2019 squad

Below was the 40 man pre-season training squad announced in November 2018.

Cathal Barrett (Holycross-Ballycahill); James Barry (Upperchurch-Drombane); Michael Breen (Ballina); Ger Browne (Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams); Robert Byrne (Portroe); Paddy Cadell (JK Brackens); Jerome Cahill (Kilruane MacDonaghs); Seamus Callanan (Drom & Inch); Willie Connors (Kiladangan); Cian Darcy (Kilruane MacDonaghs); Colin English (Fr. Sheehy’s); Alan Flynn (Kiladangan); Jason Forde (Silvermines); Tom Fox (Éire Óg Annacarty-Donohill); Conor Hammersley (Clonoulty-Rossmore); Barry Heffernan (Nenagh Éire Óg); Barry Hogan (Kiladangan); Brian Hogan (Lorrha-Dorrha); Mark Kehoe (Kilsheelan-Kilcash); Seamus Kennedy (St. Mary’s Clonmel); Brendan Maher (Borris-Ileigh); Donagh Maher (Burgess); Pádraic Maher (Thurles Sarsfields); Patrick Maher ( Lorrha-Dorrha); Ronan Maher (Thurles Sarsfields); Mark McCarthy (Toomevara); Dan McCormack (Borris-Ileigh); Brian McGrath, John McGrath, Noel McGrath (all Loughmore-Castleiney); Jamie Moloney (Drom & Inch); Jake Morris (Nenagh Éire Óg); Sean O’Brien (Newport); Joe O’Dwyer, John O’Dwyer, Killian O’Dwyer (all Killenaule); Niall O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs); Dillon Quirke (Clonoulty-Rossmore); Jason Ryan (Toomevara); David Sweeney (Kiladangan).^[32]

Squad as per Tipperary v Wexford, 2019 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final, 28 July 2019

The following players made their competitive senior debut in 2019.

• Robert Byrne against Clare on 26 January.
• Mark Kehoe against Clare on 26 January.
• Killian O'Dwyer against Clare on 26 January.
• Jerome Cahill against Limerick on 30 June.

Summary

On Saturday 26 January, Tipperary opened their campaign with a home game against Clare at Semple Stadium with a 7pm throw-in. The match was televised live by Eir Sport. Tipperary had three changes from the side announced with Barry Heffernan, Robert Byrne and Willie Connors coming in instead of Joe O'Dwyer, Paddy Cadell and Jason Forde.^[50] In wet and windy conditions and in front of 8,217, new captain Seamus Callanan scored 2-7 with both goals coming in the second half, he also had a penalty saved early in the first half and took a point with a second penalty in the second half.^[51] The half time score was 0-13 to 1-3 in Tipperary's favor.^[52] Clare's Tony Kelly received a straight red card in the 44th minute for a high frontal challenge on Padraic Maher.^[53] Tipperary's first goal came in the 50th minute when Jake Morris and Robert Byrne combined to arrow the ball across goal to Seamus Callanan who finished low to the net at the Killinan end. A minute later Callanan got his second after a pass from Morris he hit the ball low into the right corner of the net from the left. Padraic Maher was named as the man of the match.^[54][55]

A week later on Saturday 2 February, Tipperary played their second game of the league against All-Ireland Champions Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds with a 7pm throw-in.^[56] The match was televised live by Eir Sport and RTÉ2. James Barry was named in the team to start at full-back in an otherwise unchanged team from the victory over Clare.^[57] In freezing conditions and in front of 8,559, Limerick went on to win the game on a 1-21 to 1-14 scoreline.^[58] The half time score was 1-9 to 1-8 in Tipperary's favor.^[59][60] Tipperary's goal came in the 22nd minute when Willie Connors combined with Patrick Maher with Maher scoring with a shot into the right corner of the net from the left.^[61][62] Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy confirmed a few days later that Billy McCarthy, Conor Hammersley and Michael Cahill won't be available in 2019 due to injury with 14 players currently on the injury list.^[63][64]

