Galway GAA

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Galway GAA
Irish: Gaillimh
Province: Connacht
Nickname(s): The Tribesmen
County colours: Maroon and White
Ground(s): Pearse Stadium, Galway
St. Jarlath's Park, Tuam
Dominant sport: Dual county
Competitions
NFL: Division 2
NHL: Division 1A
Football Championship: Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship: Liam McCarthy Cup
Ladies' Gaelic football: Brendan Martin Cup
Camogie: O'Duffy Cup
Standard kit

The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae na Gaillimhe) or Galway GAA are one of the 32 GAA county boards in Ireland; they are responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway, and for the Galway inter-county teams.

Galway is one of the few 'dual counties' in Ireland, competing in a similar level in both hurling and gaelic football. The two sports are run by separate county boards in Galway, which is unusual, even for a dual county.

Geographically the two games are also quite separate in the county. Generally, football is the dominant game in Connemara, the Aran Islands, Inishbofin, North Galway and the areas around Ballinasloe. Hurling, meanwhile, is traditionally stronger in the South and East parts of Galway, with clubs such as Portumna, Ardrahan, and Gort each having multiple county titles. Galway city has strong teams in both codes, such as Castlegar in hurling and Salthill-Knocknacarra in football. There are exceptions to this rule of thumb, with hurling pockets in football areas and vice-versa. Also, some parish clubs have fielded senior teams in hurling and football in the same season, such as Ballinasloe, Monivea Abbeyknockmoy and Moycullen.

Governance

See also: Gaelic Athletic Association county

Galway GAA has jurisdiction over the area of the traditional county of Galway. Galway GAA forms a part of the provincial branch, Connacht GAA. Unlike other counties in Ireland, Gaelic games in Galway are run by two separate county boards. Gaelic football is organised by the Galway football board and hurling is organised by the Galway hurling board. This separation resulted in two different county crests, two different county jerseys and two different team sponsors, before the crests, sponsorship and jerseys of the two teams were amalgamated in 2013.[1] The boards in Galway also organise the annual county championships in football and hurling for the clubs of Galway

Crest

Until 2013, the football and hurling boards of Galway both used their own separate county crests for their teams. Galway's final football crest depicted a Galway hooker, a traditional fishing boat, along with a gaelic football and contained the county motto "Ceart agus Cóir", while the final hurling crest was based on the coat of arms of Galway city, with the county's Irish name, Gaillimh, and the initials CLG, which is short for Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, the GAA's Irish name, underneath.

The teams began using the same jerseys and crest in 2013, ahead of that year's Football and Hurling National Leagues. The teams new crest was, for the most part, the same as the hurling crest with the most notable differences being the angle of the boat, and the replacing of CLG with GAA.

  • Galway city coat of arms

  • Final crest to be used solely by hurling team

  • Galway football crest 2004-2013

  • First universally used crest
    2013–present

Sponsorship

Years Sponsor
Senior Football Team Senior Hurling Team
1880s-1980s No Sponsor
1980s–1990 Tommy Varden Catering No Sponsor
1990–2008 Supermac's
2008–2011 Aer Arann
2011–2012 Cancer Care West
2013- Supermac's

The first sponsor of any Galway team was Tommy Varden's Catering service, in the mid to late 1980s. Sponsorship wasn't as open in the GAA at the time, and it wasn't until 1991 that regulations around sponsorship were eased. Tommy Varden sponsorship of the footballers was followed by the Supermac's fast food chain sponsoring the hurlers. In 2008, Tommy Varden ended the 25 year association with Galway football, and was replaced by Aer Arann as sponsors.[2] After entering receivership, however, Aer Arann were forced to pull out of the sponsorship two years early, having sponsored the team in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons.[3] In 2011, it was announced that the footballer's jersey would carry the logo of Cancer Care West.[4] This made Galway the first GAA team to display the name of a charity on their county jersey rather than a corporate sponsor.

Starting in the 2013 season, and with a five year sponsorship planned, both teams are both sponsored by Supermac's, previously the sponsors of only the hurlers.[5]

Gaelic football

History

Early years

The first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship took place in 1887. In that season, the tournament was an open draw, while from 1887 until 1891, counties were represented by the club who had won the county championship. The Galway championship was not started until the 1889 season however, meaning Galway had no county champions. Galway were supposed to play their first match in the All-Ireland against Wexford, but did not play, allowing Wexford a pass into the next round. The following 1888 season was supposed to see the introduction of provincial championships, but Galway were the only team in Connacht at the time. Due to the season being cut short by a tour to America, the semi-finals, for which Galway would have qualified as Connacht's representatives, never took place. They were also absent from the 1889 championship. In 1890, Galway were given a bye to the semi-final as the only Connacht team, and were, as in 1887, drawn against Wexford. Like 1887, the Tribesmen again failed to play their match, giving the Leinstermen a free pass to the final.

