
There for the taking for Kilkenny - Reid and Murphy may not get another shot
There were bodies stretched out on the grass, dead to the world. Above them Tipp players embraced, smiling amongst themselves. Congratulating one another. Celebrating.
As they did so, men dressed in black and amber, stared into the distance looking for something they knew they would never get.
And to their left young Darragh McCarthy cried tears of joy mixed with relief. TJ Reid was mere yards away from him, staring in disbelief.
Robbed. Deflated.
At 37, Reid may never get back here. Nor may 35-year-old Eoin Murphy.
They know they let this one slip. Two points up with a man advantage and four minutes of regulation-time remaining, the deal was waiting to be sealed. But Kilkenny couldn't find a pen to sign the contract.
Tipp, on the other hand, had the ink ready to go.
All the key moments belonged to them. Four goals arrived when they were needed most.
The inevitable roar which followed each strike got increasingly louder as the game wore on.
The noise accompanying John McGrath's opener was ear-splitting; the sounds which followed Jason Forde's and Darragh McCarthy's strikes even more powerful.
But they all came in the first-half when there was time left on the clock and didn't compare to the escalating sounds as the second-half wore on.
First there was the gasp when it dawned on the Tipp fans, who formed the bulk of the support, that McCarthy was getting a red card for his loose tackle on Eoin Murphy.
Then there were the cheers from the minority Cats fans when Mullen and Cian Kenny put them two in front.
But that didn't compare to decibel levels reached when Jason Forde landed back-to-back frees to level affairs nor when Forde landed a point from just inside the sideline to put Tipp ahead with three minutes left on the clock.
'Tipp! Tipp! Tipp!' sang their fans.
They were only getting going; more drama was on the way. First came Oisin O'Donoghue's lobbed goal, Tipp making a mockery of their numerical disadvantage to go further in front.
When the new kid on the block was followed by the oldest stager in town - Noel McGrath - getting credited by the scoreboard operator for a point that never was, you could have sworn the cheers from Croke Park were heard in neighbouring postcodes.
Controversy followed. Was McGrath's effort wide? The scoreboard changed to suggest it was legitimate. But no white flag was raised. So the scoreboard should have stayed static. Instead it moved to 4-21. And it was not until 7.47pm when the GAA announced that the final Tipp score was 4-20.
So Kilkenny mistakenly thought they were four points down when in fact they were only three.
Accordindly they went for goals. First Eoin Cody did so. Then John Donnelly. Had the scoreboard not changed, would their actions have been different? Would they have tried for points? Had they done so, had they nailed those scores, could there have been a draw? Would they have won it in extra-time?
A gasp could be heard among the journalists when this issue became clear. There was a burst of flashlights as Derek Lyng took his place in the press room to answer the question of whether he knew they were down by three points rather than four.
Journalists shook his hand as if he was a grieving father mourning the loss of a son.
He had a long face to accompany his long afternoon.
Graciously he didn't make an issue of the disputed McGrath point.
Hurting, yet courteous, he wished Tipp good luck.
And they'll need it because whatever about the dark clouds which opened in the first half, the darkest shadow hanging over both these teams yesterday was Cork.
The Rebels had 3-5 on the board after 15 minutes against Dublin; by contrast these two teams had 1-7 between them at the same juncture.
Gradually both improved as the afternoon wore on.
And so did the spectacle reaching that incredible crescendo at the end Tipp 'got smarter' according to their corner back, Michael Breen, when reduced to 14 men.
The O'Donoghue goal on 69 minutes put them 4-20 to 0-29 ahead - a three point cushion with four minutes to play.
Would it be enough? It didn't seem that way when John Donnelly slalomed his way into position to unleash a shot.
There was 73 minutes and 48 seconds on the clock when the sliotar left his hurl, 73:49 when it whizzed past Rhys Shelly, the Tipp keeper.
But the reason John Donnelly's name isn't in the headlines this morning is because Robert Doyle had sneaked in behind his goalkeeper, the nightwatchman doing his job. His save kept Tipp in the Championship; seconds later the final whistle beeped.
And that was when we had our Glastonbury reconstruction.
Doyle hugged Breen and Eoghan Connolly, his henchmen.
