Michael "Babs" Keating (born 17 April 1944) is an Irish former hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a forward for the Tipperary senior teams.
He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he first linked up with the Tipperary minor teams in both codes, before later joining the under-21 sides.
As a member of both Munster inter-provincial teams on a number of occasions, Keating won a combined total of three Railway Cup medals.
Keating missed Tipperary's second consecutive Munster under-21 triumph in 1965, however, he was restored to the starting fifteen for the subsequent All-Ireland final against Wexford.
Tipperary later cantered casually past Cork by fourteen points in the provincial decider, giving Keating his first Munster medal.
The All-Ireland final on 6 September 1964 saw reigning champions Kilkenny enter the game as firm favourites against Tipperary.
John "Mackey" McKenna scored Tipp's first goal after ten minutes as the Munster champions took a 1–8 to 0–6 interval lead.
Keating found it difficult to nail down a permanent place on the team over the next few years, and he missed Tipperary's All-Ireland triumph in 1965.
After surrendering their provincial crown in 1966, Tipperary bounced back the following year, with Keating, who was restored to the team, winning a second Munster medal following a 4–12 to 2–6 defeat of Clare.
Tipperary later retained their status as provincial kingpins and a 2–13 to 1–7 trouncing of Cork gave Keating a third Munster medal.
On 5 September 1971 Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final, the first to be broadcast in colour by Telefís Éireann and the only eighty-minute meeting between the two sides.
On 20 July 1975 he played his last game for the Tipperary hurlers in a 0–17 to 1–10 Munster semi-final replay defeat by Limerick.
In 1965 Keating was at left wing-forward as the Munster inter-provincial hurling team faced their age-old rivals Leinster in the championship decider.
After an unsuccessful one-year stint as trainer of the Galway senior hurlers during the 1976–77 season, he was back as coach a year later.
A good run of results during the group stage of the league allowed the team qualify for the final where Ketaing's native county of Tipperary provided the opposition.
[6] In one of the worst All-Ireland finals of the decade, Tipperary-born Galway goalkeeper Séamus Shinnors had an absolute nightmare of a game.
In his first full season in charge, he guided the team to the Munster title after a stunning draw and extra-time replay victory over six-in-a-row hopefuls Cork.
Noel Lane again scored the crucial goal for Galway while captain for the day Nicky English sent a late penalty over the bar for a point.
Keating's two star players, Pat Fox and Nicky English, did not play to their potential that day and the manager also received criticism for introducing John Leahy, then an unknown teenager.
Tipperary made it a provincial three-in-a-row in 1989, with Keating's side winning a third Munster title following a 0–26 to 2–8 defeat of an overtly physical Waterford.
The game was a one-sided affair from start to finish, with Nicky English setting a new scoring record by bagging 2–12 in the 4–24 to 3–9 victory.
In an infamous interview Keating dismissed Cork's chances in the championship by stating that "donkeys don’t win derbies.
Keating's side regrouped in 1991 and collected a fourth Munster title in five years following a remarkable 4–19 to 4–15 replay defeat of Cork.
The opening thirty-five minutes saw both sides trade score-for-score, however, a controversial 20-metre free, miss-hit by Michael Cleary, landed in the net and gave Tipp a lead which they never surrendered.
Tipperary annexed a second league title under Keating's stewardship in 1994, however, his side later exited the championship at an early stage.
Relations is the dressing room were frosty at best, however, Keating's feelings weren't properly expressed until after the 1998 Leinster final defeat by Kilkenny.
After winning the All-Ireland title in 2001 the team took a backward step and recorded few victories of note in the intervening years.
Keating's side got off to a good start, however, the All-Ireland champions showed their worth by a capturing a 2–14 to 1–14 victory over Tipp.
[14] For the replay of the game Keating made the drastic move of dropping legendary goalkeeper Brendan Cummins.
After the defeat Keating looked less than impressed when he was forced to do a television interview alongside ecstatic Limerick manager Richie Bennis.