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06th Jul 2025

Scoreboard gaffe nearly leads to farcical ending in All-Ireland semi

Colman Stanley

Confusing to say the least….

Tipperary are through to their first All-Ireland final since 2019, beating out Kilkenny by 4-20 to 0-30.

However, there was a lot of confusion regarding the official scoreline, after a mix-up from a Noel McGrath shot.

With the scores at 4-20 to 0-29, the Tipp man went for a point which was waved wide, but put up on RTÉ as a point, and, according to Irish News journalist Cahair O’Kane, was put up on the stadium scoreboard as a point.

It initially seemed as though the score would be counted at the end of the game, as the official GAA website had Tipp’s score at 4-21, but the GAA then released a statement saying that there had been scoreboard error, and that the point would not count.

Presumably the players trusted the scoreboard, as they were going for goals rather than points near the end of the game, thinking they had a four-point deficit rather than three.

Had Kilkenny drawn or gotten to within one, there would have been serious concerns, given the potential for extra-time.

KILKENNY (SHC v Tipperary): E. Murphy; M. Butler, H. Lawlor, S. Murphy; M. Carey, R. Reid, P. Deegan; C. Kenny, J. Molloy; A. Mullan, J. Donnelly (c), B. Ryan; M. Keoghan, T.J. Reid, E. Cody. Subs: A. Tallis, T. Walsh, D. Blanchfield, P. Moylan, K. Doyle, Z. Bay-Hammond, F. Mackessy, S. Donnelly, L. Hogan, L. Connellan, B. Drennan.

Subs: A. Tallis, T. Walsh, D. Blanchfield, P. Moylan, K. Doyle, ZB Hammond, F. Mackessy, S. Donnelly, L. Hogan, L. Connellan, B. Drennan.

TIPPERARY (SHC v Kilkenny): R. Shelly, R. Doyle, E. Connolly, M. Breen; C. Morgan, R. Maher (c), B. O’Mara; W. Connors, P. McGarry; J. Morris, A. Ormond, S. O’Farrell; D. McCarthy, J. McGrath, J. Forde.

Subs: B. Hogan, J. Caesar, S. Kenneally, S. Kennedy, B. McGrath, N. McGrath, O. O’Donoghue, J. Ryan, C. Stakelum, D. Stakelum, A. Tynan.

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