Latest news with #CrokeCup
The 42
19-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Jason Forde: Schoolboy prodigy, senior perseverance, and All-Star form
THERE'S A STORY from Jason Forde's schooldays which underlines the shatterproof self-belief and prodigious talent that have seen him reach his peak form at 31. Back in 2012, the Silvermines star was due to play the biggest game of his young hurling life, a Harty Cup quarter-final against local rivals Thurles CBS. The evening before that derby clash, he rang up one of the coaches. What followed wasn't so much a discussion as an alert from their mild-mannered captain. Nenagh CBS manager Donach O'Donnell takes up the story. 'He rang Niall Quigley the night before the Thurles game to tell him, listen, I'm going to take my frees off the left side tomorrow, just in case you're wondering what's going on. He was that comfortable shooting off both sides, and he just felt, when he was practising, he was more comfortable with it. I mean, it's a phenomenal feat really. 'The coach rang me, we were discussing it, a bit worried about it, but look, if he feels he can do it, let him off.' It wasn't as if his free-taking had been a problem. Indeed, Forde takes them off his right to this day. The frees he slotted down the stretch against Kilkenny from either sideline were all struck off his right. His 1-5 total was mined from six shots. They could've as easily been taken off his left. In that Thurles CBS encounter, he struck 1-14 between the drawn game and replay. He stuck with the citóg approach for the remainder of the campaign. The semi-final against champions Ardscoil Rís also went to a second day, with Forde scoring 1-17 across those games. In the replay, he accounted for 1-10 of their 1-11 total, including a spectacular stoppage-time winner. They lost the Harty final to the Coláiste na nDéise combination, but Forde scored 14 of Nenagh's 17 points to defeat St Kieran's in the Croke Cup semi-final. Forde was taken down by illness before the final against Kilkenny CBS. If he wasn't moving with his usual energy at centre-forward, he turned the game when switched inside, burying two goals and laying on a third for Nenagh's All-Ireland breakthrough. Nenagh CBS captain Jason Forde lifts the Croke Cup. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO He actually wore the No 6 jersey for that campaign. It was a legacy from his origins, starting off hurling with a small, rural club. Forde was often cast into the centre-back slot for maximum effect. That was where he first caught the eye. He hurled there for Tipperary underage sides up to minor level, before slowly moving upfield. Nenagh left him in that jersey to take the pressure off his shoulders. After defeating Galway last month, Forde spoke about the vitality passed on by the youthful exuberance of Darragh McCarthy, Sam O'Farrell and Oisín O'Donoghue. Advertisement 'They've no baggage. They just love hurling, love training, and we're all feeding off that energy,' he told RTÉ. In many ways, McCarthy has mirrored Forde's rise. Where Forde captained the CBS to their Croke Cup breakthrough, McCarthy came along to lead them to a historic Harty Cup after four final defeats. 'I think he sees Darragh McCarthy particularly as the young fella who's followed in his footsteps,' says O'Donnell, who guided both through their school years. 'They were both captains of successful CBS teams, they're both good leaders, free-takers, top scorers most of the time. I'd say he sees that in Darragh. 'And Jason was like that when he was back in school. He never had a hurley out of his hand. He was permanently tipping away after training, before training, and on his own as well. Darragh was very much like that too. Tipperary's Jason Forde consoles Darragh McCarthy after he was sent off against Kilkenny. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO 'They both really wanted it. They really, really pushed other guys around them as well. They understood that for the team to be successful, other guys had to come with them, play their part, and improve. They both drove that mentality, that work ethic.' There was never any questioning his hurling, right from the days when he finished as runner-up in the national Féile na nGael skills final to Shane Dowling. Nor his drive, having led Silvermines to a Munster Intermediate title while still aged 18. But Forde's rise from those schooldays wasn't all plain sailing. Not that it was ever going to be easy to infiltrate an attack where Eoin Kelly and Lar Corbett were passing the baton onto Séamus Callanan and Noel McGrath. He captained the county minors and U21s, but despite some remarkable scoring returns, Tony Kelly's Clare knocked them out every year from 2010 to 2014 en route to five successive Munsters and three All-Irelands across those grades. Eamon O'Shea named Forde to start for his championship debut against an O'Donnell-coached Limerick side in 2013, but illness scuppered that reunion. Forde appeared off the bench for their infamous Nowlan Park elimination, but had to wait two more years for that first championship start to come around again. When it did, he bagged 1-3 in a statement performance against Limerick in 2015. He also scored off the bench in the 2014 drawn final and 2016 victory. There were other tough days too, mainly in semi-finals against Galway. He was taken off at half-time in 2015 and came on as a sub in 2017, only to be removed before the finish. Wexford manager Davy Fitzgerald and Aidan Nolan clash with Jason Forde of Tipperary. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO In the latter year, a harsh one-match suspension when Davy Fitzgerald entered the field during a league semi-final cost Forde his place in Tipp's championship opener. 