TIPPERARY ATTACKER NOEL McGrath says he won’t be losing any sleep about pundits like Dónal Óg Cusack downplaying their Championship chances.
Cusack was cutting in his commentary of All-Ireland title holders Tipp when speaking about them on RTE’s Allianz League Sunday programme, claiming that ‘they can rise very fast but they also fall faster than anybody else’.
Cusack tipped the Premier to get out of Munster but just about, giving them a tentative nod to take third position from Clare, behind Cork and Limerick.
Meanwhile, another Cork man, the freshly retired Patrick Horgan, claimed that the Rebels were ‘caught’ by Tipp in last year’s All-Ireland final, suggesting a surprise win.
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Speaking at sponsor Centra’s launch of the 2026 All-Ireland SHC, McGrath shrugged and said he doesn’t pay much heed to pundits.
“At this stage in my career, I’m not going to lose sleep over people saying one thing or another,” said McGrath ahead of Sunday’s glamour Munster SHC rematch with Cork in Thurles.
“It is what it is and that’s just the way it goes. It’s great that it creates talking points and gets people talking about the games and what’s coming up over the next few weeks. It doesn’t bother me much at all.”
Likewise, McGrath suggested that Tipp’s League form wasn’t particularly out of sync with last year’s, which preceded their All-Ireland win.
“We lost two games this year and we lost two games in the League last year as well, so there’s not an awful lot of difference,” said the four-time All-Ireland medallist. “I suppose the fact that we got to the League final last year, maybe people would say last year was a better League for us than this year. Again, it’s hard to gauge.
“Whatever happens over the summer will determine what people say about the League. If the summer goes well, or the Munster championship goes well, people will say, ‘Ah, Tipp found players in the League’. If it doesn’t go well, then people are going to say the League didn’t serve its purpose for Tipp. That’s the barometer that’s there.
“Again, it’s people’s opinions, and what people want to talk about. That’s fine with me and whatever they think of it, they’ll think of it.”
McGrath himself is unlikely to be called upon from the start this weekend. He made a single start last summer and it was the same in this season’s National League, only lining out from the beginning against Limerick in February.
However, the 35-year-old did score six points from play in that game and said that it reassured him greatly that if he’s required this weekend, he’ll be ready.
“It was reassuring,” said McGrath of the form against Limerick.
“Because no matter what age I’ve been over the years, there’s times when things aren’t going well for you and you’re asking yourself, ‘Am I still able to do this?’ or ‘Am I still at the level? Am I able to compete with the lads that are a few years younger?’ It is nice to be able to do that. So yeah, it does (give reassurance), there’s no point in saying it doesn’t.”
Noel McGrath was speaking at the Centra launch of the 2026 senior hurling championship
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'It doesn't bother me much at all' - Tipperary's McGrath not losing sleep over critics
TIPPERARY ATTACKER NOEL McGrath says he won’t be losing any sleep about pundits like Dónal Óg Cusack downplaying their Championship chances.
Cusack was cutting in his commentary of All-Ireland title holders Tipp when speaking about them on RTE’s Allianz League Sunday programme, claiming that ‘they can rise very fast but they also fall faster than anybody else’.
Cusack tipped the Premier to get out of Munster but just about, giving them a tentative nod to take third position from Clare, behind Cork and Limerick.
Meanwhile, another Cork man, the freshly retired Patrick Horgan, claimed that the Rebels were ‘caught’ by Tipp in last year’s All-Ireland final, suggesting a surprise win.
Speaking at sponsor Centra’s launch of the 2026 All-Ireland SHC, McGrath shrugged and said he doesn’t pay much heed to pundits.
“At this stage in my career, I’m not going to lose sleep over people saying one thing or another,” said McGrath ahead of Sunday’s glamour Munster SHC rematch with Cork in Thurles.
“It is what it is and that’s just the way it goes. It’s great that it creates talking points and gets people talking about the games and what’s coming up over the next few weeks. It doesn’t bother me much at all.”
Likewise, McGrath suggested that Tipp’s League form wasn’t particularly out of sync with last year’s, which preceded their All-Ireland win.
“We lost two games this year and we lost two games in the League last year as well, so there’s not an awful lot of difference,” said the four-time All-Ireland medallist. “I suppose the fact that we got to the League final last year, maybe people would say last year was a better League for us than this year. Again, it’s hard to gauge.
“Whatever happens over the summer will determine what people say about the League. If the summer goes well, or the Munster championship goes well, people will say, ‘Ah, Tipp found players in the League’. If it doesn’t go well, then people are going to say the League didn’t serve its purpose for Tipp. That’s the barometer that’s there.
“Again, it’s people’s opinions, and what people want to talk about. That’s fine with me and whatever they think of it, they’ll think of it.”
McGrath himself is unlikely to be called upon from the start this weekend. He made a single start last summer and it was the same in this season’s National League, only lining out from the beginning against Limerick in February.
However, the 35-year-old did score six points from play in that game and said that it reassured him greatly that if he’s required this weekend, he’ll be ready.
“It was reassuring,” said McGrath of the form against Limerick.
“Because no matter what age I’ve been over the years, there’s times when things aren’t going well for you and you’re asking yourself, ‘Am I still able to do this?’ or ‘Am I still at the level? Am I able to compete with the lads that are a few years younger?’ It is nice to be able to do that. So yeah, it does (give reassurance), there’s no point in saying it doesn’t.”
Noel McGrath was speaking at the Centra launch of the 2026 senior hurling championship
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GAA Hurling Noel McGrath Tipperary GAA Unfazed