Moral victories of no more value to Tipperary, says Mary Ryan

Tipperary stalwart Mary Ryan is glad to put the days of moral victories behind her, even if it means that losing narrowly to the very best on bigger stages hurts desperately.

Ahead of a third meeting with Clare in as many weeks as the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championships get under way tomorrow, Moneygall's All-Star defender views last year's National League and All-Ireland semi-final defeats to Kilkenny and Galway, and this year’s winner-takes-all league group game against Galway, as opportunities lost while also providing affirmation of a consistently new high level of performance.

A surprise loss to Clare in a replayed Munster semi-final was a reminder that Tipp aren’t the only side to improve in recent years, however.

While Kilkenny and Galway twice, went on to ultimate victory after overcoming Ryan and her colleagues, Clare had to give best to Cork, though they forced them to two periods of extra time.

"The Munster final was a great game," notes Ryan during a feature-length interview to be published tomorrow. "We definitely know what to expect. There is no point in saying we wouldn’t have valued getting to a Munster final. It was a tough loss to take.

"But I suppose the fact that Munster is running so close to All-Ireland now it’s a case of quickly pick yourself up and dust yourself down. It’s funny how it’s turned out that we are facing Clare first, we will be sick of the sight of one another.

"We’ve to try and get back out there and prove ourselves. Clare, for sure they’ll fancy beating us again. They had a great run out against Cork. It was a great game from both sides. So yeah, it will be interesting to see how the game goes on Saturday, the third in a month now lining out against one another and trying to figure one