By John Harrington

Tipperary footballer, Philip Austin, has long had a symbiotic relationship with his club Borrisokane.

He’s a proper club-man. Someone who always gives his maximum on the pitch as a footballer and hurler and off it too in whatever capacity he can.

In return, the club has backed him to the hilt since he made his debut for the Tipperary footballers back in 2006.

In north Tipperary a county footballer is a fairly exotic animal, and everyone in Borrisokane has always taken a lot of pride in Austin’s achievements.

When he was Tipperary captain in 2012, a couple of busloads from the parish made the journey to Roscommon for the Premier County’s Allianz League opener against, and until Covid came along this year there’s always been a vocal Borrisokane contingent at Tipp football matches for as long as Austin has been a member of the panel.

There was another nice example last week of the mutual regard that Austin and his community have for one another.

A teacher in Killina Presentation secondary school in Offaly, every Friday on the way home Austin stops by Scoil Mhuire primary school in Borrisokane to coach gaelic games to the children there.

Last Friday, in the wake of Tipperary’s historic Munster SFC Final victory over Cork, the schoolchildren surprised Austin by presenting him with a small Cup to mark their pride in his achievement.

He still hasn’t quite processed what it means to him to have won a Munster senior medal after 15 years of trying, but little moments like that make it all the more special.

“It's kind of indescribable really, I kind of can't put it into words yet,” Austin told GAA.ie of Tipperary’s Munster SFC success.

“In a way, it's a relief. I've made an awful lot of friends and have enjoyed playing football over the years, but, at the same time, I've always longed to actually win something.

"The most we ever won were two Division 3 Leagues and two Division 4 Leagues, but, after that, in the 15 years of senior football with Tipperary and two as a minor I have nothing to show for it only this.

“So, finally, I got what I was waiting for which was a Munster, that was the minimum I was waiting to get out of it. It's indescribable because there were an awful lot of bad days, an awful lot of defeats. But the sweeter days seem to make up for that.

“Our run in 2016 was memorable too but we came up empty-handed. We lost to Kerry convincingly enough in the Munster Final and then lost to Mayo in the semi-final.

“Yeah, it's just amazing, really. It kind of hasn't fully sunk in yet. I actually get a bit emotional when I start thinking about it, to be honest.”

Austin has always been an easy player to root for because of his attitude on the pitch.

He’s one of those workaholic wing-forwards who never stops running and battling for his team, even on those many dark days when Tipperary have been beaten long before the final whistle has blown.

That’s why it was so satisfying that he was able to contribute in a meaningful way to Tipperary’s Munster Final win over Cork.

He didn’t appear on the pitch until the 71st minute, but with his very first touch he kicked a vital point that helped Tipperary see the game out.

Tipperary’s longest serving player had made his mark in a very real way on the county’s biggest day for 85 years, and that added another layer of gratification to the achievement for the Borrisokane man.

“Ah it does,” he says. “Listen, you're always trying to contribute. Even I suppose when you look back at the 10, 12 guys that couldn't be there on the day, they contributed hugely too.

“I mean, they were huge contributors to the team. They may not feel it at times, but they were, like.

"Then, when you're a sub, you're trying to get on and contribute some way to push the starting 15. And, then, when you get on, you're trying to contribute again. Every little detail adds into the other. A lot of it goes without being seen at times.

“It was great to get a point and raise the white flag. I was delighted to be involved because there were dark enough days there of rehabbing and trying to get back for the Clare and Limerick games that I failed to get back for.

“I haven't looked back over the game and I'll wait a long time when I'm watching the game to actually see myself! I'll be looking forward to it alright but I don't know when I'll look back over it because we're back to concentrating on our next game against Mayo.”

It says a lot about Austin’s strength of will that he gave himself a chance to feature in Tipperary’s Munster Final victory.

He tore his groin muscle in the first League match post lockdown against Offaly and then aggravated the injury again when he pushed hard to make it back in time for the Munster Quarter-Final against Clare.

At that stage it looked like his year was over, but Austin wasn’t prepared to quit. Against the odds, he made a return to training before the Cork match and impressed sufficiently in four sessions to force his way back into Tipperary manager David Power’s plans.

He’ll turn 34 later this month, but clearly is as driven as ever to compete at the highest level.

“I have to laugh when I hear people wonder how some of the older Dublin footballers or Kilkenny hurlers keep coming back for more every year,” says Austin.

“It's very easy to come back when you're winning and you've lots of cups, medals, and team holidays to show for your efforts.

“When you're coming back to a November slog and you've been beaten again the previous year and come away with no silverware, it's probably a lot tougher.

“It was certainly very easy to come back training on Tuesday night after winning the Munster Final on the Sunday.

"I don't know what keeps driving me back, there's a great football family there. I've met an awful lot of good people down through the years. Good management, coaches, players.

“I've played with an awful lot of players from around Tipperary and I've a link to most clubs in Tipperary at this stage.

“If we play any club in hurling or football there's nearly always a player you've played with down through the years and you can reminisce with which is nice. I like that side to it too.”

Austin’s durability at senior inter-county level is a product of natural athleticism as well as his desire to compete.

A talented athlete in his youth with Borrisokane Athletic Club, he was part of a team that won a silver medal in the U-15 mixed relay team at the National Community Games Finals in 2000 and also competed in the 80 metres hurdles final that year.

“I do owe an awful lot to Borrisokane Athletic Club,” says Austin.

“I was involved in athletics until I was about 16. I competed across in Birmingham for a UK-Ireland championships so I was very competitive at that.

“I only picked up hurling and football when I was probably 12/13. And then as I started enjoying the team sports more I moved from athletics and into the team sports. And once you get into any sort of an inter-county panel you take it a little more seriously again.

“The speed and fitness has been there since I started and if I'm coming back from a break or injury I pick the fitness back up quickly in a week or two of getting back into it.

“At this stage in my 30s I'm probably down a yard since my 20s, but I haven't lost a massive amount either which has allowed me to keep going.

“It is a young person's game and it is about speed and endurance and strength so I'm lucky enough to have that athletics background.”

Being the competitive animal he is, Austin viewed the two-week break between the Munster Final win over Cork and the All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo on Sunday as an opportunity.

Making a contribution off the bench against Cork was nice, but starting the All-Ireland semi-final would be nicer again, so you can be sure whoever was tasked with marking him in training matches has had their hands full.

He regards the All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Mayo in 2016 as possibly the biggest disappointment of his career, but now opportunity has come knocking again.

“I remember walking off that field and I was very disappointed and very emotional as well,” says Austin.

“I was just deeply disappointed that things had not gone our way and we had underperformed a little bit.

“On the day Mayo were the better team in 2016 and we'll just have to have all our ducks in a row for this semi-final. A lot of lads are looking forward to it, but we have a lot of background work we need to do before the game so we can be confident we can be in a good position for it.

“But we're hopeful and we're really looking forward to the day.

“It would be huge to get the win this time. It would be huge for Tipp football. We just have to get ourselves physically and mentally right for that absolute fight that we're going into it.”

Knowing what we know about Austin, you can be sure he’ll have himself primed for the challenge.