At the other end of the field, Murphy leaned on his hurl for emotional support, a queue of Tipp players coming over to him to shake hands and offer their condolences.
And right across the pitch, there were bodies strewn, Tipp players crashing to the floor with their heads in their hands, like orthodox Jews praying at the Wailing Wall.
Kilkenny's crew, meanwhile, were flattened by the emotional turmoil of defeat. 'I get that,' said Breen, 'because I'm wrecked emotionally as well as physically. That was some game.'
It was.
The sequel in a fortnight's time against Cork could be even better.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Irish Sun
22 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Pat Spillane reveals drastic decision Kerry made after semi-final win that shows All-Ireland dedication
PAT Spillane has told of how the Kerry panel opted not to celebrate their semi-final win over Tyrone as their focus is entirely on lifting Sam Maguire. They 2 Spillane won EIGHT All-Ireland medals in his playing days 2 Seán O'Shea stepped up against Armagh in the quarter-finals to ease the scoring burden on David Clifford Clearly, no reasonably-minded person would begrudge them toasting making it back to the showpiece game with a few drinks. Yet despite that, the panel en masse turned down the opportunity to go on a night out that evening as their eyes remain fixated on the biggest prize. Appearing on He stated: "They were told that they could have a drink. None of them did. Read More On GAA "They said 'no, two weeks to go, we will have a drink after the All-Ireland final'. That's what it's all about now." The eight-time All-Ireland winner He's been doing the rounds that is, and while on He argued: "Donegal's running game is a hard game to sustain for 70 minutes. Most read in GAA Football "Zonal defence is a weakness. There's space to be exploited there by a kicking team. "The first half against Monaghan showed that as Monaghan switched the play from one side to the other. They'd an overload and took them on one-on-one and were very impressive. Sharlene Mawdsley takes part in hilarious road race as part of Tipperary's All-Ireland celebration "So zonal marking, running in transition and Michael Murphy - no different from David Clifford - if he's contained (Kerry can win). "The new rules suit Kerry, Croke Park suits them as a heads up kicking team." He also added that his "hesitant vote for Kerry" was partly down to the weather forecast being good for Sunday with dry conditions further helping their prospects. However, based off latest Met Eireann predictions, we're in for a rainy The two counties did of course contest the 2014 decider with McGuinness saying this week that One instant improvement this time around will be that The Kerry county board have confirmed that Jack O'Connor's charges will line out in their alternative dark blue kit whilst Donegal Following on from the


Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Kerry v Donegal: your essential reads for the 2025 All-Ireland football final
Kerryman Kerry and Donegal will contest Sunday's All-Ireland football final at Croke Park in what promises to be a fascinating clash between two counties with rich footballing traditions. From tactical analysis and team news to the human stories behind the scenes, our writers have examined every aspect of this eagerly anticipated showdown. Here are your essential reads ahead of the biggest day in the GAA calendar:


RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Magic in 'the hills' as Donegal prepares for the All-Ireland football final
Donegal might be the one most expansive counties on the island - the fourth largest based on total land area - but it has a close-knit GAA community. However, there is something about reaching an All-Ireland football final that brings the people in a county such as Donegal even closer. There is a magic in 'the hills' this week and everybody wants to be part of it. Take the Community Inclusion Hub in Letterkenny for example. Those taking part in the music module there wanted to show their support for manager Jim McGuinness and the Donegal team by writing a song for them. A music video was also subsequently recorded and produced by the CI Hub's multi-media team. The programme co-ordinator is Cara Funston and she has said there has been huge excitement ahead of Sunday's final. "The guys all follow the GAA and they follow their county. We have one of the players, Jason McGee, who is staff and works at one of our centres in Gweedore so there is always great excitement whenever Jason is around and we will all be cheering him on." Down the road at St Eunan's GAA Club, their 800 or so members are also gearing up for the final. There is a nervous excitement in the air at O'Donnell Park as five of their homegrown heroes will be part of the panel on Sunday. They are: Ciaran Moore; Caolan Ward; goalkeeper Shaun Patton; and brothers Niall and Shane O'Donnell. Gathered with a bunch of club representatives just before the tunnel beneath