The motivation for this project was inspired by the work of others – in October 2021, for instance, Kevin Egan published an article on GAA.ie heralding the work of the volunteers and enthusiasts around the country who are endeavouring to maintain statistical histories of the GAA. Similarly, in March 2021 Malachy Clerkin celebrated the work of men like John Gunnigan who worked to create a complete record of every team that had ever played for Mayo; these individuals identified something that they would like to exist and did something about it.
Following the example set please find below two tools which will allow you to search the records of 1,098 Tipperary championship games (at minor, under-20, under-21, junior, intermediate & senior level) and individual records for 2,600 different players who have played hurling for Tipperary since 1887.
To search for the details of a Tipperary game (or series of games) please click here.
To search for the details of a Tipperary player (or players) please click here.
Please Note: The research is based on information gathered via books, the Tipperary GAA Archives and newspaper reports. Every effort has been made to ensure that the database is accurate, but if you spot an error please make contact.
The intention is to develop an accurate record of the games and the players involved so all help and feedback is appreciated.
Patterns
This visual was developed to illustrate some of the patterns associated with the data.
Some interesting snippets:
- 2,600: The number of players who have played championship hurling for Tipp since 1887 – 711 players have featured in the senior championship, a total of 1,084 have competed at junior or intermediate championship level, 734 different players have been selected at under-20 or under-21 level and 1,412 have competed in the minor hurling championship
- 1,098: Tipp have played in 1,098 championship games and won 712 of those (65%) – 394 senior games, 209 junior/intermediate games, 179 under-20/21 games and 316 minor games games
- 187: Only 187 players (7% of 2,600) have played at minor, under-21 and senior level for Tipperary – 437 players played senior, but did not play minor for the county while 1,125 played minor, but did not play senior for the county
- 50: Fifty players have played championship games at all four grades – Liam Sheedy (Portroe) and Colm Bonnar (Cashel King Cormacs), for example, have played at minor, under-21, intermediate and senior level for Tipperary
- Ryan: 2,600 players have played for Tipp featuring 557 different surnames – Ryan is the most popular with 213 different Ryans playing for Tipperary
Ranking Players
Who has played most championship games for Tipperary?
Please note that the following table is based on an aggregate of the total championship appearances combined i.e. minor, under-20/21, junior/intermediate and senior appearances added together.
| Player | Club | Total Games |
|---|---|---|
| Eoin Kelly | Mullinahone | 88 |
| Brendan Cummins | Ballybacon-Grange | 87 |
| Noel McGrath | Loughmore-Castleiney | 84 |
| Brendan Maher | Borris-Ileigh | 82 |
| Pádraic Maher | Thurles Sarsfields | 79 |
| Séamus Callanan | Drom & Inch | 73 |
| Lar Corbett | Thurles Sarsfields | 69 |
| John Doyle | Holycross-Ballycahill | 66 |
| Patrick Maher | Lorrha-Dorrha | 64 |
| Conor O’Mahony | Newport | 62 |
Who has played most championship games at senior level?
| Player | Club | Total Games |
|---|---|---|
| Brendan Cummins | Ballybacon-Grange | 73 |
| Eoin Kelly | Mullinahone | 63 |
| Lar Corbett | Thurles Sarsfields | 63 |
| Noel McGrath | Loughmore-Castleiney | 62 |
| Séamus Callanan | Drom & Inch | 61 |
Who has played most at junior/intermediate level?
| Player | Club | Total Games |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Ryan | Fethard | 26 |
| Michael Stapleton | Templederry Kenyons | 23 |
| Gerry O’Brien | Portroe | 23 |
| Eamonn Kelly | Kiladangan | 18 |
| Tommy Foran | Carrick Davins | 17 |
Who has played most games at under-20/under-21 level?
| Player | Club | Total Games |
|---|---|---|
| Vincent Mullins | St Mary’s Clonmel | 16 |
| Joe O’Dwyer | Killenaule | 15 |
| PJ Ryan | Carrick Davins | 15 |
| Colm Bonnar | Cashel King Cormacs | 14 |
| Eoin Kelly | Mullinahone | 13 |
Who has played most championship games at minor level?
| Player | Club | Total Games |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Doyle | Thurles Sarsfields | 19 |
| Joey McLoughney | Toomevara | 15 |
| Liam Quinn | Holycross-Ballycahill | 15 |
| Paddy Kenny | Borris-Ileigh | 14 |
| Con Maher | Thurles Sarsfields | 14 |
Who has scored most for Tipperary in championship games?