It wasn't until the 1900 season that Galway were involved again. 1900 saw the introduction of a new All-Ireland format. The four provincial championships would be played as usual, with the four champions playing in the "Home" championship, and the winners of the Home final going on to face London in the All-Ireland final. This was also the case for the 1901, 1902 and 1903 championships. Once more the only Connacht team, the Tribesmen advanced to the semi-finals of the Home championship. The game again failed to take place, but this time Galway were the beneficiaries, with Antrim giving the team a pass. This resulted in the bizarre situation of a Galway team reaching the Home final without playing a single match. In 1900, thirteen years after the first chamionship, Galway played in their first match of the competition, in the final against Tipperary, and were beaten by 2-17 to 0-1.

1901 saw the first ever Connacht championship take place. Galway beat Roscommon in the semi-finals, but were beaten by Mayo in the first ever final. With the exception of 1902 and 1904, where Galway and Mayo respectively were unopposed, a Connacht championship was staged each season after this, which until 2001's introduction of a qualifier system, granted the winner an All-Ireland semi-final berth.

Despite having represented the province a number of times by default, it wasn't until 1911, that Galway earned the right to call themselves full Connacht champions, when the Tribesmen defeated Roscommon by a single point on a score of 1-03 to 1-02. They were beaten by Cork in the semi finals, losing by 3-4 to 0-2. Galway were also Connacht champions in 1913 and 1917, without winning their semi-finals, but the 1919 championship saw them reach their first ever All-Ireland final. After beating Cavan 4-2 to 2-2 in the replay of their semi-final, the Tribesmen lost the final by 2-5 to 0-1, against Kildare.

Galway won their first ever title in the 1925 championship. The championship has become known for the farcical manner in which the play-offs took place. The Connacht final was not held in time to produce a team to play the other three provinces in the semi-finals. Mayo, the previous season's Connacht champions were nominated to represent the province. Mayo beat Wexford in their semi-final, while Kerry beat Cavan in the other semi-final. However, both Kerry and Cavan were disqualified for fielding illegal players. Mayo were declared champions without the need for a final. However, in the meantime, Galway defeated Mayo in the Connacht final, which caused confusion. They withdrew their nomination of Mayo to represent Connacht, chose Galway as rightful Connacht champions and All-Ireland champions.

This was deemed unsatisfactory, however, and the GAA ordered the semi-finals to be replayed, with Galway taking the place of Connacht champions. However, Kerry complained that their semi-final victory over Cavan should stand. When the GAA insisted that it should not stand, Kerry withdrew, leaving Cavan to automatically proceed to the final. Galway defeated Cavan in the final. The farce went on so long that the final was not played until January 10, 1926. In the end Cavan, despite having previously been disqualified, finished with a silver medal, Mayo, despite having previously been declared champions, were eliminated, and Galway, despite having previously been removed from the tournament, were champions.

Their next title came under more straightforward circumstances, in 1934. They beat Dublin 3-5 to 1-9 in the final to take the Sam Maguire Cup to Connacht for the first time since it was originally presented to the winning team in 1928. Four years later in the 1938 championship, Galway claimed their third football All-Ireland. The final with Kerry had to replayed after it finished level at 3-3 to 2-6, but the Tribesmen won the replay 2-4 to 0-7. Title number four came nearly twenty years later when Galway beat Cork 2-13 to 3-7 in the 1956 final inCroke Park.

1960s success

Galway and Down in action in the 1965 National League semi-final

1966 was perhaps Galway's most successful year in Gaelic football. Their Connacht campaign began in Castlebar against Roscommon, Galway winning, by a score of 1–11 to 0–5. In the final, the Tribesmen came up against Mayo in Castlebar and were fortunate to win, edging Mayo out by a single point with a final score of 0–12 to 1–8. The semi-final win over Cork was a close affair as Johnny Geraghty made two wondrous saves from Niall Fitzgerald in the second half. Galway eked out a win 1–11 to 1–9 with Jimmy Duggan again outstanding and Coleen McDonagh fitting in well and Cyril Dunne (1–7) best in attack. Meath defeated Down in the other semi-final and were firm favourites to beat Galway in the final. Galway travelled as a united front to the final and pulverized Meath to win comfortably by 1–10 to 0–7. That victory sealed a memorable "3 In A Row" of All-Ireland titles.

1970s to early 1990s

Despite a number of All-Ireland final appearances in the early 1970s and another in the 1983 championship, neither decade was as successful for the Tribesmen as the 60s had been. Galway made it to the final in 1971, 1973 and 1974, but lost each time, being beaten by Offaly, Cork and Dublin respectively.

Galway won five Connacht titles in the 1980s, but qualified for only one All-Ireland final. The team did come close to making the final at the expense of eventual All Ireland champions Offaly in 1982, leading for most of the 1982 All Ireland semi-final, before succumbing to a point from Brendan Lowry.

