luck in their bid to bring honour to their clubs. I want to thank the West Board for givi ng us the honour of hosting their showpiece of the year, the Senior Hurling Final-the first ever to be held in Cappa white. It is my wish that you enjoy the games and please, kindly co-operate with the stewards. POL 0 NEILL, Cathaoirleach. by Martin McDermott, P .R.D. On November 1st, in Thurles, Cappa won their first ever Senior HurlingtitlengainsLa gallant Loughmore/Castleiney team in one of the best finals seen at the ve nue for many years. Thi s was o nly the third title won by we¥t teams, ClonouJty having been successful in 1888 and Eire Og in 1943. Many years of strenuous effort had gone into making this achievement come through. In 1982, after three West Final defeats in four years, 1978, 1979, 1981 , it was felt thata coach from outside the parish was needed to bring out the best in the team. Theo English was approached and he accepted the position. Success wasn't instant though as the team was to suffer a one point defeat by Sean Treacys in the west semi·final of that year. However, 1983 saw the opening of the new field and this, coupled with the guidance ofTheo, Jerry Creedon, and Fr. Egan saw the club win the first of their three-in-a-row with the defeat of Cashel in Golden. Kickhams in 1984 and Cashel again in 1985 were the vanquished. 1986 was not so successful as Cappa bowed out to EireOg in the semi final in Tipp. A lotofpeopie felt that this was the end of an era and many of the older players and even some of the younger ones were advised to "hang them up" by the local experts. 1987 dawned and saw the return of Jerry Creedon with Liam Treacy as selectors. Theo left to help Babs and County win the Munster title. At the fi rst training session in early March many eyebrows were raised whe Jerry announced thathe wanted the county title along with the West one. He also introduced a 6' 3" army man and former Garryowen player called Rusty Keane as the trainer fo r the year. He promised that, ifgiven the players co-operation and commitment he would make us the fittest team in the county. Chall enge games were played against Drom/ Inch, Toomevara and Sarsfields 8S weJl as Crosco Cup games with Golden, Garryspill ane a nd Arravale Rovers before the first round of the championship against Golden in Cashel. Many positional switches were made from the team of 1986. Danny O'Neill was still No 1. Mylie was back to the corner with Mike and Noel Buckley. Austin Buckley and Ger Ryan (8) were new wing backs alongside Anthony O'Neill, Simon Ryan was moved to midfield to partner Eamonn Ryan. Pa O'Neill and Eugene Maguire were flanking Conor Ryan in the half line. John O'Neill, GerO'Neill, and Martin McDermott were the fuJI line. The new set·upseemed to work well and Cappa won by 1·14 to 2-4. Kickhams provided the opposition in the semi-fi nal in Golden, Kickhams had a young team on duty that day which played well but Cappa had the upper hand and won by 2·16to 1-11 to qualify for the final against Clonoulty in Cashel. BUCKLEY'S MACE SUPERMARKET MAIN STREET, CASHEL T e l., 062·61527 Best of luck to CASHEL in both games. Many people fancied Clonoulty to put a halt to Cappa's run. At halftime, with a lead, of3-7 to 1-4 Clonoulty looked home and dry. What happened after the interval will long be remembered as the best 30 minutes hurling by any Cappa team ever and they ran out winers by 4-15 to 3·10. John O'Neill received the cup from Mick Maguire the West chairman_ Roscres were beaten in the quarter final in Boherlahan by 1-20 to 1-14 Pat O'Neill, Eamonn, Conor and Ger Ryan ~tarred that day. Oasun Hennessy, who had returned from America, deputised for Noel Buckley, as he had been injured in training_ At this stage of the campaign a training fund was launched. The response to this was exceptional. Many thanks are due to everybody who contributed, the- playe-rs really appreciated the goodwill and confidence shown towards their e-fforts on the field Sarsfields were the opposition in the- semi·final in Thurles. A one point lead and the wind to face after the interval did not seem to bother the team unduly. Danny O'Neill made a few good saves early in the second half which gave great encouragement, Austin was back in his usual wing forward position, Po. was hitting points from all angles and Fox got the goal which gave the team a four point victory. So Cappa had qualified for their first County Senior final against Loughmore who would also be trying for the-ir first title, I read some place lately that" the secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for" In the lead up to the final it seemed that everybody in Cappa were only living for the day the county would be won. The village was bedecked with flags and banners. People travelled from America, England, Australia and all over the country for the game. Loughmore started as if they were going to walk away with the match Points flowed freely towards the town goal and after twenty minutes they led by 1-7 to 0·2. Cappa made a few positional changes and showing grit and determination fought back to leave just two points 1-8 to '·6 in it at half time_ :JO minutes to go and all to I>lay for. Loughmore scored a goal after the resumption togo five points dear. Cnppa showed all their fighting spirit and fitness in a tense second half to eventually draw level, with good points by Austin Buckely, Ger O'Neill and Po. O'Neill. With minutes remaining Austin Buckley hit over the winner from an acute angle after a a great run by Ger O'Neill, At the end a sea of blue and white invaded the pitch, ThurJes belonged to Cappa and the Dan Breen Cup was on its way to the lovely village. Po. O'Neill was also named "Man of the Match". In Cappa the team gota rousing welcome with bonfires, flags and banners the order of tho. day. For a parish the size of Cappa, with a population of around 1,200 people, to win the Senior Championship in the Premier County is a unique achievement. Also the fact that it was the 100th county final makes it that bit more special, Cappa can now boast of having won County Championships in every grade, Juvenile 1961, 1962: Minor 1965: U '21 1965 and 1977; Junior 1942 and 48 and finally Senior in 1987, Toeveryone involved in the success we say well done and hope that the good work will be continued in years ahead. McINERNEY MOTORS CASHEL LAD A MAIN DEALERS A NEW CAR FOR £5,390 MANY SECONHAND CARS COST MORE - Tel.: 062 61582/61109 CAPPA WHITE SENIOR HURLING TEAM West and County Champions 1987 FOR BEST DRINKS ...