Liam Cahill admitted he couldn't pass up a second opportunity to become the Tipperary senior hurling manager.
Less than a week after Colm Bonnar was 'relieved of his duties' as the Premier County boss, Cahill, who stepped away from Waterford hot seat the day after Bonnar's dismissal, was named as his replacement yesterday [Mon].
The Ballingarry clubman lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup with Tipperary as a player in 2001 before going on to lead the Tipperary minors in 2016, the U21s in 2018 and the U20s in 2019 to All-Ireland successes.
And his terrific record at underage level saw him made one of the favourites for the senior job that Liam Sheedy ended up taking in 2018.
Cahill went on to manage Waterford, leading them to an All-Ireland final in 2020, the semi-finals in 2021, and a League title in 2022 before failing to get out of the round-robin stage of the Munster Championship.
Reflecting on his time with the Deise, he said: "I really enjoyed my time in Waterford and I am very grateful to the players who gave me everything every day they took the field, the county board who left no stone unturned in our preparations, and the supporters who continue to back their team through good days and the not so good."
But Cahill told RTE that he and his trusted coach Mikey Bevans couldn't turn down another chance to manage the Premier County.
He explained: "This is the second time we were presented with the opportunity to manage Tipperary.
"And we just couldn’t walk away from that on this occasion. Now is the time for us, if we didn’t do it now, I don’t think it would ever come again.
"The Tipp senior hurling job is a huge honour for myself, my family and my club.
"Tipperary hurling is one of the major contributors to Irish sport and I am very aware of the responsibility bestowed upon me.
"I'm really looking forward to getting back out and about on the club scene in Tipperary and starting the job of work that lies ahead to get Tipperary hurling back to the top table.
"We saw yesterday the standards that are needed and the levels that are required to compete with the standards on display in Croke Park"
"Limerick proved yet again how good they are and they have shown that consistently over the last few years.
"I believe we can really find the nucleus of a great hurling squad in Tipperary as there is plenty of potential and it will be my job to maximise that potential."
He takes over a Tipperary side who lost all of their Munster Championship matches in a bitterly disappointing season.
Although many believe that Bonnar was harshly dismissed from the role, including Bonnar's club Cashel King Cormacs, who have blasted the Tipperary County Board's handling of the situation.
The club said they learned "with great disgust" of a press release from the board headlined by the line, ‘Colm Bonnar relieved of his duties’.
They continued: “We find the statement totally unacceptable towards a man that had, firstly, given everything as a player in the Blue and Gold and secondly, was clearly enthusiastic about entering into the second of his three year term mandated by the county board.
"Colm had a clear vision towards developing the current player base into the future and presented this to a 15-person management committee.
“Colm, we wish you well. We thank you for your distinguished service as a player and the short term you served as our senior hurling manager.
"We look forward to seeing you back on the sidelines in the near future guiding and improving the hurling skills of whoever is fortunate to have you by their side.”
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