Hat-trick from Whelan helps Galway ease past Westmeath

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Galway 6-33 Westmeath 0-17

Kilkenny legend Henry Shefflin praised his Galway charges for “going about their business very well” in a 34-point demolition of Westmeath in Mullingar on Saturday evening.

“It was a championship game with two points on offer and it was very important that we prepared properly for it, and the lads produced a professional performance,” the winning manager added. However, in truth, this was a no-contest from start to finish, with Joe Fortune’s depleted side outclassed in virtually every facet of the game.

In this regard, Fortune opined: “The lads who put on Westmeath jerseys are very proud to do so, but it is very difficult when we are missing the calibre of player that we are.”

Their main absentee was All Star nominee and top scorer in recent years, Killian Doyle, while their goal scorer against Dublin a week earlier, Niall Mitchell, was also on the injured list.

Galway settled quickly and they were 0-6 to 0-2 ahead after 13 minutes, the first three points coming from Evan Niland (including two frees). On the quarter-hour mark, Conor Whelan scored his first goal and the floodgates opened.

Six minutes later, Whelan doubled his goal haul, with solid goalkeeper Noel Conaty unlucky not to keep his low shot out. Westmeath responded with what proved to be their only two points from play of the half, courtesy of former Galway player Davy Glennon and Joey Boyle.

Great approach play by Liam Collins and Kevin Cooney teed up Whelan for his third goal in the 25th minute. Four minutes later, Brian Concannon rifled an unstoppable shot to the roof of the Lake County net. Niland was unerring from placed balls and some quality Galway points from play also ensued, leaving them in front by 4-16 to 0-7 at the break.

Hat-trick hero Whelan was replaced at half-time, but the Tribesmen’s fifth goal still arrived less than three minutes after play resumed, Kevin Cooney the man on target on this occasion. Impressive sub Declan McLoughlin raised the winners’ sixth green flag in the 64th minute after producing a great catch. Cormac Boyle was denied by Eanna Murphy in what was the Lake County’s only clear cut goal chance in the 48th minute. Overall, Galway had 13 different scorers in what was a very facile win.

Shefflin was aware that tougher challenges lay ahead when he stated: “We made a couple of changes and that brought energy to the team. It was good to get the goals and to be threatening for goals throughout. We played with a good tempo and a good speed. Competition in the squad is good. To be fair to Westmeath, they have had a couple of difficult weekends and they just don’t have the strength-in-depth that we have when they lose players.”

For his part, Fortune conceded: “I thought we were poor in the first half and stood off Galway. Our second half was a bit better. We are fighting on the flat of our back to stay in the Liam MacCarthy Cup. We have a week’s break now and we need it, psychologically and physically.”

Scorers for Galway: C Whelan 3-1, E Niland 0-10 (6f, 1‘65’), B Concannon 1-3, D McLoughlin, K Cooney 1-2 each, C Mannion, L Collins 0-4 each, D Burke 0-2, P Mannion, C Fahy, S Linnane, M McManus, J Ryan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Westmeath: N O’Brien 0-10 (9f), D Glennon 0-2, R Greville, G Greville, J Boyle, D McNicholas, C Doyle 0-1 each.

Galway: E Murphy; D Morrissey, G McInerney, TJ Brennan; P Mannion, D Burke, F Burke; C Fahy, J Cooney; B Concannon, C Mannion, C Whelan; E Niland, K Cooney, L Collins.

Subs: D McLoughlin for Whelan (h-t), S Linnane for J Cooney (43), E Lawless for D Burke (43), J Ryan for Concannon (53), M McManus for Collins (61).

Westmeath: N Conaty; A Craig, C Shaw, J Bermingham; T Doyle, R Greville, C McCormack; G Greville, C Boyle; K Regan, N O’Brien, J Boyle; D Williams, D Glennon, E Keyes.

Subs: S McGovern for Craig (h-t), D McNicholas for Williams (46), C Doyle for Regan (46), D Clinton for C Boyle (55), P Clarke for Keyes (69).