'I was probably at the lowest I was ever at after 2017,' Forde would reflect. 'I got brought on and taken off in the same game, that wasn't easy to deal with. If I was to go back in 2018, I knew there was no point in going back to do the same thing — you'd only end up with the same result.' He took up personal training in the off-season, and that lit a fire to complete a strength and conditioning diploma at Setanta College, over the road from Semple Stadium. During a career break from his teaching post at Nenagh College, he launched a new business, JF Performance, in January 2023. Asked if he was looking to mirror other gym owners, TJ Reid and Andy Moran, who excelled well into their 30s, Forde replied: 'You'd be hoping so.' When Séamus Callanan missed the league in 2018, Forde grabbed his opportunity with both hands. Filled with confidence from a second Fitzgibbon Cup with UL and installed as the focal point of the attack at full-forward, he blasted 7-72 across seven games; an average of 1-10 per match. Forde scored 2-11 in the semi-final against Limerick and 2-12 in the final defeat to Kilkenny. He finished April as GAA/GPA Player of the Month. He carried that form into championship, scoring 3-39 in four games, but Tipp didn't win any as they dropped out of the Munster round-robin. When his first All-Star nomination came, Forde was the only Premier hurler on the shortlist. Liam Sheedy kept Forde as his free-taker in 2019 as the Premier won their second All-Ireland in four seasons. Forde landed 0-7 from play in a remarkable Munster final defeat to Limerick in 2021, earning his third All-Star nomination. Jason Forde scores Tipperary's third goal of the All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO If there's a sense that Forde is overdue an All-Star for his talent, he could be on the cusp of reaching that milestone. While Cork are favourites, Forde is Tipp's front-runner for Hurler of the Year honours. As per Gaelic Statsman on X, Forde has converted 80% of his shots at the posts in 2025, the highest of the inside forwards on either side this year. His tally of 3-44 from 59 shots includes 3-14 from play. In an era where shooting from a sideline cut has fallen out of fashion as the low-percentage play, Forde has slotted all four from four attempts this summer. His flicked goal against Kilkenny was the reward for all those years of pucking around before and after training, as he came up trumps in those championship moments. In a final against Cork, they once again need Forde to be at his efficient best. Tipp know they can count on him. Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
Irish Examiner
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Andrew Ormond finding his feet in the Tipperary senior ranks
Such are the competing narratives in the Tipperary attack, the achievement of Andrew Ormond is finding space to tell and have his story heard, never mind finding space in the company of Cian Galvin and Tadhg de Búrca to torment and thrive. There is Darragh McCarthy's debut summer of red mist and razor accuracy. There is John McGrath's rejuvenated summer of relentless green. There's older brother Noel's summer of record appearances and ageless vision. And we could hardly omit Jake Morris' coming-of-age summer. And so you'd think, from that, that the Tipp forward unit was already busy enough and sufficiently stuffed with championship plotlines and performers. Think again. Andrew Ormond's story, up until 6pm on May 10, was of a decorated underage talent that failed to achieve the senior breakthrough. His story was that of a Tipp minor, a Harty Cup and Croke Cup winner with Our Lady's Templemore, all in 2017, and a Munster and All-Ireland U20 winner in 2019. From 1-2 in the 2019 U20 final victory over Cork and 1-3 in the Munster U20 final defeat to the same opposition a year later, Liam Sheedy saw enough to bring Ormond into the senior panel in 2021. It was, however, four seasons later in February 2024 before his senior competitive debut arrived. His 2024 championship involvement, meanwhile, amounted to 20 minutes at the end of a Limerick lashing and a first start for their already-eliminated final-round clash against Clare. Forgive the chronological nature of the piece thus far but it is necessary to paint the clearest picture possible of his silverware-laden teenage years, his in-the-wilderness early 20s, and his stunning senior announcement of recent weeks. He started Tipp's first two League games of 2025 and didn't start again for another 97 days until the aforementioned May 10. A fortnight earlier he was the first sub introduced against Cork in a game long gone from them. In 31 minutes on the field, the JK Brackens clubman had four possessions. A goal shot saved, a point, a handpass intercepted, and a wide. Nothing spectacular there and yet still enough felt Cahill to promote him for the must-win spin to Ennis. From centre-forward, he had six first-half possessions. Two goals, a secondary assist and defence-opening pass for John McGrath's opening goal, and an assist to Morris for a goal shot that ended as a converted 65. Arguably more important was his contribution in the first 11 minutes to a second half where Tipp, against the elements, managed only three points. Ormond assisted the first, nailed the second himself, and was fouled for the third. Fast forward to the 70th minute and Tipp's lead wobbling at the minimum, Ormond was found drawing another foul, but this time way back in his own half. Ken Hogan was invited onto the Irish Examiner Dalo's hurling show podcast the Monday after to explain the Tipp result and explain the origins of Ormond's out-of-nowhere influence. 