Amanda Stapleton match shows bond between old foes
The response of Kilkenny’s hurlers to this evening’s Amanda Stapleton benefit match in Borrisoleigh underlines the bond the county’s great modern rivalry with Tipperary created between the teams, says Amanda’s brother Shane.
The Stapleton family is overwhelmed by the backing and interest created by the event, which is set to draw the biggest ever crowd to the north Tipperary village.
“I don’t think Borris has seen a day like it,” journalist Shane said.
“Borris have had five All-Ireland winning captains over the decades, and those homecomings brought big crowds. Brendan Maher brought the cup home two years ago, we had a huge crowd, but I think this might outdo them all. We have had to cap the match tickets at 6,000 for safety.”
Shane and Amanda’s brother Paddy started three All-Ireland finals for Tipp against Kilkenny and when he and Kilkenny defender Paul Murphy — a friend of Amanda’s — put out the call to get old foes back together, the response was instant.
So this evening (6pm) the likes of Brendan Cummins, Lar Corbett, Tommy Walsh and Henry Shefflin will get up close and personal one more time.
“You knew the Tipp players would do it,” Shane said. “But straight away the Kilkenny lads put their hands up and said they wanted to come over.
“The rivalry really captured the imagination. But this shows the respect that’s there. That’s the vibe I’ve always got from them. Even working with them in the media, being in an environment where Tipp and Kilkenny players are around each other, they are able to have the craic.”
“In the past decade there’s been six All-Ireland finals between the teams, three wins for Kilkenny, two for Tipp, and one draw and they were all absolute wars. At the time they wanted to take the heads off each other. But when they are that close, you can’t help but respect each other.”
Amanda (31) was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour earlier this year.
“We got the diagnosis and it couldn’t have been more bleak. When a family member gets an illness, you want to rally round and help. But with the diagnosis we got, it kind of just stops you in your tracks. You don’t know what to do because there isn't anything to do. You feel useless.
“Amanda can’t work any more, she can’t drive. She is living in London, which is obviously expensive. We sat around trying to think how we can remove her financial concerns. We talked about the contacts we had and we thought of a hurling match.
“It sort of rolled from there. Next thing someone said let’s get a marquee, let’s get live bands, a fully licensed bar. The 2 Johnnies are involved, there are DJs and MCs.
“Everyone in Borris has rallied around, in different ways, which is fantastic. The media came down on mass to the press night. We’re incredibly thankful and it’s very energising to feel that around you.
“Especially in hard times. People say the recession is over, but especially down here people don’t feel that’s the case.
“But still they saw we’re going through a tough time and they have helped us.”
The Amanda Stapleton match will also benefit The North Tipperary Hospice, Suir Haven Cancer Support Centre in Thurles and Cois Nore in Kilkenny.