Referee: K Jordan (Tipperary).

Leinster SHC: Late Galway rally earns a draw

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Leinster Senior Football Championship

Kilkenny 0-28 Galway 1-25

Young substitute Declan McLoughlin landed a splendid late point, deep into stoppage time, to ensure the Leinster SHC spoils were divided.

Galway struck three points in a row in the closing stages to deny an Eoin Cody inspired Kilkenny outfit.

Cody was in brilliant form for the Cats, mining six points from play, causing the visitors’ significant bother throughout.

At the opposite end of the field Brian Concannon was similarly effective for Galway, who pounced for a sixth minute goal.

That was supplied by Concannon, who gathered a Jack Grealish delivery before rattling the Kilkenny net. Galway led 1-3 to 0-4 at that stage with the opening period providing plenty of scores.

John Donnelly and Cody were effective for Derek Lyng’s charges, who subsequently hit the front as the interval approached.

A couple of points, though, from Evan Niland ensured the teams departed deadlocked, 0-16 to 1-13 at the interval.

After the restart Kilkenny enjoyed a productive spell with Billy Ryan, TJ Reid, Cody, and Adrian Mullen clipping neat points for the black and amber side, who led 0-26 to 1-18 with just over 13 minutes remaining.

Galway remained defiant with replacements Jason Flynn, Liam Collins, and Declan McLoughlin all rifling over important scores in the closing stages.

Scorers for Kilkenny: TJ Reid 0-9 (8fs), Eoin Cody 0-6, Darragh Corcoran, Adrian Mullen, John Donnelly, Billy Ryan, and Martin Keoghan 0-2 each, Mikey Butler, Timmy Clifford, and David Blanchfield 0-1 each.

Scorers for Galway: Brian Concannon 1-5, Evan Niland 0-7 (6fs), Conor Whelan 0-2, Padraic Mannion, Daithi Burke, Joseph Cooney, Cianan Fahy, Ronan Glennon, Cathal Mannion, Kevin Cooney, Conor Cooney, Jason Flynn, Liam Collins, and Declan McLoughlin 0-1 each.

Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh; David Blanchfield, Richie Reid, Padraig Walsh; Darragh Corcoran, Conor Fogarty; Timmy Clifford, Adrian Mullen, John Donnelly; Billy Ryan, TJ Reid, Eoin Cody.

Subs: Martin Keoghan for Clifford (HT), Cian Kenny for P Walsh (46), Alan Murphy for Donnelly (65), Cillian Buckley for Fogarty (70+3).

Galway: Eanna Murphy; Jack Grealish, Gearoid McInerney, TJ Brennan; Padraic Mannion, Daithi Burke, Joseph Cooney; Cianan Fahy, Ronan Glennon; Cathal Mannion, Conor Cooney, Kevin Cooney; Conor Whelan, Brian Concannon, Evan Niland.

Subs: Jason Flynn for C Cooney (58), Fintan Burke for Glennon (60), Liam Collins for Fahy (65), Declan McLoughlin for Whelan (68).

Referee: J Murphy (Limerick).

Leinster SHC: Niland inspires Galway

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Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Galway 0-24 Wexford 2-12

By Cian O’Connell at Pearse Stadium

Despite conceding two goals in the first four minutes, Galway still cruised to a convincing win over Wexford in Salthill.

Prompted by the splendid Evan Niland, who rifled over seven sweet points from play, Galway dictated the third quarter to seize control.

Level at the interval, 0-11 to 2-5, Galway dominated after the restart with Niland an influential figure.

Either side of half-time Galway, came from three behind, to score 12 out of 13 points. That was when the damage happened with Wexford unable to recover.

In that spell, though, Wexford did miss an opportunity when trailing by 0-17 to 2-6, but Conor McDonald’s 45th minute penalty was saved by Eanna Murphy.

That was a crucial moment in a game that commenced with Wexford plundering two goals initially.