The one final the team did qualify for in the decade was in 1983, where they came up against Dublin, in a match now infamous for foul play and thuggery. After an undisciplined beginning to the game, Barney Rock scored a bizarre goal from 40 yards after a poor free-out from Galway goalkeeper Padraig Coyne. The Galway players protested, claiming the goal should not have stood, due to Dublin manager Kevin Heffernan interfering with play as he attended to the injured Joe McNally, but the goal stood. Not long after, following a tussle in midfield, Dublin's Brian Mullins swung back his arm and connected with Brian Talty and the referee decided to send Mullins off. Shortly before half-time a number of players clashed beneath the Hogan Stand, leading referee John Gough to send off a player from each side, Dublin's Ray Hazley and Galway's Tomás Tierney.

The match remained heated until half-time. Players from both sides clashed in the tunnel as they left the field for the break, and although rumours circulated for years about the incident, whatever happened in the tunnel, stayed in the tunnel. Whatever peace had the time apart may have brought completely disappeared five minutes after the restart, with the dismissal of Kieran Duff of Dublin after he kicked Galway’s Pat O’Neill while he was on the ground. This left Dublin with 12 men on the field to Galway's 14. Galway, however, could not make their two man advantage count and ultimately lost 1-10 to 1-8. In the aftermath of the match, Galway players Tomás Tierney and Peter Lee were given one month bans, while four individuals from the Dublin team received bans including a 12 month ban to Duff, for the kick to O'Neill's head, and a 3 month ban to manager Heffernan.[6]

Depleted by four injuries and a fifth to free-taker Gay MacManus, Galway were well beaten in 1984 semi-final by Kerry, but came close in the 1986 semi-final with Tyrone, as well as against Cork in 1987, when Larry Tompkins forced a replay. After the semi-final against Cork, however, the team hit a slump provincially, which kept them out of the reckoning for some time.

Late 1990s revival

It wasn't until 1995 that the team won another Connacht title, but the semi-final ended in defeat again, with a three-point loss to Tyrone. Galway did not have to wait as long for their next Connacht Championship. In the 1998 championship, led by Mayo-born manager John O'Mahony, and with outstanding performances from Ja Fallon and Michael Donnellan in the final, along with a superbly taken goal from a young Padraig Joyce, Galway beat Kildare to become All-Ireland champions.

2000 and 2001

Galway made a strong start to the new millennium. After beating Leitrim in the Connacht final, Galway faced Kildare in the semi-final, winning by 0-15 to 2-6 to progress to the final, with Pádraic Joyce scoring 7 of Galway's points.[7] Galway's opponents in the final were a Kerry team managed by eight time All-Ireland winning player, Páidí Ó Sé. Galway came from behind to draw level with Kerry at 0-14 each, putting the game through to a replay. In the replay, however, Galway were beaten by four points, with a final score of 0-17 to 1-10.

Galway came back the following year, however. Due to rule changes in the 2001 season, a qualifier round was introduced to allow teams eliminated from their provincial championship to make it through to the latter stages of the competiotion. Galway were forced to make use of this new 'back door' after they were knocked out of the Connacht championship in the semi-finals by Roscommon. Galway were put into Round 3 of the qualifiers, where they came up against Armagh. After a hard fought match Galway came out as winners on a scoreline of just 0-13 to 0-12, Paul Clancy scoring the winning point.[8] After that, Galway faced beaten Munster finalists Cork in Round 4, who they beat by a score of 1-14 to 1-10 to qualify for the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

In the quarters, the team came up against Roscommon, the team that had knocked them into the qualifiers to begin with. Galway made use of their second chance, beating the Rossies by 0-14 to 1-05, to qualify for a semi-final against fellow 'back door' team Derry. Galway came out on top in the semi-final, beating the northerners by three points to qualify for the All-Ireland final, thus becoming the first team to qualify for an All-Ireland final without being champions of their own province. They went into the final as massive underdogs, however, as their opponents Meath had beaten the previous year's champions Kerry 2-14 to 0-05, and had limited Kerry to a single point in the second half.[9][10] Things did not work out as expected for Meath fans however, and after going in level at the break at 6 points apiece, Galway came out after half-time and blew Meath away, scoring 11 second half points to Meath's 2, giving a final score of 0-17 to 0-08. Pádraic Joyce alone scored 10 points in the final to take his tally to 3-45 in eight games, and finished the season as the Championship's top scorer. Captain Gary Fahey lifted the Sam Maguire, giving the Tribesmen their second All-Ireland win in four years, and making Galway the first ever 'back door' champions.

In 2005, Galway won the Connacht Finals by beating Mayo 0–10 to 0–8. They then lost to qualifiers, Cork 2–14 to 2–11 in the All-Ireland Quarter Finals.

In 2008, they again won the Connacht finals over Mayo 2–12 to 1–14. Then Galway fell to the eventual All-Ireland Runners-Up, Kerry, by a score of 1–21 to 1–16.

