NOEL MCGRATH HAILED the Tipperary squad and expressed his pride in his team-mates after their battling display against the reigning Munster and All-Ireland champions Limerick today.
A third successive defeat in the Munster round-robin series places Tipperary on the brink of championship elimination, but a defiant McGrath vowed that they will continue to keep fighting.
“I’m proud of every player and delighted to be part of it with the management team.
“There’s an honesty there among the players and the management that maybe we weren’t given credit for over the last couple of weeks and we’ll stay fighting. I’m proud to be part of the group. We’ll give this another rattle over the next two weeks again. I think lads today poured everything they had out there.
“There was probably character questioned of the Tipperary group between management and players over the last couple of weeks. That would probably hurt because there are lads there that are as honest as I have ever come across in a Tipperary jersey.
“The results aren’t going our way but it’s not from the lack of effort, the lack of want, the lack of drive to succeed in training. Today showed that there is something there and hopefully the Tipp public will get behind us over the next few weeks and support us.
“You go out on the field and you have nothing only the lads beside you and I’m never as proud to be part of a Tipperary group and I will be over the next few weeks and as long as we’re still going for this year.”
McGrath shot 0-13 for a Tipperary team that were ahead throughout the second half until Limerick pegged them back in the last ten minutes to run out seven-point victors.
“it’s incredibly disappointing, we gave ourselves a shout coming down here today. We know against Clare wasn’t good enough, we knew we needed to bring something. To be in the position that we were, it’s encouraging in one way but it’s seriously disappointing that we didn’t finish it out.
“We had chances there to go three, four, five ahead at times. We know last year they hit us right after half time in the Munster final but we held our own for a long part of that second half today and kept ticking on scores.
“Unfortunately, near the end we just got caught with a couple of scores. They’re All-Ireland champions and they put you away when they get the chances. In sport it’s a cruel game when you don’t take your chances.”
Despite a series of players losses due to retirement and injury, McGrath insisted that Tipperary have the depth to compete.
“That’s why you have a panel of players there. There’s a lot of lads with minor All-Irelands, U-20 All-Irelands, U-21 All-Irelands, senior all-Irelands. It’s not as if we’re short of players in Tipp or short of quality or honesty of players.
“When you see lads that stepped in today for some of their first starts, Ger Browne and Conor Stakelum had brilliant games. I think we need to keep that going over the next few weeks, it’s still Munster championship, who knows what’s going to happen next weekend?
“This thing isn’t fully finished yet for Tipp so we’ll get back on the training field this week, we’ll get the bodies right and we’ll go again. Whatever happens, we’ll show up against Cork and we’ll put our body and soul into it.”
What a last 100 metres. Brilliant stuff.
@Ian Cunningham: brilliant for sure, I remember many moons ago thinking the same about another Irish swimmer M S de Brún, only hope that this isn’t history repeating itself.
@WqM9AAv3: Do one
@WqM9AAv3: educate yourself a bit about the guy typical response from someone who probably only watches the sport every 4 years
@WqM9AAv3: give over….Daniel did not come from no where like michelle in Atlanta, he was one of the favouties, world camp going in
@Kevin Bury: champ!!
@colin coady: so it’s a 100 % clean sport? No one ever takes anything they not supposed to, in order to enhance their performance? Educate myself. Russian swimmers, Chinese swimmers, American swimmers, Australian swimmers, Irish swimmers, British swimmers, loads of them all positive throughout the years and banned, medals taken away from them, countries banned from the sport etc etc. that’s just a very short synopsis of widespread use in the sport. There’s tonnes of articles online about it. Perhaps you meant to ask yourself to be the one educated
@orb7eckn: do a performance enhancing one? What one will I do Joe?
@WqM9AAv3: WTF, can you not just enjoy one of our own winning a gold? Seriously like…
@WqM9AAv3: one for your brain and another for your personality, both need a boost
@orb7eckn: as you see another you see yourself – Yeshua Christos
@Kevin Dillon: sorry I didn’t know he was a family member Kevin
@WqM9AAv3: Maybe you should follow your own advice and leave the remarks about a win being tainted.
@orb7eckn: I must be a doubting Thomas so
@WqM9AAv3: nah, just someone looking for attention
@orb7eckn: one who speaks his mind is an attention seeker. Wow
@WqM9AAv3: Very different swimmers. Dan is in his prime and has another Olympics at least in him. As far as I am concerned the 2 swimming medals this year are Irelands first olympic swimming medals. Michelle Smith married Erik de Bruin, a discus thrower and banned doping cheat, in the same year as her 4 medals (1996). He had been “coaching” her for 3 years leading up to the Olympics. She was at the end of her career and was not expected to medal but out of nowhere produced those 4 performances. Although she was never proven to have cheated in Atlanta she was banned 2 years later for tampering with a sample!!