TJ Brennan thundered forward to mine a point for the locals, but then Darragh Egan’s outfit pounced.

Conor McDonald appeared to get a deft touch following a Liam Óg McGovern delivery in the second minute.

McGovern was causing Galway some bother adding a second goal almost immediately as Wexford edged five ahead.

Under duress Galway did manage to nail five of the next six points as the gap was trimmed significantly, 2-1 to 0-6.

Subsequently couple of frees from Rory O’Connor and two Cathal Dunbar efforts ensured Wexford were 2-5 to 0-8 ahead as the interval approached.

Crucially Henry Shefflin’s team struck three on the spin before the break courtesy of Niland (two frees) and Conor Cooney to level.

With the issue delicately poised, Galway pulled clear impressively when the action recommenced.

Niland was outstanding, while at the opposite end of the field Pádraic Mannion supplied leadership and class defensively.

Conor Whelan, Conor Cooney, and Brian Concannon contributed scores in Galway’s spell of supremacy.

When McDonald’s penalty was thwarted hope drained from Wexford’s challenge. Late on Galway’s conversion rate dipped dramatically illustrated by 0-24 from 41 attempts.

It didn’t matter too much, though, because a victory was secured ahead of next weekend’s intriguing trip to UPMC Nowlan Park.

Scorers for Galway: Evan Niland 0-13 (5fs, 165), Brian Concannon, Conor Whelan, and Conor Cooney 0-2 each, TJ Brennan, Cathal Mannion, Liam Collins, Ronan Glennon, and Kevin Cooney 0-1 each.

Scorers for Wexford: Rory O’Connor 0-5 (5fs), Liam Óg McGovern 1-2, Conor McDonald 1-0, Cathal Dunbar 0-2, Matthew O’Hanlon, Conor Hearne, and Jack O’Connor 0-1 each.

Galway: Eanna Murphy; TJ Brennan, Gearóid McInerney, Jack Grealish; Padraic Mannion, Daithí Burke, Joseph Cooney; Ronan Glennon, Cathal Mannion; Tom Monaghan, Conor Cooney, Brian Concannon; Evan Niland, Conor Whelan, Kevin Cooney.

Subs: Cianan Fahy for Concannon (56-58, temporary), Fintan Burke for J Cooney (58), Cianan Fahy for Glennon (61), Jason Flynn for Concannon (63), Liam Collins for Mannion (68), Darren Morrissey for Brennan (69).

Wexford: James Lawlor; Matthew O’Hanlon, Liam Ryan, Conor Devitt; Simon Donohoe, Conor Foley, Shane Reck; Diarmuid O’Keeffe, Conor Hearne; Oisín Foley, Rory O’Connor, Charlie McGuckin; Liam Óg McGovern, Conor McDonald, Cathal Dunbar.

Subs: Jack O’Connor for O Foley (22-26, temporary), Jack O’Connor for McGuckin (44), Mikie Dwyer for O’Keeffe (47), Richie Lawlor for O Foley (56), Kevin Foley for Hearne (61), Joe O’Connor for C Foley (70).

Referee: Seán Stack (Dublin).

Allianz HL D1: Emphatic win for Galway

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Allianz Hurling League Division One Group A

Galway 4-27 Westmeath 1-12

By Gerry Buckley at TEG Cusack Park

Galway and Westmeath rounded off their round robin fixtures in this year’s Allianz Hurling League Divsion 1A in showery conditions in
Mullingar this afternoon, with the visitors winning by a somewhat flattering 24-point margin.

The Tribesmen were three points to the good in as many minutes courtesy of Cianan Fahy, Brian Concannon and Liam Collins. Westmeath lost their marquee defender Tommy Doyle after a bang of the sliotar in the head in the eighth minute, a major blow given the absence of their star forward Killian Doyle. In the latter’s absence, Niall O’Brien was on free-taking duty and he had a mixed afternoon from placed balls.