In 2009, Galway opened the Championship away to London, where they won 1–18 to 1–7. In the semi-final, Galway took on Sligo. With a tied match in injury time, Joe Bergin added his only point of the match followed by a Sean Armstrong goal. Galway made it to their fifth straight Connacht Final where they would face Mayo. Mayo came into the match, on the back of an impressive 3–18 to 0–7 victory over Roscommon. Mayo lead for much of the final, with the score at 2–11 to 0–10, late in the match. Galway attempted a late fightback, which started with a Micheal Meehan free, and with 72 minutes on the clock, Meehan scored a goal that pulled Galway level at 2–11 to 1–14. In the 73rd minute, however, Peadar Gardiner of Mayo put over the winning point, ending Galway's comeback. Galway went into the final round of the qualifiers, where they lost by one point, 0–14 to 0–13, to Donegal, ending their 2009 campaign.

2010s

After the resignation of Liam Sammon, former Armagh manager Joe Kernan became the new Galway football manager. The senior footballers had, overall, a disappointing season in 2010, from their National League campaign, which brought the team close to relegation, to the 2010 Championship, where they were knocked out in round 2 of the qualifiers, after losing to Wexford by a point. Galway won 3 and lost 4 of their 7 National League games. They defeated Monaghan 1-20 to 1-14, Tyrone 1-15 to 0-14 and Dublin 1-14 to 0-14, but lost to Mayo 1-10 to 2-14, Cork 1-17 to 1-19, Kerry 1-9 to 2-16 and Derry 1-12 to 2-13.

They had a disastrous start to the Connacht Championship, just scraping past minnows New York, 2-13 to 0-12. The Connacht semi-final against Sligo showed little improvement. At half-time, Galway trailed Sligo 1-8 to 0-2. However, Galway managed to grab an undeserved draw against Sligo, an Eoin Concannon goal and a Gareth Bradshaw point levelled the match at 1-10 each at full-time. Sligo beat Galway in the replay, on a score of 1-14 to 0-16, knocking Galway into the qualifiers. They faced Wexford in the 2nd round in Pearse Stadium, a week after the Sligo defeat. Their 1-11 to 0-13 defeat against Wexford dumped the team out of the Championship, their second single point qualifier defeat in a row, and Kernan resigned on 4 August 2010, after only one year in charge. Kernan said he felt his position as manager was being 'undermined'.

In October 2010 former Westmeath boss Tomás Ó Flatharta was appointed as the new Galway Manager to replace Joe Kernan. 2011 proved to be another disappointing year for the footballers, however, as they were relegated to Division 2 of the National League. The Connacht championship started poorly, and despite taking the lead in the first half, Galway were beaten by rivals Mayo, 1-12 to 1-6 sending Galway to the qualifiers again. Galway suffered yet another one-point defeat, this time to Meath 0-11 to 0-10. As a result Tomás Ó Flatharta was axed as manager only after spending one year in charge.

In October 2011, Alan Mulholland, the former Under-21 manager, was appointed as Senior manager as Ó Flatharta's replacement. The 2012 season saw a vast improvement for The Galway Senior Footballers' from the FBD League right through to The League Quarter final which saw wins over Derry, Meath and Monaghan, two defeats by Westmeath and Tyrone, and two draws against Louth and Kildare after extra-time. They had an impressive start to the Connacht Championship trouncing Roscommon 3-15 to 0-10, but this proved a false dawn as the semi-final saw Sligo run out winners, by a margin 2-15 to 0-16, with the two goals coming from Adrian Marren. Galway were knocked out of the 2012 championship by Antrim, which raised many questions around the structures within football in the county, and how the county had fallen so far back in the last 10 years.

2013 saw the Tribesmen have a mixed league campaign, missing out promotion to Division 1 for the second season in a row. They then had a dreadful start to the Connacht Championship, being humiliated in their own ground by neighbours Mayo, on a scoreline of 4-16 to 0-11. Galway ended the game with only 13 players after receiving two red cards. This defeat meant that Galway were put into to the qualifiers. Despite being the first All-Ireland champions to have come through the 'back door', in 2001, Galway's form outside of the Connacht Championship had been extremely poor for a number of years, with a win over Louth in the 2004 All-Ireland standing as their only victory outside of Connacht in the Championship from 2002 to 2012.

In the first qualifier round, Galway were drawn at home against Tipperary. Galway managed their first victory outside of Connacht in just under nine years, with an unconvincing 1-12 to 0-11 win, in Pearse Stadium[11]

Footballing families

Several families have seen successive members play on the inter-county team. Joe Duggan was on Galway football teams that lost three-in-a-row in the 1940s, his son Jimmy was on teams that lost three finals in four years between 1971 and 1974. Michael Donnellan was on the 1925 team that won an All Ireland by default (officially there wasn't any All-Ireland in 1925), and the 1934 team which won it without question. His sons, John Donnellan and Pat Donnellan were on the three-in-a-row teams of the 1960s and grandson Michael sent the pass to Padraig Joyce for a breakthrough goal to win the first of two All Irelands in a four-year period in 1998.

