Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Aogán Ó Fearghail pictured with John Connolly at Croke Park on Thursday.
By Cian O'Connell
** **
Galway legend John Connolly is adamant that the Tribesmen will recapture the Liam MacCarthy Cup soon.
Connolly, who served the Castlegar and Galway cause with distinction, believes Micheal Donoghue's team can climb to the summit of the game.
"Yeah, I do," is Connolly's verdict. "We lost in ’75 and we lost in ’79 but we got there again in ’80. That stood to us to make the breakthrough so I think Galway are so close and thereabouts.
"They are learning all the time and the pain that the players feel now after Sunday; they will analyse their own game and go through their own game and probably without even realising it, it’s making better men out of them and better hurlers out of them and a better team out of them for what lies ahead."
Injuries to Joe Canning and Adrian Tuohy impacted Galway greatly during a thrilling All Ireland SHC Semi-Final against Tipperary.
"I would say we were very unfortunate last Sunday with Joe Canning, in particular, having to go off at half-time, that's a huge loss to us in a tight game when you need all the pluses and everything going for you, he was a huge loss," Connolly, who was inducted to the GAA Museum Hall of Fame on Thursday, said.
"If we had had him I would think that we could have won it. It's nothing that Galway lacks, it just could have gone either way, that's a good Tipp team and there was only a puck of a ball in it at the end.
"Adrian Tuohy was a huge loss as well because what happened then was Johnny Coen had to go back corner-back and he was flying it at midfield, he was winning ball and he was carrying ball and that was huge for us. So it changed the whole game the two injuries at half time."
John Connolly won an All Ireland medal with Galway in 1980.
Connolly, who won All Ireland medals with Galway and Castlegar, doesn't agree that the club rivalry is damaging the Corribsiders' senior inter-county challenge.
"I think there’s healthy rivalry in Galway club hurling and that’s proven by the fact that Galway have been very successful at club in the All-Ireland. So I wouldn’t take that. The difference between Kilkenny at underage and being successful coming on at senior and being successful at underage for Galway and coming onto the senior team; the underage fella coming on in Kilkenny comes onto a winning team with great men around him.
"A young fella can be brought on bit by bit and the established player and the star will win ball, throw the ball to a young fella and make life easier for him because they’ve been there and done that.
"A young fella coming onto a Galway team has to play a man’s game straight away and be a star before he’s ready. It’s more difficult for a young fella coming onto a Galway senior team than say Kilkenny.
"While Galway were very successful at minor level for many years, maybe the end product wasn’t in mind, to teach young fellas what they need to know when they lay senior.
"The hurling guile; the cuteness and the composure mightn’t be taught. Maybe too much emphasis on the day goes on winning a minor which maybe isn’t that important.
"It’s far more important to give a young hurler thoughts and ideas and hurling know-how that will help him in the future rather than playing minor."