Please note that scoring tallies from across all grades have been aggregated (the goals and points have been combined into one figure).
| Player | Club | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| Eoin Kelly | Mullinahone | 580 |
| Séamus Callanan | Drom & Inch | 359 |
| Jason Forde | Silvermines | 277 |
| Noel McGrath | Loughmore-Castleiney | 250 |
| John O’Dwyer | Killenaule | 247 |
Who has scored most championship goals across the grades for Tipperary?
| Player | Club | Total Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Séamus Callanan | Drom & Inch | 40 |
| Michael Keating | Ballybacon-Grange | 35 |
| Lar Corbett | Thurles Sarsfields | 31 |
| Séamus Bourke | JK Bracken’s | 28 |
| Eoin Kelly | Mullinahone | 28 |
Who has the highest scoring rate across the grades for Tipperary?
The tallies in the following table are based on the average scored per game for Tipperary, but the ranking table is limited to players who have played at least twenty games for the county.
| Player | Club | Average Score |
|---|---|---|
| Eoin Kelly | Mullinahone | 6.59 |
| Séamus Bourke | JK Bracken’s | 5.52 |
| Jason Forde | Silvermines | 5.23 |
| Declan Browne | Moyle Rovers | 5.20 |
| Séamus Callanan | Drom & Inch | 4.92 |
Which players have appeared in the most Munster finals for Tipperary?
| Player | Club | Total Finals |
|---|---|---|
| John Doyle | Holycross-Ballycahill | 17 |
| Eoin Kelly | Mullinahone | 16 |
| Brendan Cummins | Ballybacon-Grange | 14 |
| Jimmy Doyle | Thurles Sarsfields | 14 |
| John Leahy | Mullinahone | 14 |
| John Leahy | Boherlahan-Dualla | 14 |
| Pat Fox | Éire Óg Annacarty | 14 |
| Colm Bonnar | Cashel King Cormacs | 14 |
| Aidan Ryan | Borris-Ileigh | 14 |
| Declan Ryan | Clonoulty-Rossmore | 13 |
Which players have appeared most for Tipperary in All-Ireland finals?
| Player | Club | Total Finals |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Doyle | Thurles Sarsfields | 13 |
| John Doyle | Holycross-Ballycahill | 13 |
| Brendan Maher | Borris-Ileigh | 11 |
| Pádraic Maher | Thurles Sarsfields | 11 |
| Colm Bonnar | Cashel King Cormacs | 10 |
| Liam Devaney | Borris-Ileigh | 10 |
| Michael Keating | Ballybacon-Grange | 10 |
| Séamus Callanan | Drom & Inch | 9 |
| Noel McGrath | Loughmore-Castleiney | 9 |
| Seán McLoughlin | Thurles Sarsfields | 9 |
Club Representation
The graphic below illustrates the distribution of the players who have played for Tipperary across the respective grades since 1887.
Please note that every care has been taken to ensure that players have been assigned to modern version of their respective clubs.
The database features records for 2,600 different players who originate from 67 different clubs (including one from Ballyskenach, Offaly).
The top ten sources of players for Tipperary read as follows:
- Thurles Sarsfields (250)
- Moycarkey-Borris (156)
- Boherlahan-Dualla (128)
- Roscrea (110)
- Nenagh Éire Óg (107)
- Toomevara (98)
- Clonoulty-Rossmore (90)
- Borris-Ileigh (84)
- Kilruane MacDonaghs (78)
- Drom & Inch (62)
However, please note the following:
- The town of Thurles, featuring the Thurles Gaels (27) and Thurles Sarsfields (250) clubs, has produced 277 players in total
- Carrick-on-Suir, featuring the Carrick Davins (52) and Carrick Swans (37) clubs, is notable for producing 89 players for Tipperary
- Clonmel, featuring the St Mary’s Clonmel (51), Marlfield (5) and the Clonmel Óg (4) clubs, has produced 60 players
Below you will find a table listing the clubs and how many of their respective players have played for Tipperary – subsequent to that tally you will then find a breakdown of how many times those players actually played at the various grades i.e. five Aherlow players have played inter-county championship hurling for Tipperary and on 24 occasions in total (ten minor games, twice at under-20 or under-21 level, 12 times at intermediate or junior level and zero times at senior level).