National Football League Finals in which Galway appeared

The following is a list of Galway's National Football League Finals:

Year Venue Winning Team Score Losing Team
1940 Croke Park Galway 2-5 v 1-5 Meath
1957 Croke Park Galway 1-8 v 0-6 Kerry
1965 Croke Park Galway 1-7 v 0-8 Kerry
1966 Croke Park Longford 0-9 v 0-8 Galway
1981 Croke Park Galway 1-11 v 1-3 Roscommon
1984 Limerick Kerry 1-11 v 0-11 Galway
2001 Croke Park Mayo 0-13 v 0-12 Galway
2004 Croke Park Kerry 3-11 v 1-16 Galway
2006 Limerick Kerry 2-12 v 0-10 Galway

Galway won the National Football League in:

  • 1940
  • 1957
  • 1965
  • 1981

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Finals in which Galway appeared

The following is a list of Galway's All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Finals:

Year Venue Result Attendance
1919 Croke Park Kildare 2-5   Galway 0-1 32,000
1922 Croke Park Dublin 0-6   Galway 0-4 11,7922
1925 Croke Park Galway 3-2   Cavan 1-2 Not known
1933 Croke Park Cavan 2-5   Galway 1-4 45,188
1934 Croke Park Galway 3-5   Dublin 1-9 36,143
1938 Croke Park Galway 3-3   Kerry 2-6 Not known
1938 Croke Park Galway 2-4   Kerry 0-7 47,851
1940 Croke Park Kerry 0-7   Galway 1-3 60,821
1941 Croke Park Kerry 1-8   Galway 0-7 45,512
1942 Croke Park Dublin 1-10   Galway 1-8 37,105
1956 Croke Park Galway 2-13   Cork 3-7 70,772
1959 Croke Park Kerry 3-7   Galway 1-4 85,897
1963 Croke Park Dublin 1-9   Galway 0-10 87,106
1964 Croke Park Galway 0-15   Kerry 0-10 76,498
1965 Croke Park Galway 0-12   Kerry 0-9 77,735
1966 Croke Park Galway 1-10   Meath 0-7 71,569
1971 Croke Park Offaly 1-14   Galway 2-8 70,789
1973 Croke Park Cork 3-17   Galway 2-13 73,308
1974 Croke Park Dublin 0-14   Galway 1-6 71,898
1983 Croke Park Dublin 1-10   Galway 1-8 71,988
1998 Croke Park Galway 1-14   Kildare 1-10 65,886
2000 Croke Park Galway 0-14   Kerry 0-14 Not known
2000 Croke Park Kerry 0-17   Galway 1-10 64,094
2001 Croke Park Galway 0-17   Meath 0-8 70,842

Galway won the Sam Maguire Cup and the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in:

  • 1925
  • 1934
  • 1938
  • 1956
  • 1964
  • 1965
  • 1966
  • 1998
  • 2001

Honours

Current football squad

No. Player Position Club
1 Mághnus Breathnach Goalkeeper An Spidéal
2 Donal O'Neill Right Corner Back Cortoon Shamrocks
3 Finian Hanley Full Back Salthill-Knocknacarra
4 Johnny Duane Left Corner Back St. James'
5 Seán Denvir Right Half Back Mícheal Breathnach
6 Gary O'Donnell Centre Back Tuam Stars
7 Gary Sice Left Half Back Corofin
8 Paul Conroy Midfield St. James'
9 Thomas Flynn Midfield Athenry
10 John O'Brien Right Half Forward Clifden
11 Seán Armstrong Centre Forward Salthill-Knocknacarra
12 Conor Doherty Left Half Forward Tuam Stars
13 Michael Martin Right Corner Forward Milltown
14 Michael Meehan Full Forward Caltra
15 Danny Cummins Left Corner Forward Claregalway
No. Player Position Club
16 Tom Healy Substitiute Corofin
17 Colin Forde Substitiute Killererin
18 Declan Kyne Substitiute Clonbur
19 Keith Kelly Substitiute Ballinasloe
20 Greg Higgins Substitiute Corofin
21 Fiontán Ó Curraoin Substitiute Mícheal Breathnach
22 Michael Farragher Substitiute Corofin
23 David O'Connell Substitiute St. James'
24 Mark Hehir Substitiute Milltown
25 Shane Walsh Substitiute Kilkerrin-Clonberne
26 Adrian Varley Substitiute Cortoon Shamrocks
27 Ronan Steede Substitiute Corofin
28 Eoin Concannon Substitiute St. James'

Squad as per Galway vs Cork in the All-Ireland Qualifiers, Round 4, on 27 July 2013