Henry Shefflin’s charges were 0-5 to 0-0 up before their opponents struck for a hat-trick of unanswered points from the sticks of Jack Galvin, Kevin Regan, and O’Brien (a free).

Westmeath’s fourth point came from Galway native Davy Glennon (whose brother Ronan lined out for the winners) and the Connacht side led by 0-10 to 0-4 when Ciaran Doyle, a twin brother of the absent Killian, did well to get in a one-handed strike for a tonic goal for the team under the tutelage of Joe Fortune.

It was 0-12 to 1-4 in Galway’s favour when Concannon rifled home a great goal from a tight angle with exactly 35 minutes on the clock. With Conor Cooney striking four points from play in the first moiety and Evan Niland converting six placed balls (including a ninth-minute ’65’), Galway led by 1-14 to 1-5 at the interval.

A classy point from play by O’Brien was an encouraging start to the second half for Westmeath, but Galway were always able to pick off points when needed. Indeed, they ended up with 13 different scorers on the day. Despite the home team – with Ciaran Doyle prominent – scoring four unanswered points between the 48th and 55th minutes, Galway still led by 1-19 to 1-11 when sub Declan McLoughlin availed of one of many unforced Westmeath errors to rifle the ball past Conor Bracken in the 59th minute.

Galway scored the last 2-7 of the contest without reply from the outclassed men in the changed green and maroon jerseys. The two goals came with time almost up courtesy of Jason Flynn and Tiernan Killeen, and Gavin Lee still had time to score a last-gasp point.

Much of the post-match Galway chat in the crowd focused on David Burke’s cruciate injury, while Westmeath eyes were already firmly set on next Saturday’s Division One relegation play-off against Laois.

Scorers for Galway: E Niland 0-11 (8fs, 1’65’), C Cooney 0-5, B Concannon, D McLoughlin, J Flynn 1-1 each, T Killeen 1-0, John Cooney 0-2, C Fahy, L Collins, G Lee, TJ Brennan, P Mannion, K Cooney 0-1 each.

Scorers for Westmeath: C Doyle 1-4 (1f), N O’Brien 0-5 (4f), J Galvin, D Glennon, K Regan 0-1 each.

Galway: E Murphy; D Morrissey, D Burke, TJ Brennan; P Mannion, J Fitzpatrick, T Killeen; C Fahy, R Glennon; John Cooney, L Collins, C Cooney; E Niland, B Concannon, K Cooney.

Subs: D McLoughlin for Collins (46), J Flynn for C Cooney (54), G Lee for John Cooney (63), Joseph Cooney for Glennon (63), D O’Shea for Concannon (65), M McManus for McLoughlin (blood, 70+1).

Westmeath: C Bracken; G Greville, J Bermingham, C Shaw; A Craig, T Doyle, R Greville; J Galvin, S McGovern; K Regan, C Doyle, E Keyes; N O’Brien, S Clavin, D Glennon. Subs: D Egerton for T Doyle (inj., 8), J Gillen for O’Brien (inj., 52), P Clarke for Glennon (59), M Cunningham for McGovern (67), C Boyle for Bermingham (67), P Maxwell for Galvin (70).

Referee: K Jordan (Tipperary).

Ronan Glennon, Galway, and Tony Kelly and Ryan Taylor, Clare, in Allianz Hurling League action at Cusack Park. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Allianz HL D1: Galway defeat Clare in Ennis

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Allianz Hurling League Division One Group A

Galway 1-24 Clare 0-22

By Eoin Brennan at Cusack Park

Galway maintained their hold over neighbours Clare after a storming second half performance at Cusack Park, Ennis.

It was an outcome that couldn’t have been foreseen when the hosts raced out of the blocks to soar 0-8 to 0-1 clear after only 14 minutes thanks in the main to Aidan McCarthy (3) and David Reidy (2). However, there would be a total sea-change over the next 10 minutes as Galway brought back Conor Cooney as an extra midfielder and eventually slashed the areas to just the minimum as Evan Niland (3) and an inspirational Daithi Burke point helped revive the visitors challenge.

