In the All-Ireland minor final of 1992 the Waterford managers moved Derek McGrath over to where Galway's Micheál Donoghue was situated on the field.
"He is still traumatised by it," the Galway manager says with a laugh when asked about the game. "We were all minors. I wouldn't have known him. Paul Flynn was probably their highest-profile player at the time. I remember he was playing. It is not that I remember any huge aspect of the game. I wish it wasn't 25 years ago. It is kind of mad that after 25 years the two of us will be on the sideline. It is good."
Mad is the right word. Waterford and Galway have been chiselling away at their All-Ireland projects for so many decades that their progression to this year’s final has, in a peculiar way, guaranteed a happy outcome for one of the two counties desperate for success.
When the managers played against each other as teenagers, neither would have believed their counties would still be waiting for a senior All-Ireland a quarter of a century later
When Sunday’s managers played against each other as teenagers, neither would have believed their counties would still be waiting for a senior All-Ireland a quarter of a century later. Neither man had the senior career his adolescent potential seemed to promise. In addition to that 1992 minor title Donoghue won an All-Ireland under-21 title the following year and was called into the senior squad just before Christmas. A broken collarbone interrupted his progress, but a bulging disc in his back had already necessitated a visit to the operating theatre. It would be the first of three surgeries he would undergo for the same problem by the age of 27. He played championship in 1996 for Galway but was forced to retire at the age of 28.
He says that he never dwelt on those frustrations, instead taking up an invitation from Vincent Mullins to help coach the county under-21 side in 2005. Strangely, McGrath's senior career was also fleeting, but when Donoghue took over the Galway senior post, late in 2015, following the painful player coup against Anthony Cunningham, he found himself chatting to the Waterford man on the phone.
He is someone I have huge respect for; the way he carries himself, the relationship he has with his own players is something we can all learn from
“Yeah, we are of the same vintage. I think he is doing a massive job down there. Obviously, he has more experience at this level than I have. Because we are of the same vintage we made contact last year. Not that we’d contact each other regularly. Different periods over the year we hopped things off each other.
“He is someone I have huge respect for; the way he carries himself, the relationship he has with his own players is something we can all learn from. He is real passionate. The biggest thing I find is that if you ring them you can have a chat with him and hop things off him. He’s been good for me.”
Donoghue’s first season was met with guarded optimism. Because he was appointed so late in 2015 he was playing catch-up throughout the league. “The boys were going on a team holiday. We met them on a Friday or Saturday night, and the first game was on a Sunday. It wasn’t ideal for us.”
Demotion followed, but an All-Ireland exit by one point in an All-Ireland semi-final classic with Tipperary was acceptable. An early loss to Wexford in the league all but killed their promotion chances, however, and it was telling that the visiting crowd seemed to outnumber the locals.
Wexford deserved to win that match, because they stuck to what they were doing. We didn't stick to what we were supposed to do
“We were nearly lynched by the Galway supporters who were there,” he says before acknowledging that it was a serious setback.
“At the beginning of the league the main priority was to try and get back up to 1A. In the grander scheme of things we just wanted to go as far as we could in the league, to get as close to the Dublin game as possible. Yes, there was disappointment. I remember we met the leadership group on the Monday night after the league game. They took huge onus and responsibility. We discussed the manner in which we lost the game. I think that was a huge learning for us in our whole development as a team. I know people refer back to the Waterford game, but the Wexford game, for me was . . . We sat down, had a chat, and the players knew exactly what we wanted after that game. Wexford deserved to win that match, because they stuck to what they were doing. We didn’t stick to what we were supposed to do. That was a huge learning for us.”
After falling into a 10-point hole at Pearse Stadium against Waterford in the league quarter-final, Donoghue’s team took a deep breath, took off and haven’t looked back. Tickets for this Sunday’s final are like gold dust. These Septembers are nothing new in the Galway hurling heartland: this is their seventh All-Ireland final since their last win, in 1988. But in all those summers Galway teams have been temperamentally brilliant. This year’s bunch have been rigorous and dependable rather than streaky. That’s why the belief will be strong on Sunday.
“Once we met the players, it was one of the first things we said that we have to try create a team where they want to come out and support us. And if we come out with the right attitude . . . We’ve always emphasised the responsibility that goes with wearing the crest on your chest. The boys have really bought into that. For the duration of the championship we have got massive support. Hopefully that will continue.”