the Dr. James McDaid Stand, Shaun Patton's father, Peter said not to ask him about how proud he is of his son or else, "there will be tears". He said: "I just cannot put it into words. We are over the moon, the same way everyone behind me is. We just can't wait for Sunday evening to get it out of the way. Please God, we will then be coming down the road with the big cup with us. His comments are met by a loud cheer and a shout of "Sam for the hills" from the crowd. Also present is Caolan Ward's mother, Colette, his sister, Aoibhinn and his nephew, Reilly McHugh. Ms Ward said she is very proud of her son who has been on the panel for the past ten years, and she cannot express the dedication and training that all of the players on the team have put in. At St Michael's Creeslough/ Dunfanaghy, the next generation of those county players are honing their skills, hoping to one day follow in the footsteps of their own clubman, Michael Langan, who is expected to tog out in midfield on Sunday. Mr Langan's nephew, Luke said that his uncle often trains so hard that he can "barely walk" afterwards. He hopes his uncle will bag another goal in the final, similar to the one which he scored in their last-eight win over Monaghan at the end of June. Meanwhile, Chloe McNulty and Grainne Stewart, who are both from Creeslough and also taking part in the training session, say that they are delighted to see Donegal in the final as they were "only babies" when the county was last in such a decider. One St Michael's clubman to have played that day and who has experienced the taste of both the elation and heartbreak that can come with the occasion is Martin McElhinney. He too is looking forward to watching it this year. "I was fortunate enough to be involved in 2012 and 2014 - the county's last two All-Ireland finals - but I didn't really get to enjoy the build-up because you are kind of shying away from it. You didn't really want to be out in the public. "Whereas now this time, with my family and my kids, I'm able to enjoy the build-up. All the kids have Donegal jerseys everywhere. There is bunting and flags. I've seen a couple of cars painted. "It's just great that it might inspire a couple of younger generations to stick at it and who knows, we could be seeing the next Michael Langan down here who will be playing at Croke Park in ten years". Of course, the benefits of even just reaching the All-Ireland final for those living in the county can be both wide-ranging and far-reaching, and Mr McElhinney adds that being in the decider will be good for the local community who have faced an extraordinarily tough couple of years. "I think this year gives a lot of people who might not even be into football and that were affected by that tragedy something to latch onto and it gives them some pride." "Particularly with Michael being from Creeslough, it gives them high hopes again and gets people's spirits up, and it's great timing in one way". In Jim's Café, ahead of the tea-time rush in Glenties, all the talk is aimed on Sunday. The town is the birthplace of Jim McGuinness - an All-Ireland winner with Donegal, both as a player and as a manager. While there may be no such thing as a "bainisteoir burger" on the menu, that could change come Sunday evening. The business is owned by the McGuinness family and was once run by the Donegal manager's late father, 'Big Jim' and his mother, Maureen. Ms McGuinness says she always knew her son had what it takes to excel in sport. "He had a great passion always for the Gaelic and then he went to soccer for a while as well but I always knew he had a great drive on him to do better". However, when asked about how her son is likely to be spending the final days ahead of the final, Ms McGuinness says the Donegal manager will be "keeping his head down" and "telling her nothing". The magic of reaching the All-Ireland final has also descended on the Inishowen Peninsula, where musician David Craig has specially reworked his song 'Come Back Sam Maguire' for the occasion. When the call went out during the week, supporters packed The Cyclist Rest in Fahan to hear the new rendition. Mr Craig said that it is great to see such excitement back in the county for an All-Ireland final, and he outlined how the new version of his catchy tune came about. "The buzz was building in Donegal at the time and people were asking me about writing songs and I said no bother as it was hard to try and get lively music to celebrate the occasion." "However, the words kind of came to me fairly quick because the song was self-written with the players at that time. That was 2012 and obviously, we won it back then," Mr Craig said. "Now, in 2025, I just had to rejig the words slightly and include some of the new players' names. I kept the same chorus as everybody seems to know that chorus. It's great to have that buzz going again," the musician added. Donegal will be hoping that come the final whistle on Sunday evening, the hills will come alive with the sound of music and celebration once more.