Eoin Kelly urges Tipperary to enjoy the journey and the little wins too

By Paul Keane

There wasn't much that Eoin Kelly failed to win with Tipperary, from All-Irelands, All-Stars and countless Man of the Match awards to twice being named Young Hurler of the Year.

There were National League successes too while the Mullinahone man was captain for a number of Tipp's greatest days, like the 2010 All-Ireland final win.

Successfully defending an All-Ireland senior title, however, is one that got away. Kelly, like every other Tipperary hurler who arrived on the scene after the county's last back-to-back wins in 1965, never managed to pull it off.

Is it something that tormented him throughout his career, or something he was even particularly aware of?

"No, it wasn't, it was never really mentioned," said Kelly. "It was always just, 'Win your next game'."

The current Tipp players, still savouring the county's latest MacCarthy Cup success, will try to keep it all in a similar perspective when 2026 rolls around.

But there is no doubt that as the start of another season comes into view, they will be reminded by supporters, sports bulletins and perhaps even family and friends about that long gap since Jimmy Doyle and his Premier crew of 1965 last retained a senior All-Ireland.

Kelly did actually achieve the feat over the weekend in the blue and gold, helping the county's Over-40s Masters team to retain the All-Ireland at that grade, beating Wexford in Saturday's decider.

His feeling about it all is that it's a mighty difficult thing to do, retaining an All-Ireland title, and that the Tipp seniors should remember to celebrate the smaller wins too, if they come in 2026.

"It's a funny thing, and something people don't really mention, but when we won the All-Ireland in 2010, we went on the year after and won the Munster championship," said Kelly.

"If you go back all the way to 1965, that (2011) was the only time that Tipp followed up an All-Ireland by winning Munster the next year.

"So, yeah, everybody wants to go out next year and win the All-Ireland again but sometimes there are little, smaller wins along the way that are very valuable too and they can be overshadowed by the whole All-Ireland thing.

"Like, Cork didn't have a bad season this year, they won the League and the Munster championship. Okay, they didn't get the big one and that'll hurt.

"With Tipperary, they'll knuckle down, they haven't won a League since 2008 so I'm sure that's going to be the first question that Liam Cahill will put to his squad when he's asking them about 2026? It'll be, 'How about we go after this?'"

In all, seven different Tipp teams have tried and failed to retain the All-Ireland since it was last done 60 years ago. Attacker Kelly was part of two of those Tipp teams, coming up short in both 2002 and 2011, after the All-Ireland wins of 2001 and 2010, but, like he said, he doesn't beat himself up about failing to ever hold onto the title.

"There have been phenomenal teams that have obviously done it, the Limericks and the Kilkennys, but those were rare teams too," he noted. "Those were generational teams with generational talents. Look, time will tell for Tipp. It's hard to make predictions when it's so competitive now.

"The dynamics of the season have changed a bit because when you go back in January, it's game-game-game-game and then it's almost over in a flash. It's quite a condensed season, the inter-county season, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays out."

Kelly said the reality for Tipp is that a lot went their way throughout the season just gone, having previously struggled in 2024 and failed to make it out of Munster.

"Tipp were very fit, injury free and when the chance came, they took it," said the six-time All-Star of the 2025 campaign.

"The All-Ireland final, like, people came out after the match puzzled with the way that second-half went. But it probably just showed Tipp's determination all season. When they got out of Munster, they went quietly about their business.

"There was no hype around them, even before the All-Ireland final. It was a lovely way for them to go in. It was always going to be a sticky one for Cork and it proved that way. The weight of expectation and hype lent on them very heavy. And Tipp were awesome on the day."

As for his Over-40s triumphs with Tipp in 2024 and 2025 - the Masters competition was only revived last year after a near 20-year break - Kelly is proud.

But there is little time to savour it as the focus will shift to club activity this weekend. Kelly's club, Mullinahone, have a significant final game in Group 2, against Nenagh Eire Og in Templetuohy, and need the win.

"We have a lot of injuries picked up and it was a tough season," said Kelly, who was by Peter Queally's side as part of the Waterford backroom team this year. "That's the way it goes. Some years, it's nearly an injury-free campaign and other years you're not as fortunate.

"We're after losing two games in the county championship and we're going into the third match now. You don't want to end up in that dreaded relegation battle. The threat of it is there so we need to win that match against Nenagh and we'll try to put our best foot forward.

"But it's hard, the Tipp championship is very competitive. There are 16 teams in it and as far as I know, only three teams are qualified at this stage after two games. So a lot is coming down to the last games this weekend. That'll tell you how severe a championship it is."

A championship that is shaping and sharpening its elite performers for what could be another landmark season for the blue and gold in 2026.