On Sunday 17 February, Tipperary traveled to play Wexford in their third game of the league at the Wexford Park with a 2pm throw-in. It was the first time that they had visited there since 2004.^[65] The match was televised deferred by TG4. Manager Liam Sheedy made five changes to his starting side with goalkeeper Paul Maher making his first start of the league campaign, Seamus Kennedy coming into the half-back line and Jason Forde, Niall O’Meara, and John O’Dwyer starting in the forward line.^[66] In front of 6,700 Seamus Callanan scored a goal for Tipperary after 46 seconds with a ground-shot to the left corner from the left after a hand-pass by Niall O’Meara.^[67] Noel McGrath was sent off in the 33rd minute after picking up two yellow cards and Tipperary led by four points at half-time, 1-7 to 0-6.^[68] Tipperay were eight points in front in the second half but Wexford came back to win by one point with a point from Aidan Nolan in the third minute of injury-time.^[69] The defeat was the first to Wexford in the National League since 2005.^{[70][71][72][73]}

On Sunday 24 February, Tipperary played Kilkenny in their fourth game of the league at Semple Stadium with a 2pm throw-in.^[74] The match was televised live by TG4. Manager Liam Sheedy made two changes to his starting side with Alan Flynn and Willie Connors coming into the team.^[75] Pauric Maher was judged to have touched the ball on the ground in the third minute of injury-time and Kilkenny went on to win the game with the resulting free from 75 metres out from goalkeeper Eoin Murphy.^[76] In front of 8,273, Kilkenny had a one point lead at half-time on a 0-9 to 0-8 scoreline.^[77] Noel McGrath had scored to put Tipperary ahead in the first minute of added time before Richie Hogan got the equaliser for Kilkeeny with Murphy going on to get the winning score.^[78][79][80] With this defeat Tipperary now have only one win from the previous nine league and championship matches.^[81][82]

On Sunday 3 March, Tipperary were due to play Cork at Páirc Ui Rinn in their fifth game of the league but the match was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch following a pitch inspection by referee Sean Cleere at 1pm.^[83][84] On 4 March the Tipperary panel left for a week long training camp in Alicante, returning on 8 March.^[85] Tipperary played Cork two days after returning on 10 March at Páirc Ui Rinn with a 2pm throw-in. The match was televised live by TG4. Manager Liam Sheedy named the same starting line-up that was originally due to line out against Cork the previous weekend with Cathal Barrett, Joe O’Dwyer, Jake Morris, and John McGrath coming into the team instead of Alan Flynn, Seamus Kennedy, Patrick Maher and Willie Connors.^{[86] [87]} Tipperary won the game by 13 points on a 1-29 to 1-16 scoreline in front of 3,681.^[88] Tipperary had a 0-16 to 0-6 lead at half time.^[89] Man-of-the-match Jason Forde got the goal for Tipperary in the 40th minute when he ran onto the ball before hitting it low to the left corner of the net to put them into a 1-17 to 0-7 lead.^[90][91] With this win Tipperary finished in fourth place in division 1A on 4 points and qualified for the quarter-finals where they went on to play Dublin on Saturday 16 March in Semple Stadium.^{[92][93][94][95]}

In the quarter-final on 16 March, in front of a crowd of 3,503, Dublin defeated Tipperary by one point on a 1-21 to 0-23 scoreline, it was their first win against Tipperary on Tipperary soil since 1946. Tipperary are unchanged from their win over Cork the previous weekend.^[96][97] Brendan Maher made his comeback from the cruciate ligament injury when he came on in the second half.^{[98][99][100]} Dublin had a 1-10 to 0-9 lead at the interval with their goal coming in the sixth minute from Fergal Whitely. Tipperary finished with a tally of 18 wides.^{[101][102][103][104][105]}

Results

Round 1 (v Cork 12 May)