| Club | Players | Apps | Minor | U20/21 | Int/Jun | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aherlow | 5 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 0 |
| Arravale Rovers | 26 | 148 | 68 | 13 | 43 | 24 |
| Ballina | 21 | 120 | 39 | 8 | 38 | 35 |
| Ballinahinch | 12 | 134 | 27 | 22 | 39 | 46 |
| Ballingarry | 32 | 221 | 105 | 59 | 21 | 36 |
| Ballybacon-Grange | 16 | 214 | 35 | 29 | 50 | 100 |
| Ballylooby-Castlegrace | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Ballyskenach | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Boherlahan-Dualla | 128 | 989 | 131 | 68 | 176 | 614 |
| Borris-Ileigh | 84 | 920 | 231 | 191 | 95 | 403 |
| Borrisokane | 37 | 201 | 60 | 42 | 60 | 39 |
| Burgess | 32 | 222 | 30 | 40 | 83 | 69 |
| Cahir | 11 | 63 | 24 | 11 | 26 | 2 |
| Cappawhite | 44 | 256 | 99 | 63 | 29 | 65 |
| Carrick Davins | 52 | 310 | 101 | 41 | 96 | 72 |
| Carrick Swans | 37 | 147 | 47 | 36 | 39 | 25 |
| Cashel King Cormacs | 60 | 478 | 153 | 142 | 35 | 148 |
| Clonakenny | 14 | 72 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 3 |
| Clonmel Óg | 4 | 24 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Clonoulty-Rossmore | 90 | 520 | 166 | 122 | 77 | 155 |
| Drom & Inch | 62 | 400 | 138 | 79 | 39 | 144 |
| Éire Óg Annacarty | 36 | 243 | 65 | 39 | 55 | 84 |
| Emly | 11 | 107 | 36 | 24 | 40 | 7 |
| Fethard | 31 | 170 | 46 | 11 | 97 | 16 |
| Fr Sheehy’s | 8 | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Galtee Rovers | 19 | 128 | 34 | 17 | 62 | 15 |
| Golden-Kilfeacle | 39 | 186 | 74 | 34 | 61 | 17 |
| Gortnahoe-Glengoole | 45 | 229 | 87 | 18 | 83 | 41 |
| Grangemockler-Ballyneale | 2 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Holycross-Ballycahill | 59 | 552 | 181 | 64 | 42 | 265 |
| JK Bracken’s | 32 | 287 | 88 | 67 | 64 | 68 |
| Kiladangan | 46 | 386 | 100 | 76 | 116 | 94 |
| Killea | 2 | 45 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 27 |
| Killenaule | 59 | 457 | 124 | 82 | 76 | 175 |
| Kilruane MacDonaghs | 78 | 499 | 147 | 134 | 55 | 163 |
| Kilsheelan-Kilcash | 14 | 131 | 28 | 21 | 52 | 30 |
| Knock | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Knockavilla Kickhams | 54 | 297 | 175 | 67 | 14 | 41 |
| Knockshegowna | 10 | 58 | 6 | 5 | 45 | 2 |
| Lattin-Cullen | 13 | 139 | 28 | 32 | 43 | 36 |
| Lorrha-Dorrha | 45 | 350 | 42 | 80 | 49 | 179 |
| Loughmore-Castleiney | 37 | 407 | 120 | 90 | 17 | 180 |
| Marlfield | 5 | 53 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 36 |
| Moneygall | 30 | 162 | 27 | 44 | 39 | 52 |
| Moycarkey-Borris | 156 | 1010 | 250 | 97 | 153 | 510 |
| Moyle Rovers | 13 | 66 | 27 | 14 | 25 | 0 |
| Moyne-Templetuohy | 52 | 253 | 99 | 55 | 81 | 18 |
| Mullinahone | 24 | 381 | 89 | 60 | 11 | 221 |
| Nenagh Éire Óg | 107 | 648 | 250 | 132 | 63 | 203 |
| Newcastle | 5 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| Newport | 32 | 237 | 60 | 44 | 56 | 77 |
| Portroe | 25 | 167 | 25 | 20 | 79 | 43 |
| Rockwell Rovers | 7 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Roscrea | 110 | 719 | 329 | 160 | 16 | 214 |
| Rosegreen | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Seán Treacy’s | 23 | 115 | 39 | 24 | 39 | 13 |
| Shannon Rovers | 27 | 139 | 18 | 17 | 92 | 12 |
| Silvermines | 28 | 275 | 45 | 60 | 81 | 89 |
| Skeheenarinky | 5 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 0 |
| Solohead | 25 | 97 | 36 | 1 | 44 | 16 |
| St Mary’s Clonmel | 51 | 234 | 94 | 69 | 34 | 37 |
| St Patrick’s Drangan | 5 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Templederry Kenyons | 35 | 292 | 88 | 65 | 87 | 52 |
| Thurles Gaels | 27 | 128 | 62 | 2 | 55 | 9 |
| Thurles Sarsfields | 250 | 2072 | 613 | 189 | 243 | 1027 |
| Toomevara | 98 | 846 | 203 | 153 | 72 | 418 |
| Upperchurch-Drombane | 46 | 277 | 95 | 50 | 34 | 98 |