All Stars: 37

1971: P. J. Smyth, Jack Cosgrove, Liam Sammon, Seamus Leydon 1972: Tommy Joe Gilmore 1973: Liam O'Neill, Tommy Joe Gilmore, Liam Sammon 1974: Johnny Hughes, Tom Naughton, Johnny Tobin 1976: Johnny Hughes 1981: Seamus McHugh, Barry Brennan 1983: Stephen Kinneavy 1984: Seamus McHugh 1987: Val Daly 1990: Val Daly 1995: Ja Fallon 1998: Martin McNamara, Tomás Mannion, Seán Óg De Paor, Kevin Walsh, Michael Donnellan, Ja Fallon, Pádraic Joyce 2000: Declan Meehan, Michael Donnellan, Pádraic Joyce, Derek Savage 2001: Kieran Fitzgerald, Declan Meehan, Seán Óg De Paor, Kevin Walsh, Michael Donnellan, Pádraic Joyce 2003: Kevin Walsh

Bold denotes player also won Footballer of the Year for the year in question.

Team of the Millennium

This was a team chosen in 1999 by a panel of Galway GAA past presidents and journalists. The goal was to single out the best ever 15 players who had played for Galway in their respective positions, since the foundation of the GAA in 1884 up to the Millennium year, 2000. The players in bold also made the All-Ireland selection of the GAA Team Of The Millennium.


Goalkeeper
Johnny Geraghty
(Father Griffins)

Right Corner Back Full Back Left Corner Back
Enda Colleran
(Mountbellew/Moylough)		 Noel Tierney
Milltown 		Tom Dillion
(Ahascragh & St Grellan's)

Right Half Back Centre Back Left Half Back
John Donnellan
(Dunmore McHales)		 Tommy Joe Gilmore
(Cortoon Shamrocks)		 Seán Óg De Paor
(An Cheathrú Rua CLG)

Midfield
John 'Tull' Dunne
(St Grellan's)		 Mattie McDonagh
(Ballygar)

Right Half Forward Centre Forward Left Half Forward
Cyril Dunne
(St Grellan's)		 Seán Purcell
(Tuam Stars)		 Seamus Leydon
(Dunmore McHales)

Right Corner Forward Full Forward Left Corner Forward
John Keenan
(Dunmore McHales)		 Frank Stockwell
(Tuam Stars)		 Brendan Nestor
(Dunmore McHales)

Hurling

History

Galway were runners up in the very first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, losing to Tipperary in the 1887 final. The team did not reach another final in the competition until the 1923 Championship. In the 1923 final, Galway defeated Limerick, to become champions for the first time. The team made it to the final four more times in that decade, appearing in 1924, 1925, 1928 and 1929 deciders, but failed to win any of those games.

The story goes that a priest noticed that some of the Galway hurling team leaving mass early one Sunday morning, because they were on their way to Dublin to play a big match. He put a curse on them, that they would never win another All-Ireland (they were champions in 1923). Connacht's reaching the Railway Cup final in 1969 and holding Munster to a draw before succumbing in the replay boosted the game in the province but disaster followed, Galway losing to London in the 1969 championship and Connacht losing at home to Ulster in the preliminary round of the 1970 Railway Cup on a day they ran up 20 wides. By the time their hurlers were heavily beaten in 1975 and 1979 finals the curse was part of the folklore.

In 1980 however, Castlegar won the All-Ireland Club Championship, while Connacht beat Munster in that year's Railway Cup final. In September that year, Galway beat Limerick in a five-goal thriller to win the All-Ireland. John Fahy's Vocational Schools team won an unprecedented eight-in-a-row, Galway players won five more Railway Cups, Galway won minor titles in 1992 and 1994, under-21 in 1996.

The youth and skill of the team which won All Irelands in 1987 (adding the League and Railway cup as well) and 1988 was suggestive of more to come. John Commins penalty and race back to the line was one of the great images indicating the spirit of the team. Galway were narrowly beaten by Tipperary in a controversial 1989 semi-final and Cork in the final of 1990, while the brilliance of the 1993 final defeat by Kilkenny is sometimes forgotten because of the drama that ensued in the following years. Galway clubs took three successive All Ireland titles in 1992–94 and Athenry three in 1997, 2000 and 2001. For the 2009 Hurling Championship, Galway played in the Leinster Championship, starting a trial period of three years there.

In May 2010, Galway won their ninth National Hurling League with a 2–22 to 1–17 win against Cork at Semple Stadium.[12]

Galway opened their 2010 Championship campaign against Wexford. Despite a second half surge by Wexford, Galway still won by 11 points. Galway then went on to play Offaly. The Faithful county gave Galway a strong scare in the Semi-Final. On the 20th of June, Offaly and Galway drew 3-16 to 2-19. Six days later, the Tribesman beat Offaly in the replay to propel them into their first Leinster Final ever. In the final, Kilkenny won their 20th Championship game in a row, beating Galway by a scoreline of 1-19 to 1-12. Even though they lost, Galway were given an automatic All-Ireland Quarterfinal birth. In that All-Ireland Quarterfinal match, the Tribesman squared up against Tipperary. In a closely contested match all the way through, Galway fell short of the semi-finals again, losing 3-17 to 3-16. Tipperary went on to upset Kilkenny, who were looking for their fifth championship in a row, in the 2010 All-Ireland Final.