That margin would remain until the break at 0-12 to 0-11 but now backed by the slight conditions, Henry Shefflin’s side incrementally seized control on the restart.

Following a prolonged wrestle for supremacy that saw the sides level on four occasions by the 47th minute, Galway upped the ante for the final quarter, outscoring their neighbours by 1-9 to 0-7 including a decisive Conor Whelan goal in the 59th minute.

Conor Cooney produced a rousing second half display to complete a five point haul from play which would be enough to fend off an inevitable home backlash and ensure that the Banner’s search for a first derby victory since 2013 will have to wait until at least the summer.

Both sides are still in the hunt for the semi-finals with Clare requiring a victory over Cork and Galway needing a big win against Westmeath in order to advance.

Scorers for Galway: Evan Niland 0-9 (5fs, 1’65), Conor Cooney 0-5, Conor Whelan 1-0, Daithi Burke, Kevin Cooney, and Tom Monaghan 0-2 each, Ronan Glennon, Brian Concannon, Joseph Cooney, and Sean Linnane 0-1 each.

Scorers for Clare: Aidan McCarthy 0-7 (6fs), David Fitzgerald 0-4, David Reidy 0-3, Ian Galvin 0-2, Ryan Taylor, Cathal Malone, Peter Duggan, Cian Galvin, Robin Mounsey, and Seadna Morey 0-1 each.

Galway: Eanna Murphy; Jack Grealish, Gearoid McInerney, TJ Brennan; Padraic Mannion, Daithi Burke, Joseph Cooney; Ronan Glennon, Tom Monaghan; Conor Cooney, Brian Concannon, Cianan Fahy; Evan Niland, Conor Whelan, Kevin Cooney

Subs: Subs: Sean Linnane for Glennon (52), Tiernan Killeen for Burke (57), David Burke for Fahy (67), Declan McLoughlin for Concannon (69).

Clare: Eamonn Foudy; Adam Hogan, Conor Cleary, Paul Flanagan; Diarmuid Ryan, John Conlon, Cian Galvin; Cathal Malone, Tony Kelly; David Fitzgerald, Peter Duggan, Ryan Taylor; David Reidy, Aidan McCarthy, Davie Conroy

Subs: Brandon O’Connell for Ryan (44), Robin Mounsey for Conroy (45), Seadna Morey for Duggan (54), Ian Galvin for McCarthy (62), Aron Shanagher for Reidy (67).

Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork).

Declan Dalton was the key man for Cork this afternoon, scoring 0-8 and controlling the play around him.

Goal hungry Cork take a chunk out of Galway

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Just five points between the teams at the end of a February league game, and a contest in which Galway played the entirety of the second half with 14 men, would hardly suggest the type of form that should be treated as cast iron in advance of more meaningful matches in the summer – and yet there was a real sense permeating the sea air in Salthill this afternoon that Cork had just offered substantial evidence that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with this summer.

Allianz Hurling League Division One

Cork 4-24 – Galway 3-22

It wasn’t just that they won so convincingly; we should bear in mind here that there were eleven points between the teams before Martin McManus’ goal in the last minute of normal time. It was also that it was a Cork team built around dominant performers in positions that were in 2022 perceived to be their vulnerable spots. Ciarán Joyce’s emergence as a force at centre back had been flagged up, while Declan Downey’s physical presence as a ball-winner was well known, so his redeployment on the right wing of the attack looked like a safe bet.

However Conor Lehane’s nomination as captain has seen him step up into the leadership role in fine style, and the real emerging jewel in the Rebel County’s crown appears to be Eoin Downey at full back. Many would have thought that Eoin, who completed his Leaving Cert in 2022, was only keeping the number three jersey warm for his brother Rob, but many more performances like this afternoon’s effort, and Cork manager Pat Ryan will have some tough calls to make.

It’s easy to forget too, after the final whistle sounds, that Cork had to dig themselves out of something of a hole early on too.

