Loughrea are just one victory away from re-establishing Galway’s position as the most successful county in the history of the All-Ireland club senior hurling championship.
No county has produced more All-Ireland club senior hurling winners than Galway – with seven different outfits claiming the Tommy Moore Cup since the first final in 1971.
Portumna (four), Athenry (three), two each from Sarsfields and St Thomas’ and one each by Castlegar, Clarinbridge and Kiltormer combine for a total of 14 All-Ireland senior hurling titles.
It puts Galway joint top of the roll of honour alongside Kilkenny and ahead of Cork’s nine triumphs, achieved by a combination of five clubs from the Rebel County. Ballyhale Shamrocks have won nine of Kilkenny’s 14 titles with James Stephens (three) and one each from St Martin’s and Glenmore.
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Should Loughrea become the eighth Galway side to lift the trophy, it would push the county to 15 triumphs and back out on its own as the standout performer in the club game.
But it remains to be seen if Loughrea will be able to call upon Cullen Killeen for that All-Ireland decider against Ballygunner of Waterford at Croke Park on Sunday, January 18th.
Killeen received a straight red card in injury-time of Sunday’s semi-final victory over Slaughtneil at Parnell Park. Referee Johnny Murphy sent the player to the line following an off-the-ball incident involving Brendan Rogers, for which the Slaughtneil player received no punishment.
Immediately after the game, Loughrea manager Tommy Kelly insisted the club would be appealing the decision and are to seek a hearing.
However, The Irish Times understands no disciplinary process is expected to commence this side of Christmas, meaning the timeline for Loughrea discovering if Killeen will have his red card rescinded is more likely to be in the new year.
Killeen had played a key role in Loughrea’s victory over Slaughtneil, with the all-action midfielder named as TG4’s man-of-the-match.
His brothers, Caimin and Tiernan, are also part of the Loughrea team and got on the scoreboard on Sunday. Their dad, Ronan, is a former Galway United player.
Loughrea have only appeared in the All-Ireland decider on one previous occasion – a 2007 defeat to Ballyhale Shamrocks. Ballygunner won their sole All-Ireland title in 2022, the only success for a Waterford club in the competition.
Since 2008, Galway clubs have had a shorter route to All-Ireland finals than their counterparts elsewhere in the country because of a decision to discontinue the Connacht club SHC.
With clubs from the county routinely hammering opponents in the provincial championship, Connacht officials put the competition on ice and instead Galway champions were fast-tracked to the All-Ireland club semi-final stages.
Johnny Coen is one of the few Loughrea players with previous big-day experience at Croke Park, having featured prominently during Galway’s triumphant 2017 All-Ireland SHC campaign.
The 2012 Young Hurler of the Year marked Chrissy McKaigue in Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final.
“It’s a special feeling,” said Coen. “For a club like us, these days don’t come around too often.
“We’re in a privileged position to have won two county championships – there have been four in our club’s history. This is our second time ever to be in the All-Ireland final and the first time for this group of players, so we’re absolutely delighted.”
Incidentally, Coen’s Galway beat Waterford in the 2017 All-Ireland final. So, for the second time in his career he has the opportunity to win an All-Ireland title by beating Déise opposition in the decider.
Ballygunner trio Stephen O’Keeffe, Philip Mahony and Pauric Mahony all started for Waterford in the 2017 All-Ireland final loss to Galway.
Castlegar were the first Galway club to win an All-Ireland senior title, claiming the crown in 1980. But it would be 12 years before a second club hurling All-Ireland was brought back out west, Kiltormer reaching the summit in 1992.
That marked the start of a golden period for Galway clubs, with Sarsfields achieving successive wins in 1993 and 1994 before Athenry claimed the first of their three All-Irelands in 1997.
Athenry added their latter trophies in 2000 and 2001. The all-conquering Portumna side, backboned by the Canning clan, then arrived on the scene to taste All-Ireland glory on four occasions – 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2014.
St Thomas’ won their maiden All-Ireland in 2013, before adding a second in 2024.
Speaking to Galway Bay FM after Sunday’s game, wing forward Jamie Ryan articulated what the semi-final win means to Loughrea.
“We all have dreams of playing in Croke Park and we’re all really looking forward to it now in a few weeks,” he said. “Croke Park in 2007 was the last time the club got there. Everyone involved at the minute, it’s their dream to go up there on All-Ireland club final day. We’re going to really train hard for the next three weeks.”
