Tipperary Senior Football Championship

The Tipperary Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in Tipperary. The winners of the Tipperary Championship qualify to represent their county in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship, the winners of which advance to the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship.

Over the decades, the Tipperary championship has been dominated by teams from South Tipperary, with Fethard and Clonmel Commercials leading the roll of honour, though Loughmore-Castleiney from Mid Tipperary strongly challenge in most seasons and are the current champions (2014). Kilruane MacDonagh's were North Tipperary's last club team to be victorious in 1975, while teams from West Tipperary have also figured in the honours list, including Aherlow who won their first championship in 2006. Other teams from the West to have won the championship are Galtee Rovers and Arravale Rovers, champions in 1985. The latter were promoted from Intermediate level for 2008, thus providing Tipperary Town with a senior team once again, a welcome development for such a town steeped in the ancient history of the game. The game's administrators are struggling in Clonmel to keep abreast of population growth where the town with about 20,000 people, now has three senior clubs, Commercials, with Moyle Rovers located in the outer suburban fringe. The most recently formed club, Clonmel Óg, first contested the senior championships in 2009, having won the Intermediate Championship in 2008 and continue to make welcome progress.

Over the years, prominent senior football clubs have included Fethard, Clonmel Commercials, Moyle Rovers, Ardfinnan, Grangemockler, Kilsheelan and Cahir from South Tipperary. Western teams who are consistent participants in the championship are Aherlow, Arravale Rovers, Eire Og, Anacarty and Galtee Rovers. In recent years the Mid division has become much more competitive and now consists of 5 teams due to the recent promotions of Moycarkey Borris and Drom Inch teams. Loughmore-Castleiney and J.K. Bracken's current dominate the division with Moyne-Templetuohy following closely behind. The most successful teams to date have been Fethard and Commercials, though in recent years, Moyle Rovers have been to the fore with a number of wins. The champions in 2005 were Ardfinnan who made a winning return to the roll of honour after an absence of 31 years, while 2006 will be recorded as a notable year in West Tipperary when their divisional champions, Aherlow, lifted the laurels for the first time and brought the title to the storied glen.

The old order was restored in 2007, when Moyle Rovers triumphed once again. The 2008 final saw Galtee Rovers defeat Cahir to bring the title back to Bansha after an absence of 27 years, but their reign was short-lived and Moyle Rovers restored the South's supremacy in 2009 with their win over West champions, Aherlow on 25 October at Semple Stadium.^[1] However, the glensmen came back for victory in 2010, taking the laurels from Loughmore-Castleiney in the final. The 2011 championship was quite unique in that for the first time, it was won by Thomas MacDonagh's, a combination team representing nine clubs in the North Tipperary Division. They won the title from Moyle Rovers in the final in Cashel on 6 November 2011. It was the first time in 36 years that the title went North, the last victorious team from the region being Kilruane MacDonagh's in 1975. However, MacDonagh's relinquished their title in 2012 when Clonmel Commercials returned as champions for the 15th time, thus bridging a 10-year gap since their last victory.

2013 will long be remembered in Loughmore-Castleiney as the Club gained immortality by winning the Senior Football Championship for the 12th time and also won the Senior Hurling Championship for good measure, thus becoming the first club to win both championships in the same year, a feat unlikely to be matched by another club in the foreseeable future. Loughmore-Castleiney's famous victory came at Semple Stadium on Sunday, 3 November, when their three-goal tally comfortably saw off the challenge of Aherlow Gaels which is a combination team representing the Aherlow and Lattin-Cullen clubs in West Tipperary. 2014 proved to be a disappointing year in the administration of the Club Championship as the fixture list was upset because of inter-county hurling commitments which resulted in the County being unable to take part in the Munster Club Football Championship, a fate strangely not visited upon the hurling clubs in the County. The County championship was eventually decided on St. Stephens Day following a replayed County final when the Loughmore-Casteleiny club successfully defended their title against a gallant Cahir team on a score of 0-9 to 2-2.

Top winners

Roll of honour

^[2]

North Tipperary

While there is currently no senior divisional championship, an occasional presence is maintained in the county championship by one or two teams, often representing an amalgamation of junior clubs who play in the divisional junior championship. Best known teams from the past have been Inane Rovers from Roscrea, St Flannan's and Kilruane MacDonagh's, the latter two having won the county championship on one occasion each. The region received a boost in 2011 when a combination team named after patriot Thomas MacDonagh, a representative outfit drawing from nine clubs won the County Championship, a feat last achieved in 1975, when the other MacDonagh's from Kilruane were champions.