In early May, defender Michael Cahill broke his kneecap in an accidental collision in training which required surgery.^{[111][112][113] [114][115]} Tipperary were going into this game with just two wins from their previous 11 League and Championship games.^[116][117] The Tipperary team named for the match included former captain Brendan Maher, completing his comeback from the torn ACL picked up in 2018.^[118][119] The match was televised live on RTÉ2 as part of the Sunday Game presented by Joanne Cantwell with analysis by Jackie Tyrrell, Anthony Daly, and Ursula Jacob. Commentary on the game was provided by Marty Morrissey alongside Michael Duignan. Tipperary won the game on a 2-28 to 1-24 scoreline in front of an attendance of 30,274 in sunny conditions.^[120][121] Tipperary had a 1-13 to 0-15 lead at half time and eleven different scorers during the game with every player in the starting team from right wing-back to left corner-forward getting a score, all bar four points came from open play.^[122] The first Tipperary goal came in the third minute from Seamus Callanan when he cut in from the right to shoot powerfully to the net after a hand pass from Niall O’Meara. The second goal came in the 50th minute from John McGrath with a low shot to the left corner after a pass from out on the right from John O’Dwyer which put them into an eight-point lead on 2-20 to 0-18.^[123] John O’Dwyer was named as the man of the match with 0-7 from play during the game.^{[124][125][126][127][128][129]}

Round 2 (v Waterford 19 May)

A week later Tipperary played Waterford at Semple Stadium in their second match of the Munster Championship.^[130] The Tipperary team named for the match included Alan Flynn coming in at half-back and Ronan Maher moving to corner back. There was one late change made on the day with Dan McCormack replacing Niall O’Meara in the half forward line.^[131][132] The match was televised live on RTÉ2 as part of the Sunday Game presented by Joanne Cantwell with analysis by Henry Shefflin, Anthony Daly, and Donal Óg Cusack. Commentary on the game was provided by Darragh Maloney alongside Dónal O'Grady. Tipperary won the game on a 2-30 to 0-18 scoreline in front of an attendance of 22,883 in dry conditions.^[133][134] Tipperary had a 0-16 to 0-10 lead at half time.^[135] After 29 minutes Waterford's Conor Gleeson’s received a red card in the first half after two yellow cards.^[136][137] After 52 minutes Tipperary had a 0-20 to 0-17 lead before their first goal came a minute later from Jason Forde with a low shot to the left corner from the left after a pass from John O’Dwyer.^[138] The second goal came in the 71st minute from Seamus Callanan with a low shot from the left which deflected in off Waterford defender Conor Prunty after a pass along the ground from Jason Forde.^[139][140] Jason Forde was named as the man of the match with 1-9 during the game.^{[141][142][143]}

Round 3 (v Clare 2 June)

In round three, Tipperary traveled to meet Clare at Cusack Park in Ennis on 2 June. The last championship meeting of the two counties in Ennis was back in 1986 when Clare won by 2-10 to 1-11.^[144] The Tipperary team named for the match showed Niall O’Meara coming into the full forward line in place of Dan McCormack. There were two late changes made on the day with Barry Heffernan coming in for James Barry in the full-back line and Dan McCormack starting in place of Niall O’Meara^[145][146] The match was televised live on RTÉ2 as part of the Sunday Game presented by Joanne Cantwell with analysis by Jackie Tyrrell and Ken McGrath. Commentary on the game was provided by Ger Canning alongside Michael Duignan. Tipperary won the game on a 3-21 to 0-17 scoreline in front of an attendance of 18,316 in windy and rainy conditions.^[147] Playing with the wind, Tipperary had a 1-14 to 0-11 lead at half time with the first goal coming from Noel McGrath in the 21st minute when he dived to tap the ball along the ground and into the net from close range.^[148] The second goal came in the 40th minute, a free from the left by Jason Forde hit the right post, the rebound was picked up by Seamus Callanan who shot powerfully to the right corner of the net to put Tipperary into a 2-14 to 0-12 lead. Callanan's goal was his 30th championship goal and made him Tipperary’s highest championship goal scorer in its history.^[149][150] The third goal came from Patrick Maher in the 50th minute when he flicked the ball past the advancing Clare goalkeeper Donal Tuohy, this put Tipperary into a 3-16 to 0-12 lead. John McGrath was named as the man of the match with 0-6 during the game.^{[151][152][153][154][155]}

