Fáilte chuig gaa.ie - suíomh oifigiúil CLG

Football

football

'Blow in' Doyle looking at home with Tipp footballers

Tipperary footballer, Teddy Doyle, pictured at the Tailteann Cup launch in Croke Park. 

Tipperary footballer, Teddy Doyle, pictured at the Tailteann Cup launch in Croke Park. 

By John Harrington

At the age of 29, Teddy Doyle is enjoying his unexpected chance to play at the highest level of the game with the Tipperary footballers.

A native of Templenoe in Kerry, he’s a Garda stationed in Limerick and living in Tipperary who for years made the long trek home to play club football.

He finally turned fully native this year, marrying a Tipperary woman, joining local club Ballina, and donning a Tipperary jersey for the first time after being invited into the panel by manager David Power.

By his own admission he’s a ‘blow-in’, but it’s a testament to his application since joining the Tipperary panel that he quickly nailed down a place in their attack.

“I suppose a bit of a blow-in but really I'm there to try and push myself as far as I can go,” said Doyle.

“They could see that once I came in. I had a good attitude and went about my business in the right way. They were very welcoming in that way.

“There's a great squad and management team there so it was easy enough to transition into the dressing room. As intimidating and all as it can be, I still found it quite easy. They made it easy for me.

“It was good excitement to put on an inter-county jersey and get to play inter-county football and put yourself at the highest standard you can get to. I'm a Tipp man now. I'm living in Tipp and I'll embrace the Tipp colours.”

Doyle was a very committed club-man with Templenoe so deciding to join Ballina wasn’t a decision he made lightly, but ultimately he knows it was the right one at this time in his life.

“Yeah it's probably the hardest thing I've done,” he says. “Leaving your club is obviously something no fella ever wants to do but such is life. I wasn't doing myself justice I don't think, playing with my club the way I was.

“The commute was too much. I wasn't making training as often as I could have and I just couldn't keep it up. It was difficult leaving but I've a new club in Ballina in Tipperary.

“In fairness before I even started playing with them, they were very welcoming, inviting me to training sessions and anything else that was going on in the club. I'm lucky to have found a new club in Ballina.”

Teddy Doyle in action for the Tipperary footballers against Waterford in this year's Munster SFC. 

Teddy Doyle in action for the Tipperary footballers against Waterford in this year's Munster SFC. 

A physically powerful athlete with the natural skill you’d expect of a Kerry footballer, Doyle brings a combination of both strength and intelligence to the Tipp half-forward line.

He’s made the leap to inter-county football at the age of 29 in very impressive fashion, even if he admits he’s found it a challenge.

“It's been a huge step-up,” he says. “The commitment level...I thought I was fairly committed to my club travelling up and down as often as I was. But I'm nearly on the road a lot more now that I'm with Tipperary.

“There's a lot of work that goes into it. I've a new-found respect for the inter-county scene and inter-county panels, players and management. It takes a lot of time and effort. There is a bit of stress involved. It is a bit different to club.

“Having said that, the club scene is so competitive and serious as well now, definitely from what I was used to in Templenoe. There is a jump in standard definitely, you can sense it.”

He found out the hard way too in the Munster semi-final against Limerick that at the highest level of the game if your team isn’t fully in the zone then they’re most likely to come off second best in a championship match.

That six-point defeat ensured the remainder of Tipperary’s championship campaign would be played in the Tailteann Cup, and the first-round draw sees them travel to play Carlow this weekend.

Elimination from Munster hurt, but Doyle insists they’re already focused on the new challenge.

“We were gutted to lose to Limerick, particularly the way we did,” he said. “We didn't do ourselves justice. We underperformed, definitely. I don't think we've performed in that manner all year really.

“Maybe bar the first couple of league games, but we've been going well since. We were disappointed to lose it in that way but the other side is we don't have time now to be feeling sorry for ourselves.

“We have to get ready for the next championship match. We've a good management team there that won't let us walk around with our heads down. It's shoulder to the wheel now again.”

In attendance, from left; Mickey Quinn of Longford, Evan O’Carroll of Laois, Kevin Maguire of Westmeath, Declan McCusker of Fermanagh, Darragh Foley of Carlow, Martin O’Connor of Wexford, Conor Murray of Waterford, Killian Clarke of Cavan, Conor Stewart of Antrim, Teddy Doyle of Tipperary, Barry O’Hagan of Down, Mark Diffley of Leitrim, Dean Healy of Wicklow, Niall Murphy of Sligo and Johnny Moloney of Offaly during the Táilteann Cup launch at Croke Park in Dublin. 

In attendance, from left; Mickey Quinn of Longford, Evan O’Carroll of Laois, Kevin Maguire of Westmeath, Declan McCusker of Fermanagh, Darragh Foley of Carlow, Martin O’Connor of Wexford, Conor Murray of Waterford, Killian Clarke of Cavan, Conor Stewart of Antrim, Teddy Doyle of Tipperary, Barry O’Hagan of Down, Mark Diffley of Leitrim, Dean Healy of Wicklow, Niall Murphy of Sligo and Johnny Moloney of Offaly during the Táilteann Cup launch at Croke Park in Dublin. 

Tipperary were missing a few players through injury for that defeat to Limerick and if they can get their best team back on the field and reproduce the form they showed to win promotion from Division 4 of the League then they have to be regarded as one of the favourites to go far in the Tailteann Cup.

Rather than be too dismayed about no longer contesting for the Sam Maguire, Doyle sees the benefit in taking part in a competition that is winnable.

“Definitely,” he says. “Talking to a few of the lads from the other counties, it's an open competition. Everybody would give themselves a fair chance of going a long way in the competition and we're no different. We all have the same mindset that it's a good competition, a good opportunity to play championship football in the summer.

“There is that incentive there that everybody wants to play in Croke Park. The semi-finals and final are fixed for there and hopefully we can get a good performance in the first round and see where we go after that.

“If you can win the competition you're telling yourself that you're good enough to go into the Sam Maguire next year and if not you are where you are. Our aim is obviously to win the competition. Win our first game first and see how we go. But we'll be hoping to go well in the competition."