GALWAY SHC FINAL: Keith Dugganon the stormy background to tomorrow's decider amid disarray in the county's failure to buuild on rich All-Ireland minor success

THE HIGH point of Galway’s local hurling calendar takes place tomorrow against a stormy backdrop. Not for the first time, local rows and county board politics have presented a national picture of Galway hurling as a throwback to the Old West.

Despite being knocked out of the All-Ireland senior hurling championship at the quarter-final stage, the county final takes place long after most other counties – including finalists Kilkenny and Tipperary – have concluded theirs. It was only confirmed beyond doubt on Tuesday evening that the final, a repeat of the infamous 2006 encounter between Portumna and Loughrea, would actually go ahead.

As it is, Galway referees gathered and voted to agree that one of their number should officiate at the game “under protest” as they await the outcome of the investigation into how their colleague, Christy Helebert, was treated at the conclusion of this year’s Loughrea-Mullagh semi-final.

Hurling chairman Miko Ryan ultimately resigned over a complicated row about the scheduling of that particular match. The build-up to this county final could not have been more quarrelsome. It has quite overshadowed the fact Portumna, the All-Ireland champions, are seeking to become the first club to retain the national title for a third year in succession.

It has obscured, too, the fact Galway claimed another All-Ireland minor title under Mattie Murphy in September.

It makes the progress of the senior squad, who under John McIntyre showed plenty of heart – if some of the familiar failures – seem like the dim and distant past as well. This week, McIntyre issued something of a clarion call to the county in his weekly column in the Connacht Tribune, of which he is sports editor:

“It’s been a bad few months for Galway hurling but we are not going into that now except to say that there is now an overdue burden on the clubs of the county to put vested interests and politics aside and, hopefully, the upcoming annual Hurling Board Convention will mark a turning point in how local GAA business is done,” he wrote. “It’s hard enough to win when everyone is pulling together, but when there are factions working to their own agendas, on-field results can be seriously compromised.”

So what is eating Galway hurling? “This idea that all the clubs in Galway are at one another’s throats and that this has prevented success at senior level is too simplistic,” says one coach in the county who prefers not to be named.

“It is not as bad as people say. There have been various county board rows going back the years but at senior level, the players really get on together, there is no ill-feeling. That is not the problem. The big problem remains trying to bring the minor players through to senior level. It is those few years after minor that we are failing them. And we may need to look at how we are coaching those players as well. Someone once said the thing about Galway hurling is we train to play ourselves. And that can come against us down the line.”

Since winning their fourth and last senior All-Ireland title in 1988, Galway hurling seemed to get stuck in a rut. Recently, two major events have happened. Ger Loughnane, the Clare cult hero, was lured out of retirement, attracted by the challenge of correcting the alchemy of Galway hurling. His arrival was greeted rapturously: “Like the Blessed Virgin there in Knock a few weeks ago,” one man observed.

His two-year term and the county board meeting that led to his resignation caused strong divisions within the Galway hurling board. Loughnane was among the voices strongly in favour of the county notionally moving eastwards and competing in the Leinster championship.

That has happened, although Loughnane was not around to benefit from it.

Again, however, the subject divided Galway hurling people, with some against the move on the ideologically foolproof grounds the county is not in Leinster.

What to do with Galway, a miracle county abundant with hurlers in the relatively barren province of Connacht, has always been a problem for the GAA. Whatever the reservations, voting to play in Leinster was an acknowledgement from within the county that change was necessary. But both those occurrences illuminated the many different beliefs within the county as to how the game should develop. That has long been a thorn in the side of John Molloy, the Ballinasloe coach and referee ,who has repeatedly advocated an overhaul of the Galway hurling system.

“What I mean is an integrated, holistic approach where everyone is united and where all squads, managements, county boards members and delegates are connected and mutually informed and there is a system in place,” he explained.

“We have some very dedicated people working for Galway hurling – John Fahy, for instance, is a man I know well and he puts untold time into his role. But he knows my view on this. The problem, as I see it, is we use so much time and energy solving the internal rows and bickering there is not enough left to address the problems for Galway hurling.