Galway’s inside forward line of Martin McManus, Kevin Cooney and Evan Niland were on fire early on, and while Dalton set up Lehane for an goal in the tenth minute to undo some early damage, Cooney responded in kind for the Tribesmen, and a string of good points saw them move 1-9 to 1-4 ahead by the end of the first quarter.

A significant number of their scores came from Niland’s frees, but that spoke volumes about how much space they were able to generate within 40 metres of the Cork goal, and the number of times their inside forwards found themselves one-on-one with their markers, chasing excellent deliveries.

At the other end, it was all about Dalton, as he set up scoring chances – including a goal chance that Shane Barrett hammered into the crossbar – won frees, and converted plenty of points himself. His controlled bat of the sliotar into Barrett set up Cork’s sixth point in a row to push them into the lead after 26 minutes, and they were still playing marginally the better hurling at half-time, with the sides deadlocked at 1-13 each.

In the five minutes after the restart, the contest changed utterly. An uncharacteristic fumble from Cathal Mannion allowed Barrett to steal possession and set up Seán Twomey for a close-range goal, and an infringement by Oisín Salmon during the move saw the Clarinbridge defender receive a second yellow card.

On the next play, Lehane found the net again, and three more points in the next five minutes saw a finely-balanced tie suddenly have nine points between the teams.

That was how it continued for most of the second half, with Galway briefly chipping away a couple of points here and there, but Cork always able to deliver a response. Conor Whelan, who had been quiet in the first half, weighed in with some impressive scores, while McManus continued to battle against the tide, but it seemed like the contest was meandering to a conclusion, until McManus and then Brian Concannon goaled in quick succession, either side of a Cathal Mannion point.

Suddenly two minutes of added time remained, and when Galway were awarded a penalty for a foul on Concannon, Cooney had the chance to cut the gap to two points.

His low effort was saved by Patrick Collins, and the day’s action concluded – but the question of how much today’s events have foreshadowed the summer is very much open.

Scorers for Cork: Conor Lehane 2-3, Declan Dalton 0-8 (0-2f) Seán Twomey 2-0, Shane Kingston 0-6 (0-4f), Shane Barrett 0-4, Cormac Beausang 0-1, Brian Hayes 0-1, Conor Cahalane 0-1.

Scorers for Galway: Evan Niland 0-11 (0-8f), Martin McManus 1-3, Kevin Cooney 1-1, Brian Concannon 1-0, Conor Whelan 0-2, Pádraic Mannion 0-1, Jason Flynn 0-1, Cianán Fahy 0-1, Cathal Mannion 0-1, Liam Collins 0-1f.

Cork: Patrick Collins; Conor O’Callaghan, Eoin Downey, Eoin Roceh; Tommy O’Connell, Ciarán Joyce, Cormac O’Brien; Brian Roche, Sam Quirke; Declan Dalton, Conor Lehane, Seán Twomey; Cormac Beausang, Shane Barrett, Shane Kingston.

Subs: Luke Meade for Quirke (39), Brian Hayes for Beausang (47), Conor Cahalane for Barrett (55), Pádraig Power for Kingston (59), Colin Walsh for Roche (69).

Galway: Darach Fahy; Oisín Salmon, Gearóid McInerney; Jack Grealish; Pádraic Mannion, Joseph Cooney, Darren Morrissey; Gavin Lee, Seán Linnane; Tom Monaghan, Conor Whelan, Jason Flynn; Evan Niland, Kevin Cooney, Martin McManus.

Subs: Cianán Fahy for Monaghan (half-time), Cathal Mannion for Lee (43), Ronan Murphy for Morrissey (53), Brian Concannon for Flynn (58), Liam Collins for Niland (66).

Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick)

Kevin Egan reports from Pearse Stadium

AHL Team News: Galway v Cork

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The Galway Senior Hurling team to face Cork in the Allianz Hurling League Round 2 clash is announced. Game is Live on the TG4 app at 2.00PM with deferred coverage on TG4 TV at 5.25PM.

