The Grangemockler players celebrate with the Bill Barrett Cup after victory over Aherlow in the Tipperary Intermediate Football Final replay.
By John Harrington
The Grangemockler-Ballyneale GAA club in Tipperary will always be synonymous with one of the darkest days in the history of Gaelic games.
One of the club’s sons, Michael Hogan, was murdered by British forces in Croke Park on Bloody Sunday on November 21st in 1920 while playing for Tipperary against Dublin in Gaelic football challenge match.
The club unveiled a statue in Hogan’s honour back in 2020, and on the pitch they’ve also done his memory proud in recent years.
When a minor ‘A’ championship was won in 2019 and then followed by a U-21 ‘A’ Championship in 2020, it was obvious that one of the sleeping giants of Tipperary football were really stirring again.
There must have been fears that underage success wouldn’t quite transfer into the senior grade when they were beaten in successive Tipperary Intermediate Finals in 2020 and 2021 and a county semi-final last year.
But the eight-time Tipperary senior champions are now back in the big-timeafter a nail-biting Intermediate Final replay victory over Aherlow on Saturday. Quite fitting too that the Bill Barrett Cup they won should be named after a former Tipperary team-mate of Michael Hogan.
A statue in Grangemockler commemorates former club footballer Michael Hogan who was murdered by British forces on Bloody Sunday in Croke Park in 1920.
Few people have done more to drive Grangemockler-Ballyneale forward than club chairperson, JJ Crowley, and it was telling that his contribution to the cause was referenced by team captain Mark O’Meara when he accepted the cup.
Crowley is in his fifth decade of service to the club, and he reckons this was the sweetest day of all.
“I couldn't explain how much this win meant,” he told GAA.ie “It was just an unbelievable feeling.
“I've been involved in the club since 1983 and I've seen a lot of county titles won, but this one was special.
“We've been knocking at the door for a few years now so it was great to finally do it.
“The players showed a lot of character to win it in the end. They never dropped the heads. We kicked 14 wides against Aherlow's two, but they kept going. If we had lost it this year, then it would have been very hard to rise it again.”
Grangemockler-Ballyneale’s character was certainly in evidence when they recovered from a slow start that saw them fall seven points down after 14 minutes.
By half-time the deficit had been reduced to a single point, and they played with verve and nerve in the second-half to eventually edge the contest courtesy of a late free from Mikey Lyons.
In a year that came down to very fine margins, Crowley believes the addition of Charlie McGeever and Tommy Toomey to the club’s senior management team was vital.
Former Tipperary minor manager, Charlie McGeever, coaches the Grangemockler-Ballyneale footballers.
Former Tipperary minor manager, McGeever, was team coach, and former Tipperary U-21 manager, Toomey, was their statistician. Not a bad brains trust to be able to call upon.
“The players will tell you that the coaching they got this year was something they'd never seen before,” says Crowley. “What Charlie brought to the table was unreal.
“And then Tommy with the stats. Tommy would come in and say you're playing this team tomorrow and their goalie is left-footed and likes to kick the ball to particular areas of the pitch.
“And if he walks out with the ball under his right arm it means he's kicking it to the right, if he walks out with it under his left arm he's kicking it to the left. The amount of detail that they have done to improve this team to the level they're now at has been incredible.
“And great credit goes as well to our manager Shane Comerford, who is hugely committed. All the players bought into what he wanted from them.
“Shane could do something like send out a text saying, 'training tonight at seven o'clock, and bring your runners'. He'd be there before anyone and set out the field, the players would train for an hour or an hour and a half, and they’d be wondering why he told them to bring runners.
"The next thing he'd say, 'get into your cars now, we're going down a seven-kilometre run at the butt of Slievenamon!' That's the type of dedication to the cause that Shane would be looking for. His commitment to the cause is unreal and it worked!"
Now that they’ve finally won the Tipperary Intermediate championship, Grangemockler-Ballyneale won’t be resting on their laurels.
Next up is the AIB Munster Intermediate Quarter-Final this Sunday against Roanmore of Waterford.
