Source: Irish Examiner
On his 80th birthday, Michael “Babs” Keating has been hailed by Nicky English as the figure that revolutionised Tipperary hurling in the late 1980s.
On his 80th birthday, Michael “Babs” Keating has been hailed by Nicky English as the figure that revolutionised Tipperary hurling in the late 1980s.
English won his two All-Ireland and five Munster medals under Keating, the first of the provincial titles coming in 1987 when a 16-year famine was ended in that epic extra-time replay against Cork in Fitzgerald Stadium.
“He was revolutionary for us in the 80s,” says English about a manager who lost just three of 18 Munster games in eight seasons.
“We had been moving from one selection committee to the next in the early 80s but then Babs was appointed in ’86 and really changed our hurling lives.
“The way things were going, it is hard to imagine where we would have ended up but then Babs came in. It was a time of emigration and there wasn’t a lot of incentive to stay around but Babs started the Supporters Club. Even before that, he had the confidence and presence that ended up changing our lives, really.
“Babs remains the same. He has had some health scares of late but he is alive and well and as forthright as ever and long may that continue.”
The early 1980s saw the Tipperary board invest their money in Semple Stadium until Keating drove the campaign to put it in people, namely their senior hurlers.
"You have to remember that in 1984 Tipperary had hosted the All-Ireland final in Thurles and a lot of the finance had gone into the reconstruction of the stadium and getting that right. That happens with many clubs and the team side of it can suffer.
“Babs came in and raised money just for the playing side of it and people were happy to jump on board. Tipp hadn’t won Munster since he was a player in 1971 and in his first season as manager, he did that.
“What we achieved with him in Killarney in ’87 is still the highlight for me and most of my teammates. You ask any of them what was their most emotional day and that would be it.”
“What we achieved with him in Killarney in ’87 is still the highlight for me and most of my teammates. You ask any of them what was their most emotional day and that would be it.”
In his formative years, English had been raised on a diet of watching Keating lining out for both Tipperary senior teams.
The Ardfinnan man won two All-Ireland titles and four Munsters as well as an All-Star in the inaugural year of the awards in 1971.
“I can remember going with my father (Donie) to watch Tipperary play football in Clonmel and Tipperary town in the 1970s and Babs was really the hero. I can vaguely remember 1971 and him being barefoot but it was when I was going to those football games and seeing him in the flesh that I could appreciate him.
“I can remember going with my father (Donie) to watch Tipperary play football in Clonmel and Tipperary town in the 1970s and Babs was really the hero. I can vaguely remember 1971 and him being barefoot but it was when I was going to those football games and seeing him in the flesh that I could appreciate him.
“You should never underestimate how talented a player Babs was before anything else. When he became a manager and given we hadn’t had any success, his own as a player certainly helped.
“A lot of us would have been around eight, nine, 10 years of age in ’71 and the memory of him in that final would still have been very fresh in our minds.”