#riseagain #GAABelong #riseofthetribes

Important Match Day Information

On behalf of Galway GAA and the Pearse Stadium Committee we welcome all GAA Supporters to Salthill on Sunday.
This game will result in increased traffic in the Galway, Salthill and Pearse Stadium areas and we urge all
Supporters to arrive early, in order to avoid traffic congestion and potential delays entering the Stadium.
This is an all-ticket game and no tickets will be available to purchase at the ground on the day.
Tickets can be purchased on line and in Centra and SuperValu Supermarkets in advance of the game.
Please have your tickets available for scanning as you approach the Stadium.
Turnstiles will be open at the Main Entrance on Rockbarton Road, Arus Bothar na Trá on Dr. Mannix Road and at the back of the stand.
Gates will open at 12.30pm.
There are ample Car Parks in Galway City and Salthill and we encourage patrons to use these car parks and walk or take public transport to/from Salthill.
Car Parking will be available at St. Enda’s National School on Dr. Mannix Road (limited number)
and at St. Enda’s Secondary School on Threadneedle Road.
We ask all Supporters to arrive early, and to park legally and responsibly, at all times.
Finally, we appeal to all Supporters to be conscious, mindful and respectful to the needs of our neighbours and local residents.

Walsh Cup Galway vs Dublin

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The Galway Senior Hurling Team to face Dublin in the Walsh Cup is announced.

Game will be Live Streamed by ClubberTV, click to purchase stream here

 

No-nonsense Burke focused on winning all he can

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St. Thomas’ defender hurler, Fintan Burke, is much off the field like he is on it – no-nonsense.

When it’s suggested to him that some rival clubs in Galway like to undermine his own’s achievement of having won six county titles in the last seven years by pointing out they haven’t won an All-Ireland in that time, he’s not having any of it.

“Nowadays there’s a lot of stuff said that you just have to blank out and just put on your ear-muffs,” says Burke.

“Because opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one. You just have to let it fade into the background and get on with things. Records and all that craic, I’m not too worried about them now at the moment.”

He means that in every sense possible. He closes his ears to those who try to run St. Thomas’ down, and he’s not the type either to glory in what they’ve achieved.

Winning a fifth Galway title in a row is a serious piece of history for a club that draws its team from such a small area, but don’t expect Burke pat himself on the back any time soon.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” he says. “We’d probably be of the opinion that we’ll have enough time when we’re 40 or 50 sitting at a barstool and looking into a pint thinking about how great we were to win five-in-row, but while you’re here you might as well stay going.”

Conor Cooney, captain of St. Thomas lifts the cup after winning the 2022 Galway County Senior Hurling Championship Final Replay match between St Thomas and Loughrea at Pearse Stadium in Galway.

So how does this group of St. Thomas’ players stay going? Many of them have been on the road a long time now yet they come back year after year with their appetite for success apparently undiminished.

“It’s probably because of how tight the group is,” says Burke. “We’ve obviously had a lot of success the last five, six, seven years. But we’ve had a lot of tough days too. Ballyhale in Croke Park, even Ballyhale last year, Borrisoleigh, Ballyea, we’ve had a lot of disappointing defeats that probably brought us together and cemented our friendship as a group.

“In March, April, or May when you’re trying to get back training and you’re looking outside and it’s milling rain and you’re going training for nothing, essentially, for two months, that’s probably the days you draw on those defeats the most.

“Given the success we’ve had we know how good it is to win so it makes getting out there and doing it that small bit easier.

“Obviously there are days when you’d think it’d be easier to pull up the duvet and hide underneath it and just not go. But when we go training with the lads it’s enjoyable, there’s always that bit of craic. And you’d be looking forward to that as much as anything.”

St. Thomas’ desire to defeat Ulster and Antrim champions, Dunloy, this weekend and make it back to their first All-Ireland Final since 2019 is surely heightened by how disappointing that experience was.