Expectations were high in 2011, as many thought that Galway were ready to take the next step and possibly participate in an All-Ireland Final. The League started with great success as Galway won 4 of the first 5 matches including a victory over Kilkenny. But, they dropped the last two giving everyone a sour taste. The Championship brought new life and hope to the supporters of Galway who saw the opportunity at hand for the season. After a Leinster Quarter-final win over Westmeath, Galway took on Dublin and played one of their worst games in recent memory. Besides an early goal by Joe Canning, Galway never seemed to be in the game at all. A decent Dublin team rolled through them. But, Galway erased the bad feelings from Leinster Semi-final exit over the next month. In two qualifying matches, Galway knocked out Clare and Cork handily, propelling them into the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland and a match with Munster runners up, Waterford. Waterford had two weeks earlier been beaten by Tipperary by seven goals. It wasn't known whether Galway would be in the All-Ireland, but coming up against Waterford, at such a low ebb, seemed to be at least a ticket to the semi-final, but, that wasn't the case. Waterford absolutely hammered Galway 2-23 to 2-13. Serious questions were being raised about the coaching, selection, squad of players, and overall mindset of Galway hurling.

Anthony Cunningham, who had just recently led to Galway U-21's to an All-Ireland, was brought up to manage the Senior team. Mattie Coleman and Tom Helebert were picked to help Cunningham. Many expected 2012 to be a rebuilding year for Galway hurling. Many thought that the team was a few years away from contention yet and needed to do a lot of growing. The League was not kind to Galway. They barely saved their status in Division One by having to go a replay in a relegation play-off match with Dublin.

Galway reached a Leinster Final against Kilkenny after wins over Westmeath and Offaly. Still, many felt that Kilkenny would easily beat Galway. But, it wasn't to be. Galway produced a massive upset, beating Galway lifted their first Bob O'Keefe Cup ever. The road didn't stop there. After a slow first half, Galway held off a strong Cork team in the All-Ireland Semi-final. Galway were matched with Kilkenny again for the All-Ireland final. Joe Canning's 10th minute goal got Galway rolling and they led by 5 at half time: 1-9 to 0-7. Kilkenny, however, were able to fight back. A Henry Shefflin point taken from the penalty spot separated the sides late in the game but, with 30 seconds left, Davy Glennon was fouled and Joe Canning scored from the free putting the All-Ireland Hurling Final to a replay for the first time in 53 years. In the replay however, Kilkenny overpowered Galway, with a final score of 3-22 to 3-11.

A 2012 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship winners' medal was later sold on eBay for €570.[13]

Honours

Current hurling squad

No. Player Position Club
1 Colm Callanan Goalkeeper Kinvara
2 Kevin Hynes Right Corner Back Sarsfields
3 Fergal Moore Full Back Turloughmore
4 Johnny Coen Left Corner Back Loughrea
5 Shane Kavanagh Right Half Back Kinvara
6 David Collins Centre Back Liam Mellows
7 Jason Grealish Left Half Back Gort
8 Aidan Harte Midfield Gort
9 Andy Smith Midfield Portumna
10 David Burke Right Half Forward St Thomas'
11 Conor Cooney Centre Forward St Thomas'
12 Jonathan Glynn Left Half Forward Ardrahan
13 Damien Hayes Right Corner Forward Portumna
14 Joe Canning Full Forward Portumna
15 Niall Burke Left Corner Forward Oranmore-Maree
No. Player Position Club
16 James Skehill Substitiute Cappataggle
17 Tony Óg Regan Substitiute Rahoon-Newcastle
18 Darragh Burke Substitiute St Thomas'
19 Joseph Cooney Substitiute Sarsfields
20 Iarla Tannian Substitiute Ardrahan
21 Cyril Donnellan Substitiute Pádraig Pearse's
22 James Regan Substitiute St Thomas'
23 Davy Glennon Substitiute Mullagh
24 Aonghus Callanan Substitiute Liam Mellows
25 Niall Donoghue Substitiute Kilbeacanty
26 Niall Healy Substitiute Craughwell

Squad as per Galway vs Clare, All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Quarter Final, 28 July 2013 [14]

