Hell's Kitchen is back for the digital age as Tipp produce Guerilla warfare

The 42

7 days ago

YOU START WITH THE most important part of it all.
When Ronan Maher, captain of the Tipperary team stood on the steps of the Michael Hogan Stand, 100 years after it was named after the man who died during the violence and carnage of Bloody Sunday, he recalled another fallen Tipperary man.
In another, fairer dimension, the red helmet of Dillon Quirke would have been on the pitch here, rather than gone after he collapsed and died in a club championship match in August 2022. Captured forever as a 24-year-old Tipperary hurler.
'You weren't just with us in your spirit today,' said Maher.
'You were with us in the dressing room. You were on the field of play. You were in our hearts. We hope we did you and your family proud today.'
If the defining quality of Quirke was bravery, then that's what Tipperary were here. It couldn't be just all blood and snotters. They needed more and so their strategy set up bravery.
The extra man at the back hardly came as a surprise. At times it was Craig Morgan but as soon as Shane Barrett picked off two early points it was left to Bryan O'Mara.
Doing that, concedes the puckout. But then you can put pressure on the second ball. They were willing to do that because they trusted their half-back line to play out in front, with a safety net of a sweeper. They could also gum up the works when Cork attempted to run the ball with overlapping runs.
The Tipperary backs ate Cork whole. As a unit, this is the Hell's Kitchen of the John Doyle – Michael Maher – Kieran Carey, reimagined for the digital age.
'We just attacked everything… We just let it flow…' said Michael Breen afterwards.
Michael Breen afterwards with girlfriend, Sharlene Mawdsley. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
What's the opposite of flow? That's Cork. As soon as momentum started to shift, the ground beneath their feet went. The choice was there for them when Eoin Downey was booked on 32 minutes. Their gamble backfired with a second yellow and red. But even before that, they were baling water and holed beneath the waterline.
Pat Ryan has been around the block and has a shrewd hurling brain. But you sense that although they could have predicted Tipperary would employ a sweeper, they appeared to give it as little thought as, oooohhhh, Neil Young gave to his outfit on stage at Glastonbury.
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The Cork performance has already got the MemeLords busy. Welcome to Cork, twinned with Mayo. All the high brow stuff. But in terms of the embarrassment stakes, it was hard to see at the start of the week who could top the Coldplay Jumbotron extra-curricular couple. We aren't wondering now.
Let's not let this moment pass without acknowledging that nobody was shouting this prediction. Even as we walked to the stadium and happened upon a father-son duo from Roscrea who eventually pumped me for my prediction, I felt miserable as I opted for Cork.
'But if we're in it with fifteen minutes to go…' they reasoned. And I let them have that crumb of comfort. It made me feel happy. For a while.
You can parse and analyse all you want. Go intellectual and converse on strategies and approaches. Do what you want, but these games are decided by young divils such as Darragh McCarthy scoring 1-13 in an All-Ireland final as a teenager, hours after he put in a few hours playing video games on his phone, as revealed by Michael Breen.
Time enough for checking up on children with temperatures, we suspect.
There was a flavour of Tipp-ness from early on in the day. A tradition on All-Ireland final day has grown among their people whereby they meet at Talbot Street at noon, to honour the memory of Seán Treacy, a key figure in the War of Independence who died in a shoot-out at that very spot in October 1920.
It used to be confined to west Tipperary people and Dublin folk of Tipperary extraction that attended. On Sunday there was a gathering of several hundred people.
The difference this time was that the GAA President Jarlath Burns delivered an oration. Despite the scratchy amplification, the event was moving and profound. The hurling game to follow was guerilla warfare.
An interesting diversion for the next few days around Thurles, Cashel and Tipperary and into the surrounding parishes will be a parlour game of your particular favourite ending to the game.
Was it Liam Cahill, calm and measured all season finally exploding in emotion by chewing the linesman over a questionable line ball in the closing moments with the game long settled?
Perhaps the twinkle in Liam Sheedy's eye as he made his way down the sideline, togged out in punditry gear and heading for a most enjoyable debriefing, being cheered by the Tipperary supporters.
Liam Cahill meets Liam Sheedy with a third Liam. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Eoghan Connolly's 'f*** it' clearance actually being met with the most delicate of touches by John McGrath and steered to the net on the hour?
'John McGrath won the county final, so hopefully John McGrath will win the All-Ireland for Tipperary next Sunday aswell' - Frankie McGrath pic.twitter.com/zm5wqsoswN — The GAA (@officialgaa) July 20, 2025
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How about Rhys Shelly and his primal scream of delight when he saved Conor Lehane's penalty in injury time.
How about Rhys Shelly again, this time with a point from play?
Perhaps it was Tipperary's defence going all free-form jazz experimentation with overhead flicks with the space to indulge themselves.
Or Noel McGrath scoring the final point of the day?
As Michael Breen said afterwards, 'It was a fun second half to play in.'
That will hurt.
But look at them on top now. Galtee mountain boys.
Look at the view below. Two moments from last year jump out for us, seeing as we were there in the flesh; the league semi final against Clare in Portlaoise when Tipp burned through – I think – four different freetakers.
And then the Gaelic Grounds in the Munster championship when Bonner Maher bowed out in front of a Tipp crowd that felt invisible.
As Jake Morris said afterwards, 'We all live close to the big towns and that's where you would be meeting people. You'd have been ashamed to show your face in public.'
Not your problem now, Jake.