THURLES SARSFIELDS HAVE been plunged into grief ahead of next Sunday’s AIB Munster hurling semi-final against Na Piarsaigh at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.

47-year-old Jackie Griffin, a selector and trainer with the senior team, died tragically on Saturday after being struck by a car.

Griffin, a hugely popular figure within the Blues fraternity and beyond, played all grades for the club, winning minor and U21 championships in the 1980s.

Club chairman Michael Maher told The42 this morning that Griffin’s untimely passing has had a devastating impact on the club.

“He contributed a lot and was an integral part of management for the last two years,” Maher said.

“He was doing the physical training with the lads and coming from his Army background, that discipline he brought to it was a huge help.

“He joined the Cadets after Leaving Cert and was making a great career of that.

“He did several tours overseas with the UN, in weird and wonderful places where things weren’t always that settled.”

As a member of the Sarsfields backroom team, Griffin was a revered figure among the players who recently captured another county senior hurling title.

Thurles Sarsfields won a 34th Tipperary senior hurling title recently. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

“He’d be doing the tough work with them, that creates a bond with the guys,” Maher explained.

“The training at the start of the year, the physical stuff, was legendary some of it.

“But whatever about the club, he’s a far greater loss to his family. You don’t expect something like this. A week is a long time in life.”

It is still unclear whether or not next Sunday’s game will go ahead as scheduled, in light of this tragic news but right now, hurling pales into insignificance for Thurles Sarsfields.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

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