Galway manager Pádraic Joyce made no bones about his aim when he took over. In an interview with local radio shortly after his appointment in November 2019, Joyce spelled it out.
“I’m a Galway man by heart and by nature. I want to do the best I can for Galway, and our aim is to win an All-Ireland. Simple as that,” he said. “Anything less would be seen as underachieving.”
Maybe that was a factor in Joyce’s thinking as he assembled a stellar backroom. Joyce is joined on the sideline by John Divilly, centre-back on the 1998 All-Ireland-winning side, and Micheál Ó Domhnaill. Also on board is John Concannon, who was once regarded as the brightest of Galway’s young stars, scoring 1-6 in the 1994 All-Ireland minor final.
And, of course, Cian O’Neill’s record is possibly unique. He has been coach or trainer to four different inter-county sides who have reached All-Irelands finals, having previously been involved with Mayo (2012), Kerry (2014 and 2015) and Tipperary hurlers (2009).
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Canning gives Galway fuel for final tilt
No sooner had Seán O’Shea sent that late, late free over the bar yesterday (much to the chagrin of draw-backers) and Kerry had been installed as 1/3 shots to lift the Sam Maguire for the 38th time, with Galway posted as 10/3 outsiders.
RTÉ’s Ger Canning will certainly fancy the Kingdom to get the job done, judging by a comment he made in the build-up. As the teams were marching in the pre-match parade, Canning stated: “It’s an All-Ireland final in all but name . . .”
Maybe the veteran announcer was referring to the magnitude of the occasion but, either way, he might find his comments pinned up on the wall of the Galway dressing room. Or, maybe in these technologically advanced times, posted in Mp3 format in the team WhatsApp group…
Kilkenny claim junior football title
One result which may have slipped through the net over the weekend was Kilkenny’s victory in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship final.
The championship was inaugurated in 1912 and has been dominated by Kerry and Cork, with 37 wins between them. After a rule change last year, it was restructured to comprise of just four teams – New York, Kilkenny, and the winner and runners-up in the British Junior Championship, who this year were London and Warwickshire respectively.
The Cats beat London in the semi-final before sweeping past New York (3-12 to 1-9) at Croke Park yesterday. Interestingly, Tadhg Morley, who lined out for Kerry in the main event yesterday, was captain of the Kingdom when they won the title in 2016.
Brolly does Donegal a disservice
“I was sitting with Kevin Cassidy, one of Jimmy and Rory’s guinea pigs in the 2011 team,” noted Joe Brolly yesterday.
“Kevin remarked that the first half had been ‘quite high-scoring’ which got a big laugh from everyone around us. At half-time in that 2011 semi-final the scoreline was Donegal 0-2 Dublin 0-1.”
As a self-appointed and self-righteous GAA fact checker, July Road must point out that the half-time score that day was Donegal 0-4 Dublin 0-2.
Word of Mouth
To the supporters that left early go f**k yourselves
Derry’s Padraig Cassidy (@Padraig_Tad11) on Twitter. The asterisks are ours…
By the Numbers: 0
Provincial champions through to the Ladies SFC semi-finals, the first time this has happened.