Fintan Burke of St Thomas, Galway, pictured ahead of the AIB All-Ireland GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship Semi-Final, which takes place this Sunday, December 18th at Croke Park at 1.30pm. The AIB GAA All-Ireland Club Championships features some of #TheToughest players from communities all across Ireland. It is these very communities that the players represent that make the AIB GAA All-Ireland Club Championships unique. Now in its 32nd year supporting the GAA Club Championships, AIB is extremely proud to once again celebrate the communities that play such a role in sustaining our national games.

They didn’t hurl anywhere near their potential and were beaten on the day by 17 points, while a miserable afternoon for Burke was made much worse by the fact he ruptured his cruciate ligament in that game.

“Obviously if you look at our track record we’ve made a habit of not showing up for All-Ireland semi-finals or that Final,” he says. “I suppose you could make 100 excuses but the buck lies with us.

“I suppose, yeah, we were very disappointed, but I wouldn’t say we use it as a motivation. The biggest motivating factor for a lot of us is that these days won’t be around for ever and we’re not going to be as successful as we are at the moment forever.

“When some of the older lads call it a day we’re probably going to be under pressure numbers wise which is always going to happen. So I suppose it’s just about making hay while the sun shines really.

“There’s different motivating factors for us and one of them would be that a lot of lads in our panel don’t have an All-Ireland medal. Some of the older lads do but I don’t myself and that’s one you’d like to have in your back pocket before you call it a day.

“In fairness lads don’t be shy about telling you. If there’s a row in the hurling field that’s the first thing they’d be telling you, ‘where’s your All-Ireland club medal?’ It would be nice on a personal level for every lad on the panel who doesn’t have one to have one.”

By John Harrington

Setanta

Galway GAA Launch New Athletic Development Partnership with Setanta College

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Galway GAA have launched a new partnership with Setanta College that will focus on the delivery of athletic development programmes for the county’s underage development squads.

Covering both hurling and football, the design and delivery of the programmes will be carried out by coaches from Setanta. Leading the implementation of the partnership will be Galway native Des Ryan, who has previously worked as Head of Sports Science and Medicine at the Arsenal FC Academy and is now Director of Coaching and Performance at Setanta.

Chairperson of Galway GAA, Paul Bellew, said, “We are delighted to launch our new partnership with Setanta College. There is a firm commitment in Galway GAA to deliver a development pathway that maximizes the potential of our players all the way through to adult level, and this is a significant step forward in doing so in terms of athletic development, sports psychology and nutritional support. Setanta College’s expertise, educational focus and high support environment under the direction of Des Ryan aligns with our aims of assisting players both on and off the field. We look forward to working closely with Des and the team at Setanta in delivering on our shared aims.”

The partnership was officially launched at an event in the Clayton Hotel, Galway, where representatives from both Galway GAA and Setanta provided an overview of the structure of the new partnership to both players and parents. Also supporting the design of the athletic development pathway will be Lukasz Kirszenstein and Jonathan Harris-Wright, Lead Athletic Development coaches with the county’s Senior Hurling and Football teams.

Des Ryan, Director of Coaching & Performance at Setanta College, said, “We have a great interest in developing young people and players at Setanta so we are very excited to embark on this new partnership with Galway GAA. This project will be dual aspirational; firstly, we want all development players to enjoy Gaelic Games and play with their clubs for as long as possible. We also want to help every player be the best version of themselves. A number of players will go onto play for the county Minor, u20 and Senior teams and we will help them to be physically prepared for those challenges. The Athletic Development, Sports Psychology and Nutrition support provided by Setanta will focus on Health, Wellbeing and Physical Development. We will also ensure it will be a high-challenge and high-support environment.”

Setanta College is an internationally renowned provider of higher education in human performance and sports science headquartered in Ireland with a number of international locations. Recently, the college has expanded its offerings to include the development of performance structures through its consultancy practice Setanta Performance.

For more information on Setanta College, visit www.setantacollege.com