NOTHING floats Liam Cahill’s boat quite like silencing the doubters.
The Tipperary boss shipped plenty of criticism when the Premier were cast adrift in May 2024, having failed to win a Championship game.
The manager’s plea for patience fell on deaf ears. Transition phase or not, being in All-Ireland contention is expected in Tipperary.
And the Premier chief admitted: “Yes, there was not much of a ship sticking out of the water and it didn’t look like it was going to come back up any time soon.”
Finishing third in Munster and advancing to the All-Ireland series represented progress this summer.
But Tipperary went full steam ahead by knocking out Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-finals to set up a first appearance in the decider since they last won Liam MacCarthy in 2019.
Proving those 2024 naysayers wrong has been a motivating factor.
Cahill — who was appointed in July 2022 — said: “To keep proving people wrong is a key driver for me personally and it is a key driver for all the players in the dressing room.
“You don’t take it personally — you should never do that — but it does hurt when your good name is questioned.
“I know it’s only sport and it’s probably a bit dramatic to reference your name, but your identity and what you stand for . . .
“When you look in at a team that don’t reflect what you really want to go after and what you prepare for, it does hurt you as a manager and it does leave you with evenings of looking out the back door or looking up at the ceiling.”
Cahill’s credentials were questioned after the limp Championship exit to Clare last year.
He said: “You can’t get too sensitive over these things. You have to understand that these questions have to be asked too when the performances aren’t there.
“Referencing the question after the Clare game, it probably was warranted at the time but it’s a tougher question when it comes from one of your own.
“The reality is the county board had given me a three-year term to try and fix this thing the best I could.”
In the wake of that Banner defeat, Tipp were labelled a sinking ship, but Cahill knew that a rising tide lifts all boats. Minor All-Irelands in 2022 and 2024 were bolstered by Under-20 success last month.
And now Liam MacCarthy is 70 minutes away as Tipperary prepare to meet Cork in Sunday’s showpiece. The Premier chief has been rewarded for keeping faith with coach Mikey Bevans and selector Declan Laffan.
Cahill said: “I had huge belief in my ability to turn it around. I had huge belief in my coaching system, Mikey Bevans, I have huge belief in him.
“Declan Laffan and his experience with what he had done on the club scene in Tipperary and Laois. I knew I had the right people so it was a case of getting it fixed.”
Cahill was accused by some last summer of “flogging” his team while others questioned whether his players were properly coached. The criticism only angered the Ballingarry man more, but an All-Ireland title would complete Tipp’s stunning turnaround.
He said: “I suppose the ones around that, ‘Cahill flogs his teams, his excruciating training sessions’ — I felt was disingenuous. Liam Cahill doesn’t make it up as he goes along.
“People commenting on stuff like that, not knowing what exactly is going on behind the scenes, is lazy and ill-informed but it does give you the motivation to try and prove people wrong.
“If you ask any of our players, and myself and the management team as well, deep down from the outset of the year, yes, there was such a job of work to be done.
“But always in the back of your mind you’re saying, ‘If we get a run here we could end up in an All-Ireland final and if we get there we’ll have a real chance of winning it’.
“That’s not sounding arrogant, but in Tipperary we like to think when we put ourselves in these positions, we give ourselves a great chance.”