Round 4 (v Limerick 16 June)

Tipperary played Limerick at Semple Stadium in round 4 of the Munster Championship on 16 June.^[156][157] The Tipperary team named for the match showed three changes from the Clare match with James Barry, Seán O’Brien, and Jake Morris coming into the side in place of Barry Heffernan, Alan Flynn and Dan McCormack.^[158] The match was televised live on RTÉ2 as part of the Sunday Game presented by Joanne Cantwell with analysis by Anthony Daly and Derek McGrath. Commentary on the game was provided by Ger Canning alongside Michael Duignan. Tipperary won the game on a 1-22 to 0-21 scoreline in front of an attendance of 39,115 in rainy conditions.^[159] Playing against the wind, Tipperary had a 0-12 to 0-8 lead at halftime despite being held scoreless for the first nine minutes of the game.^[160] Limerick cut the lead to two points early in the second half and Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid then made a diving save to deny John O’Dwyer.^[161] Seamus Callanan got the only goal of the game in the 38th minute when he ran in from the right and hit the dropping ball low to the net.^[162] Callanan was named as the man of the match with 1-4 during the game.^[163] This result meant that both Tipperary and Limerick would contest the Munster Final on 30 June, which will be held in the Gaelic Grounds.^{[164][165][166]} Bonner Maher and Cathal Barrett were both injured during the game and it was confirmed that Maher had torn his cruciate in his right knee and would be out of action for the rest of the year.^[167] After a scan it was revealed that Barrett had only suffered a mild hamstring tear and could be available for the Munster Final.^{[168] [169][170][171][172][173]}

2019 Munster Final (v Limerick 30 June)

After finishing the group stage with four wins out of four, Tipperary played Limerick who finished in second place in the group, in the Munster Final at the Gaelic Grounds.^{[174][175][176]} The Tipperary team named for the match included Cathal Barrett, but he did not start, Séamus Kennedy coming into the team in his place, while Dan McCormack replaced the injured Patrick Maher.^[177] The match was televised live on RTÉ2 as part of the Sunday Game presented by Joanne Cantwell with analysis by Anthony Daly, Donal Óg Cusack and Henry Shefflin. Commentary on the game was provided by Ger Canning alongside Michael Duignan. Limerick won the game on a 2-26 to 2-14 scoreline in front of an attendance of 44,052 in dry conditions.^{[178][179][180][181][182]} Playing with the wind in the first half, Seamus Callanan scored a goal for Tipperary in the 18th minute when he ran in on goal after a pass from Noel McGrath to shoot low to the left corner of the net, this put Tipperary into a 1-6 to 0-4 lead. Tipperary goalkeeper Brian Hogan made goal saving saves from Cian Lynch and Gearoid Hegarty in the first half.^[183] Man of the match Peter Casey got a goal for Limerick in the 26th minute, flicking to the net after a pass from the left by Aaron Gillane.^[184] Limerick had a 1-11 to 1-9 lead at half-time. Tipperary's second goal came from John McGrath in the 44th minute when he got free running in from the right to shoot to the right of the net. Kyle Hayes got a second goal for Limerick in the 55th minute running in on goal to flick to the net to put them six points in front.^[185] Tipperary will now go into the All-Ireland quarter-finals where they will play the winners of the Dublin v Laois preliminary quarter-final in Croke Park on 14 July.^[186][187]

Results

Quarter-final (v Laois 14 July)