All Stars: 79

1971: John Connolly 1975: Niall McInerney, Sean Silke, Iggy Clarke 1976: Joe McDonagh, Frank Burke 1977: P. J. Molloy 1978: Iggy Clarke 1979: Iggy Clarke, John Connolly, Frank Burke 1980: Niall McInerney, Jimmy Cooney, Sean Silke, Iggy Clarke, Joe Connolly, Bernie Forde 1981: Jimmy Cooney, Steve Mahon 1983: Noel Lane 1984: Noel Lane 1985: Seamus Coen, Sylvie Linnane, Pete Finnerty, Brendan Lynskey, Joe Cooney 1986: Conor Hayes, Sylvie Linnane, Pete Finnerty, Tony Keady, Joe Cooney 1987: Conor Hayes, Ollie Kilkenny, Pete Finnerty, Steve Mahon, Michael McGrath, Joe Cooney 1988: John Commins, Sylvie Linnane, Conor Hayes, Pete Finnerty, Tony Keady, Martin Naughton, Michael McGrath 1989: John Commins, Sean Treacy, Michael Coleman, Joe Cooney, Éanna Ryan 1990: Pete Finnerty, Michael Coleman, Joe Cooney 1991: Sean Treacy 1993: Pádraig Kelly, Pat Malone, Joe Rabbitte 1995: Michael Coleman 1996: Tom Helebert 1997: Kevin Broderick 2000: Joe Rabbitte 2001: Ollie Canning, Liam Hodgins, Kevin Broderick, Eugene Cloonan 2003: Ollie Canning 2005: Ollie Canning, Derek Hardiman, Ger Farragher, Damien Hayes 2008: Joe Canning 2009: Ollie Canning, Joe Canning 2010: Damien Hayes 2012: Fergal Moore, David Collins, Iarla Tannian, Damien Hayes, Joe Canning, David Burke

Camogie

After losing eight All Ireland finals including the first final in 1932, Galway won their first All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship in 1996. They won three National Camogie League titles in 1994, 2002 and 2005. Four Galway clubs Oranmore, Pearses, Athenry and Mullagh have won the All Ireland senior club championship.[15]

Notable players include All Star award winners[16] Sinéad Cahalan, Veronica Curtin, Jessica Gill, Regina Glynn, Ann Marie Hayes and Therese Maher, young player of the year for 2004 Stephanie Gannon, junior player of the year winner for 1985 Deirdre Costello, and All Ireland final stars Imelda Hobbins Denise Gilligan Sharon Glynn Eileen Naughton

Under Camogie’s National Development Plan 2010-2015, “Our Game, Our Passion,”[17] five new camogie clubs are to be established in the county by 2015.[18]

Honours

Ladies' Gaelic football

Honours

See also

  • Galway Senior Club Football Championship
  • Galway Senior Club Hurling Championship

References

  1. ↑ "Supermacs chips in to unite Galway codes". Irish Examiner. January 29, 2013. 
  2. ↑ "Aer Arann swoops in to sponsor Galway". Galway City Tribune. 1 February 2008. 
  3. ↑ "Aer Arann ends Galway sponsor link". Irish Examiner. December 17, 2010. 
  4. ↑ "Galway footballers and cancer charity join forces". Galway Advertiser. 28 April 2010. 
  5. ↑ "Supermac’s Officially Unveils Galway GAA Jersey". Supermac's. 12 March 2013. 
  6. ↑ "Scannal! Game of Shame". RTÉ Television. Retrieved 31 December 2013. 
  7. ↑ "Galway striking in clash of styles". Irish Times. 28 August 2000. 
  8. ↑ "As it happened: Galway v Armagh, All-Ireland SFC round 3 qualifier". The Score. 20 July 2013. Back in 2001 Galway and Armagh met in an epic Croke Park third round tussle. The maroons shaded that one by 0-13 to 0-12. Paul Clancy’s sweet winner, crafted by Michael Donnellan, was the decisive blow.
  9. ↑ Breheny, Martin (22 September 2001). "Galway have the stomach to digest Meath". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). Retrieved 22 September 2001. "So much money has flooded onto Meath to win their eighth All-Ireland senior football title tomorrow that it's virtually impossible to believe that this is essentially the same side which took to the championship road last June shackled by uncertainty." 
  10. ↑ O'Rourke, Colm (23 September 2001). "Expect a Royal party by tea". Sunday Independent (Independent News & Media). Retrieved 23 September 2001. "...I expect that Meath, by teatime, will have started a Royal party." 
  11. ↑ "Galway secure unconvincing win over Tipp". Irish Independent. 29 June 2013. 
  12. ↑ "Galway 2–22 Cork 1–17". RTÉ Sport (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). 2010-05-02. Retrieved 2010-05-04. 
  13. ↑ "Galway Board to investigate sale of Leinster winner's medal on eBay". RTÉ Sport. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013. 
  14. ↑ "2011 All-Ireland Hurling Qualifiers Phase III". Galway GAA. Retrieved 2011-07-09. 
  15. ↑ Moran, Mary (2011). A Game of Our Own: The History of Camogie. Dublin, Ireland: Cumann Camógaíochta. p. 460. 
  16. ↑ All-stars on camogie.ie
  17. ↑ Irish Independent March 29 2010: Final goal for camogie
  18. ↑ National Development Plan 2010-2015, Our Game, Our Passion information page on camogie.ie, pdf download (778k) from Camogie.ie download site

External links

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