Cyril Farrell excited about emerging Galway talent

By Cian O’Connell

Cyril Farrell’s passion for hurling and Galway will never diminish. Sport peppers nearly every conversation. Farrell, who remains a totemic figure, is optimistic about the potential in Micheál Donoghue’s team.

Ultimately, Farrell connects the past, present, and future of Galway hurling. So, the fact that new players and leaders are beginning to emerge matters deeply. “It is a lovely time to be on the panel in Galway now because there is a fresh team coming,” is Farrell’s verdict.

“We will say you've a few older lads still there, but it is time for the newer lads, the Cianan Fahys, the Gavin Lees, and these lads coming through. It is their team now.

"There's places up for grabs. You'd Rory Burke from Oranmore, who played well the last day. Joe Rabbitte's young fella, Jason Rabbitte, young (Aaron) Niland, and (Cillian) Trayers full-back.

“They're all new names. It was refreshing to see. They played very well. Micheál Donoghue will be very happy with the way they played. Now, he wouldn't be happy with the result. Yet, they showed great spirit.”

Does Farrell think that this emerging crop of Galway players can compete strongly for silverware soon? “I do, I believe we've the pieces, but it is like a jigsaw,” Farrell responds.

“It is about putting the pieces together. Sometimes you need a different mixture to get the best out of it. There's a lot of very good hurlers in Galway. It is easier to build a team in Leinster than it is in Munster, if you look at it that way because Munster is stronger.

“You've a great chance. Galway have three games at home in the Leinster Championship this year, you've Kilkenny, Dublin, and Offaly.

“Then you've Kildare away and Wexford away. Win your home games, you should definitely be in a Leinster final with the talent we have.”

Farrell was in charge for three All-Ireland victories in the 1980s. Was it as much of a mental challenge as a physical one to get Galway people to believe that significant possibilities existed in the hurling world? “Definitely, you'd to convince them that they were good enough,” Farrell replies.

“We always felt we'd good hurlers; we were there or thereabouts the whole time. To change the attitude was the big thing. Why shouldn't we be the winners rather than the runners-up the whole time. There was a little bit of that preaching every night, every night, every night. I convinced them early on that we'd be the fittest team.

“Now, we mightn't have been the fittest team, but I had them believing they were - that sort of way.

“It was mind over matter, and the mental attitude was a very big part of that. Just to get them really believing. If defeat came in 1980, it would've really, really hurt. They'd be driven so hard, there was no mention of defeat. It was a case of go out to win.”

So, how did Galway accomplish those missions? “The training was very physical,” Farrell explains.

“If you did it now, you'd be brought up before - they'd say it was inhuman. The training was very hard. We'd have done blocks of training which wouldn't have been done that much at the time. We might do two sessions a day sometimes. You'd put a terrible lot into the training.

“Our inhouse matches would be very strong. Definitely, if you preach a little bit every night, to get into their heads. I believe when you're a manager, when you get to know the players, you become their psychologist, too. They're all different.

“You've to treat everyone different. If you really get to know them inside out, you'll know what will make every lad tick. We're all different in different ways, but once you get to know them, you can bring them to heights they mightn't expect to get to.”

Did doing the Laochra Gael episode provide an opportunity to reflect on his career? “You meet fellas and you'd be talking,” Farrell says.

“You don't feel the years going. When you think, 1980, that is 46 years ago, nearly half a century. Time flies. We had some great victories; we'd big defeats too. That is part of sport.

“Going through it, I remember having a school’s team with St Raphael's in Loughrea. We put a squad together of girls playing camogie, we'd train when they got straight off the buses in the morning at eight o'clock or 10 to eight.

“We got into a groove of winning. We won eight Senior ‘A’ All-Irelands in a row. It wasn't that it was planned, it just started. You never know when you get fresh talent in, when you put the work into them, if you start winning, you don't know where you'll stop.”

Farrell, a true GAA enthusiast, is still dreaming.

Laochra Gael Series:

Programme 1: Conor McManus, 9.30pm, Thursday 22nd January

Programme 2: Cyril Farrell, 9.30pm, Thursday 29th January

Programme 3: Grace Walsh, 9.30pm, Thursday 5th February

Programme 4: Marty Clarke, 9.30pm, Thursday 12th February

Programme 5: Pádraig Horan, 9.30pm, Thursday 19th February

Programme 6: Neil McManus, 9.30pm, Thursday 26th February

Programme 7: Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, 9.30pm, Thursday 5th March

Programme 8: Kevin McManamon, 9.30pm, Thursday 12th March