Tipperary played Laois in the quarter-finals on 14 July in Croke Park. It was the first meeting between the sides in the championship since Tipperary won by 3-28 to 0-13 on 14 June 2003.^{[188] [189]} The Tipperary team named for the match included Cathal Barrett returning from injury and Niall O’Meara, while Ger Browne comes in to start in midfield.^[190] The match was televised live on RTÉ2 as part of the Sunday Game presented by Joanne Cantwell with analysis by Anthony Daly, Ken McGrath and Henry Shefflin. Commentary on the game was provided by Ger Canning alongside Dónal O'Grady. Tipperary playing in a change strip of navy brown and against the wind in the first half won the game on a 2-25 to 1-18 scoreline in front of 44,135 in sunny conditions. ^[191] Tipperary scored their first goal after 12 minutes with a penalty into the left corner from Jason Forde at the hill 16 end after he was fouled. Their second goal came after 16 minutes when Noel McGrath passed into Seamus Callanan who cut in from the right to hit low to the left corner of the net from a tight angle to put Tipperary into a 2-4 to 0-5 lead. Ross King got a goal for Laois after 34 minutes shooting past the advancing Brian Hogan and into the net.^[192] The half time score was Tipperary 2-11 Laois 1-10. Aaron Dunphy was sent off for Laois in the second minute of the second half for striking the legs of Padraic Maher off the ball.^[193] Michael Breen was sent-off late for Tipperary with a second yellow card after a heavy challenge on Paddy Purcell. Laois defender Jack Kelly was named as the man of the match.^[194][195] Tipperary will now go into the All-Ireland semi-finals where they will play Davy Fitzgerald's Leinster Champions Wexford in Croke Park on 28 July.^{[196][197][198]}

Semi-final (v Wexford 28 July)

Tipperary played Wexford in Croke Park on 28 July in the All Ireland semi-final.^{[199][200][201]} It was the first meeting between the sides in the All-Ireland semi-finals since Tipperary won by 3-12 to 0-10 in 2001. The match was televised live on RTÉ2 as part of the Sunday Game presented by Joanne Cantwell from the Croke Park studio with analysis by Anthony Daly, Ken McGrath and Ursula Jacob. Commentary on the game was provided by Darragh Maloney alongside Michael Duignan. The match was also live on Sky Sports presented by Rachel Wyse and Brian Carney.^[202] Tipperary won the game on a 1-28 to 3-20 scoreline in front of 61,852 in sunny conditions to qualify for the All-Ireland Final on 18 August.^[203] The Tipperary team named for the match showed two changes from the Laois game with Barry Heffernan and Michael Breen starting in place of Alan Flynn. Before the start of the match Séamus Kennedy also came into the team in place of James Barry.^[204] Tipperary playing into the Davin end in the first half scored a goal after 9 minutes when Niall O’Meara handpassed out to Seamus Callanan who pulled on the ball from a tight angle on the right with the ball flying past Wexford goalkeeper Mark Fanning and going into the left corner of the net to put Tipperary into a 1-2 to 0-4 lead, it was his 34th championship goal for Tipperary.^[205][206] Wexford scored their first goal after 25 minutes when Conor McDonald found the net when he caught a ball from the left before turning onto his right and firing the ball low to the right corner of the net past Brian Hogan who got a touch on the ball.^[207] After 31 minutes a goal by John McGrath was ruled out after the referee went back and awarded a point to Wexford which Brian Hogan had not prevented going over the bar 27 seconds earlier.^{[208] [209]} Wexford had a 1-14 to 1-12 lead at half-time and five minutes into the second half Tipperary had gone a point in front on a 1-15 to 1-16 scoreline. Five minutes later John McGrath received a second yellow card for striking out at Damien Reck with the hurl. Wexford got a second goal in the 50th minute when Lee Chin ran at the Tipperary defence before shooting low to the left corner of the net past the diving Brian Hogan to put Wexford into a 2-18 to 1-16 lead.^[210] Seven minutes later the sides were level with Ger Browne getting a point to make the score 2-18 to 1-21, the fifth unanswered point from Tipperary. With ten minutes to go Wexford got a third goal from Conor McDonald from close range after a pass from Lee Chin. A Jake Morris goal in time added on was ruled out after the referee had blown for a free which was converted by Jason Forde to put Tipperary into a one point lead, a further point from a 65 from Jason Forde and a late point from the left by Jake Morris were enough for Tipperary to win by two points on a 1-28 to 3-20 scoreline. Tipperary outscored Wexford by 0-12 to 1-2 for the last twenty minutes of the match.^[211] Noel McGrath was named as the man of the match after scoring four points from play.^{[212][213][214][215][216][217]}

Final (v Kilkenny 18 August)

Results