Mid Tipperary

The Mid Tipperary Senior Football Championship is generally contested by three teams: J.K. Bracken's of Templemore, Loughmore-Castleiney and Moyne-Templetuohy. The following is a list of winners of the Mid Tipperary Championship.

West Tipperary

The West Tipperary Championship has been contested by the same four teams in recent years: Aherlow, Éire Óg Annacarty, Galtee Rovers and Arravale Rovers with Galtee Rovers winning their 25th title in 2014 to consolidate their place at the top of the roll of honour which they have maintained since their inaugural win in the championship of 1947. Since 2008 the championship has been a round-robin affair with the top team qualifying for the final and the second and third teams contesting a semi-final. The emerging champions also advance to the quarter final of the County Championship. The stranglehold on the championship enjoyed by the Aherlow/Galtee Rovers axis was broken in 2011 and new champions other than these two clubs were crowned for the first time since Knockavilla Kickhams took the laurels in 1998. The 2011 final contestants were the age-old Arravale Rovers of Tipperary Town and the more hurling orientated club of Éire Óg, Annacarty who were making a strong bid to win their first championship at this level and code, having proved their mettle in the senior hurling championship on many past occasions. However, it was Arravale's turn once again to take the laurels after an exceptionally long barren period of 18 years, when they were a goal to the good in the final played at Golden on 25 September.

Éire Óg, however fulfilled their ambition in 2012 when they won their inaugural championship, a noteworthy achievement given their dual status and their challenging assignments in the hurling championship. However, their reign was short-lived as Arravale Rovers were worthy winners of the 2013 championship, when they saw off Galtee Rovers in one of the few finals to be played at Lattin, whose new ground development is a showpiece for other clubs to copy. The final was something of an anti-climax as the champions did not have an avenue to progress to the county championship as in former years. Galtee Rovers reached a notable milestone when they won their 25th title on Sunday, 3 October 2014 when defeating Éire Óg Anacarty by 4-6 to 0-7 in the final played at Dundrum.

In the early years of the championship which was inaugurated in 1940 but was not concluded that year, Arravale Rovers fine team of the war years, claim to be champions of West Tipperary in 1941 and 1942, a claim not disputed by the other clubs, though details are scarce on the victory records. Notwithstanding this early episode, the black and amber of the Arravales were All-Ireland Senior Football Champions when other clubs were just starting out at the end of the 19th century. Arravale hold 12 championships which is two ahead of the Lattin-Cullen club in the role of honour with 10 championships, though the years are passing since the latter were a potent force. The following is the list of winners of the West Tipperary Senior Football Championship since the inauguration of the championship in 1940 to 2015.

Galtee Rovers: (25) - 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1962, 1963, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2014.

Arravale Rovers: (12) - 1941, 1942, 1948, 1955, 1972, 1973, 1981, 1984, 1992, 1993, 2011, 2013, 2015.

Lattin-Cullen(10) - 1958, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1982, 1994.

Aherlow: (6) - 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010.^[13]

Solohead: (4) - 1956, 1957, 1970, 1977.

Golden-Kilfeacle: (4) - 1986, 1988, 1995, 1996.

Emly: (3) - 1959, 1960, 1987.

Cappawhite: (1) - 1978.

Cashel King Cormacs: (1) - 1990.

Knockavilla Kickhams: (1) - 1998.

St. Ailbe's ( Aherlow/Emly): (1) - 1968.

Golden-Rockwell (Golden/Kilfeacle & Rockwell Rovers): (1) - 1980.

Éire Óg Annacarty: (1) - 2012.

South Tipperary

The South Tipperary Championship is contested by ten teams: Ardfinnan, Cahir, Carrick Swans, Clonmel Commercials, Fethard, Clonmel Óg, Killenaule, Moyle Rovers, Kilsheelan and Mullinahone.

The championship is currently a two group competition. The winners of each group go directly into two semi finals, with the 2nd and 3rd placed teams playing off in two quarter finals.

References

External links

• Official Tipperary Website
• Tipperary on Hoganstand
• Tipperary Club GAA