'He's highly rated in Tipp. Has all the underage medals. Low to the ground, great centre of gravity. Probably not the greatest finisher, they would say in Tipp. But by God he got his chances on Saturday and buried two goals. That's a huge fillip; you brought in a new guy in Andrew Ormond and you brought in the old guy in John McGrath, and both contributed hugely,' said the former Premier goalkeeper. That 'not-the-greatest-finisher' perception was further punctured a week later against Waterford. The centre-forward's numbers were incredible. Between the 15th and 20th minute, he laid off the final pass for a pair of John McGrath points, clipped his second point, and was fouled for another. Across six minutes early in the second period, he was fouled on three occasions, two of which were converted, and added to his own tally with another white flag. His numbers had Anthony Daly asking Liam Sheedy in the makeshift RTÉ studio, 'where have you been hiding this fella'? Across the two starts and 28 possessions, he registered 2-4 and was directly involved in another 1-10. 'He first came in in 2021, was in around the group, but never really featured. To see where he is now; the Clare match gave him massive confidence,' said Sheedy on a recent edition of the Examiner hurling podcast. Ormond and his underage buddy Jake Morris rotate and drift in and out of the No.11 slot. A double centre-forward if you will, even if at times neither are occupying that slot. Waterford were far too slow to either press up or sit a midfielder deep during their Round 4 defeat in Thurles. If Gavin Lee is retained at centre-back for Galway and is tasked with offering protection to an injury-hit full-back line not overloaded with pace, then a David Burke or a Ronan Glennon or whichever midfielder is not obsessed with pushing forward must be obsessed with limiting the influence of a confidence-high bolter whose hit 2-7 across his three starts this summer. 'We took our learnings from last year, said at the start of the year, this is the year now, there's no better time than the present, we're not looking back, it's all about looking forward now,' Ormond remarked following his man of the match display against the Déise. He was talking about Tipp's 2025 story. He could easily have been talking about his own.
Irish Examiner
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Favourites Cork set for rematch with in-form Clare in All-Ireland minor semi-final
The Cork minor hurlers will come out of cold storage on Sunday to meet a Clare side catching fire. Fergal McCormack's troops earned a month of preparation time for this All-Ireland semi-final by dint of their Munster triumph against Waterford. In that time, Clare have skated through the backdoor with victories over Dublin and Galway. They arrive quietly confident for their fourth consecutive semi-final appearance. The Rebels remain favourites for the rematch at FBD Semple Stadium (1pm throw-in), yet much has changed since their 3-24 to 3-17 round-robin success. Callum Coffey bagged a hat-trick that day, only to suffer an injury during the provincial final. Clare centre-back Dara Kennedy was absent in Tulla and may well take on the task of tagging Cormac Deane. Back then, converted goalkeeper Leon Talty was making his second-ever appearance between the sticks. He has been gaining experience all the while and saved a penalty against Galway. Ger O'Connell has revamped his full-back and half-forward lines since then, while Mark Rodgers and Liam Murphy have been building form and fitness. The Banner endured a mixed Munster campaign, but Rodgers has hit double digits on his last four outings. Murphy, meanwhile, has found the net in back-to-back games to bring his total to 10 goals across the past two seasons. Their defence held the Tribesmen to a single point in the closing 29 minutes of their quarter-final. Cork will be harder to stop, though, as they hunt a first Irish Press Cup since 2021. Wing-backs Michael Brosnan and Colm Garde have been outstanding on either side of captain Bobby Carroll. Midfielder Tom A Walsh put in a man-of-the-match display in the Munster final. He will face off against Clare captain Graham Ball. With Coffey sidelined, Sam Ring has raised green flags in successive games. Deane has chipped in with 1-18, while Craig O'Sullivan's 0-47 tally includes 21 points from play. The other semi-final also promises a high-quality affair on Saturday evening at Chadwicks Wexford Park (7.35pm throw-in). Kilkenny call on eight returning starters from last year's All-Ireland final defeat to Tipperary. All six of their forwards featured on that occasion. They have carried that sharp attacking edge into this campaign, belting four goals past Dublin and Galway to secure the Leinster title. Jake Mullen has accumulated 4-35. Cian Byrne has netted four times in two knockout games. Ollie O'Donovan stitched five goals last year and continues to threaten further out the field, picking off 2-15 from centre-forward. Captain Larry Phelan and Oisín Henderson anchor a defence which held Galway to 1-8 in a washout Leinster final. Croke Cup winner with Thurles CBS Darragh Hickey joins that full-back line in place of David McGee. That's Niall Bergin's sole change, while Waterford boss James O'Connor names a new midfield pairing in Éanna McHugh and Gearóid O'Shea. O'Connor has identified the Déise's scoring spread for improvement. Cormac Spain's remarkable 6-58 haul accounts for 60% of their total scores. Jack Power's aerial ability can trouble the Cats, while captain James Comerford will hope to maintain his streak of key saves. They recovered from Munster final disappointment to defeat Limerick by four points. Still, the former Ballyhale boss reckons his side have been playing at just 70% of their capability.