Go on boy! Some last 100m to pass them out
Olympic Gold!!! You’re the man Daniel.
A phenomenal swim from Daniel. A worthy Olympic Champion.
I love being from a small nation during the Olympics. Most of the US medals get lost in their coverage. Here, moments like last night and tonight are rare and rightly celebrated to their fullest.
An rud is annamh is iontach.
What a week for Armagh
Hail.Hail
PROUD
What a race, outstanding …
We have just witnessed something so very special…we have a super star among us
Absolutely unreal. Incredible. So so proud for him
That was incredible!!!!
Amazing
Bravo sir.
Wow, so fantastic.
Great stuff.
Awesome. What a competitor. Utter class.
Wow unreal what a moment for irish sport
Mighty
Supreme Magnificent. Well done Daniel. Plus an olympic record.
Massive, excellent, very well done. And himself and the brother are still only 23
What a swim, what a champion. Fabulous.
Some former pros saying he will take the 1500 as well
@Daithi Mc Ghiollamhairtin: he will
BBC sport already claiming him as a northern Irish athlete and how great it is to see a British athlete win gold.
@Aaron Tynan: yeah I see that he’s from northern Ireland – no mention of him being Irish though!
@Aaron Tynan: He is from Northern Ireland… what is wrong with them being lroud of him too? I think its time we lose the chip on our shoulder. RTE claiming Siobhan Haughey as one of ours even though she lives and trains and swims under the flag of Hong Kong!! We love to claim former American Presidents or soccer players born and bred in England with very tenuous 3rd generation links!!
Listening to his interview this man is not done yet . You can feel the confidence he has in himself. More medals to come.
A massive congratulations Daniel !
A very underwhelming commentary I thought. Sometimes the commentary defines the moment. Some last 100 meters – deserved more of a crescendo in the coverage. Guy is so confident which is what winners are.
@JJB: The commentary was excellent.
@Pat Coady: your opinion – I thought it was poor. Leave it there ….
@JJB: I thought the commentary was very good. Not at levels of the track relay but it wasn’t poor.
Congrats Daniel- what a wonderfully controlled swim
So proud of you.
He’s class , should get gold in the 1500 too
Holy f**k what a swim! Unreal
Unreal athlete but not great in interviews, comes across way too arrogant…
@Tom: does he not have a right to be?
If I was the best in the world I’d be a cocky fecker as well
@Reggordon: did you ever hear tiger woods speak like that who is a far far superior athlete???
I don’t think so!!!
It’s doesn’t come across well!!
It’s a great athlete and I hope he gets gold again tbh….
@Tom: Tiger may be humble now, but he was one of the most arrogant when he was at his peak. It was part of his weaponry.
@Tom: It’s called confidence Tom. Muhammad Ali ! Was he confident or arrogant?
@Tom: top top sports people like this have no doubts that they are the best. It’s not the only reason they win but it’s one of the reasons. Any self doubt in that race, he’d have lost. Paul O’Donovan is the same
@Tom: honestly better than McSharry who was grateful to finish third even though she easily could have won based on her semi final experience. We need more athletes confident in their ability and not willing to settle for a silver or bronze
@Tom: Give over, small margins in elite level sport and you need to have confidence in your ability in situations where you for example could be sitting 3rd or 4th and have the confidence to sit with your plan and grind it out. I didn’t hear arrogance at all, just a confident athlete. Why do we as a nation always try to tear our heroes down. I was delighted he implied there is more to come from him.
@Tom: that man has a fantastic attitude. He didn’t bad mouth his opponents, he didn’t whoop it up but he’s obviously got serious belief in his ability, as you would if you were a double world champion & so far an Olympic champion in one discipline. I don’t see too many other champs going “aw shucks, shur I’m only thankful to be here”
@Tom: i like it… walks the walk….confident does not mean cocky or arrogant…. no shame in saying im the best…and u pull a gold medal out of the bag.
..easier thing is to say ive no chance. etc
@Owen ODonoghue: you’re being exceptionally harsh on mcsharry there. She’s been in a lot of finals & finished 4th or 5th. She swam a pb at the Olympics and medalled, that’s an unbelievable achievement. Going by the earlier heats the saffer always had her measure & it was nip and tuck between her and the Chinese swimmer
Fantastic
he is wold class
So proud to be an Irish family on foreign soil thank you Danial .. thank you Ireland ..
Daniel ‘The last 50′ Wiffen.
Reminds me of Michelle Smith.
@Ben F: scurrilous comment
@Ben F: wiffen winning was no surprise to anyone
@munsterman: Exactly, if anyone was following the guy they would know, but just people here treat this as an echo chamber as a pick me up for their own low self esteem
@Ben F: what a stupid comment
@Ben F: nothing like it….world champ going in
Fantastic achievement and still only at start of career. See another Irishman won gold as well in the swimming today, though was competing for team GB, but it should be mentioned.