“I remember going over to New Zealand to look at their rugby system at club level and arguing this is what we should be doing. Kilkenny have done it. Waterford are doing it now. We have a fine record at minor level – five All-Irelands since 1991. But no attention has been paid to the critical stage after that, when too many of the best players just disappear. And the proof our system is not working lies in the fact we have won anything at senior level since 1988.”

Molloy has drafted a radical proposal he admits may be like whistling in the wind, including a plan to reorganise the All-Ireland minor championship into four groups of three teams, two in Leinster and two in Munster, playing on a round-robin basis. It would give all teams five games; most importantly, it would give Galway five games, more games that would be beneficial.

That scores of great Galway minor teams have disappeared into a Bermuda Triangle has become part of modern GAA mythology. Galway have won eight All-Ireland minor titles since 1983, the county’s first. Kilkenny (19 in total) have won the same number since 1980. But Galway have contested 17 finals over that period, a statistic that suggests a hell of a lot of high-calibre hurlers with unfulfilled senior careers knocking around the county.

The failure to push on and win at senior level (a narrow defeat to Kilkenny in ’93, a three-point loss in an edgy final against Tipperary in ’01, a failure to capitalise on the sensational semi-final coups on Kilkenny in ’01 and ’05 are all instances of years when Galway were there or thereabouts) has been frustrating and when the club scene turns ugly, as happened in this year’s semi-final, all the ills of Galway hurling can seem concentrated on those flashpoints.

What happened in the closing minutes of the Loughrea-Mullagh game has been well documented. The verbal abuse directed at Helebert was far from unprecedented: it has long been part of GAA culture and too often brushed under the carpet.

That it was filmed and posted on YouTube drew national attention and it was branded a disgrace. But most GAA referees could testify to being subject to X-rated criticisms from the Gaels behind the wire. The physical intimidation directed at Helebert is a different matter. The Mullagh club consistently denied the three players implicated struck Helebert. But the referee took the precaution of visiting a doctor’s surgery after the match and has medical confirmation he was marked by a hurley.

The Galway referees are appalled at the decision to reduce the 48-week bans on the Mullagh players to 12 weeks, thereby downgrading the seriousness of the alleged offences.

“We aren’t happy but we didn’t want to go down the road of a strike either,” said one referee this week. “You could get into the situation of someone breaking a picket and more conflict and it wouldn’t do Galway hurling any good.

“But if what happened to Christy Helebert happened in the work place, it would be a health and safety issue: the place would be closed and there would be an immediate investigation. We want to know why those proposed bans were changed from category five to four when the referee’s report is meant to be gospel. We want to know why there wasn’t a major and thorough investigation. The referees have their house in order. The hurling board does not.”

Recent history between Portumna and Loughrea, who became embroiled in a row over the nature of the exchanges in their last final meeting three yeas ago, means close attention will be paid to this reunion.

John McIntyre this week stated there is “an onus on both Portumna and Loughrea to behave responsibly in what is traditionally Galway’s showcase event.”

Like the Mullagh-Loughrea semi-final, that match three years ago was tough and tense and ended with a late, dramatic score. Some argue the legend of the Portumna-Loughrea match far exceeds the reality. One of the most contentious aspects was the treatment meted out to Joe Canning, the incandescent young forward whose arrival was supposed to transform the fortunes of Galway hurling. Canning has excelled since then but has already become hardened to the vicissitudes of life in maroon.

His two years of senior life have earned him two All-Stars and a Young Hurler of the Year award but he may be beginning to understand how elusive a senior medal has become for Galway men.

“I think we have reason to be hopeful,” says John Molloy, who will travel later this month with a delegation that includes former county captain David Collins and corner back Damien Joyce for what must be the most novel charity invention of all time: a Poc Fada in the Himalayan mountains.

“John McIntyre took us in the right direction last year and he was down three defenders in that Waterford match. He has a good management team in place and if he is given time, they can bring Galway back.”

For now, though, the county final brings the curtain down on another uncertain year for Galway hurling. It ought to be a celebration of hurling in the county but there will be many fingers crossed that the game can sing the year out on a bright note.