Irish Examiner
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Over a century on, Clare will hope history repeats itself in Munster final
In a series of feature articles carried in the Clare Journal newspaper in 1907, Clare football was painted in a very poor light. Losing was a habit but results were irrelevant in the eyes of the authors. The crude methods Clare had adopted to playing the game by 'going for the man' were a black stain on the county's footballing culture. 'What have we gained from our unmanliness?' the question was asked in one of those articles. 'Nothing. We have lost everything. Whether we are to go on losing or not depends on ourselves. If we are to field better teams than Clare has done hitherto, we just devote more of our time to science than to brute force.' The articles touched a nerve. Something had to change. It did. Within five years Clare had made great strides when reaching their first Munster final. Two late and controversial refereeing decisions denied Clare a famous win as Kerry beat them by two points. Not long afterwards, Clare reached a national final but lost the Croke Cup decider to Dublin. 'Clare football is going places,' noted The Saturday Record in 1913. Four years later, Clare finally travelled to where nobody thought was possible during the early part of the century. After beating Cork to win a first Munster title, Clare overcame Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final before narrowly losing the final to an iconic Wexford team that won the three in-a-row en route to completing the four in-a-row. That Clare team was a seasoned outfit by then as it was their third successive appearance in a Munster final, having lost the 1915 decider to Kerry before going down to Cork a year later by one point. By 1917, Clare were more than ready to make up that ground. The most goals any team had scored in any of the previous Munster finals was four, which Kerry managed just once, but Clare drilled five past Cork at the Tipperary Sportsground. The final margin of victory was 18 points. Clare had moulded a hardened and experienced team together by then, with many of those players also featuring in the 1919 final against Kerry. Clare were well beaten in Cusack Park but that generation had firmly established a successful football tradition in the province. In the 1920s, Clare reached four Munster finals, with three of those appearances coming in four years between 1924-'27, losing finals in 1924, 1925 and 1926 to Kerry. The closest Clare came to Kerry in that period was the 1926 quarter-final, which they lost by two points in Milltown-Malbay to a Kerry side that went on to defeat Kildare in the All-Ireland final after a replay. In the decades that followed, Clare were only in a position to reach three successive Munster finals on one other occasion - 1938. Having lost the 1936 and 1937 finals to Kerry, Clare's hopes were ended again by Kerry in the 1938 quarter-final in Cusack Park. Clare had become accustomed to losing Munster finals to Kerry anytime they got that far. By the time they played Kerry again in the 1941 decider, it was their tenth defeat to Kerry in a provincial final. The counties didn't meet again in another Munster final until 1992. The wait was more than worthwhile for Clare as John Maughan's side recorded a memorable and historic victory by four points. The defeat cut so deep in Kerry that their tradition demanded that it wouldn't happen again. Still, when Clare and Kerry next met in the championship, the 1997 Munster final, Kerry were still carrying traces of that traumatic defeat from five years earlier. Kerry only finally broke free in a taut tense game after a superb Pa Laide goal. Kerry won by five points and went on to win the All-Ireland. Sunday represents Clare's 20th appearance in a Munster final, a 16th against Kerry. 113 years since that first final meeting, seven of those 14 finals in the intervening years took place at the Gaelic Grounds, a trend that began in 1936 with the Limerick venue hosting all of the following deciders between the counties until last year. With the Gaelic Grounds unavailable on this weekend last May, Clare decided to toss for the venue, which resulted in Cusack Park hosting its first Munster final since 1919. Sunday's decider is the first Clare-Kerry Munster final in Killarney since 1929, a game that was played in the Killarney Sportsfield. This is also the first time since 1917 that Clare have reached three Munster finals in-a-row. After losing the two previous finals back then, Clare put those lessons to good use a third time around. Over a century on, Clare will hope that history can repeat itself again now.
