Galway's Conor Whelan pictured ahead of Sunday's Allianz Hurling League game against Limerick at the LIT Gaelic Grounds.
By Cian O'Connell
It turned into one of those manic and memorable evenings. Joy, despair, and disbelief surrounded the last couple of Leinster Championship group games.
Ultimately it ended with Galway’s summer finishing as Dublin celebrated furiously at Parnell Park. When all the sums and equations were completed Wexford, Kilkenny, and Dublin advanced; Galway went reflecting on what might have been.
For the first year since Conor Whelan made his Championship debut Galway wouldn’t contest at least an All Ireland semi-final. Whelan had become accustomed to those critical Croke Park contests between 2015 and 2018.
Seven months on under new manager Shane O’Neill a different dynamic exists. “If you combine it with the fact that we were knocked out on June 15 it has been a long winter,” Whelan admits.
“You are eager to get up to perform really. Settling in with a new management team is always going to take a period. I think it will probably take a while for Shane and his management team to get to know all of the players.
“The best way to get to know players is games. Ultimately that is what the goal is at the moment. Everyone is in the shop window, you have to perform.”
Whelan acknowledges not being involved in the latter stages of the All Ireland Championship was challenging in 2019. “It was strange,” Whelan replies instantly.
“From our perspective it was a very disappointing way to go. A mixture of injuries and loss of form, we just didn't perform on the day, we ended up losing.
Galway's Conor Whelan in Allianz League Hurling action against Westmeath's Tommy Doyle at Pearse Stadium.
“We lost one game and still ended up being out of the Championship. That was a very bitter pill to swallow, but it just shows the fine margins. We are just eager to get back playing and performing.”
At the Donnycarney venue following a few hours of high drama and mixed emotions Galway eventually exited. “That is the way it goes when it is on a round robin basis,” Whelan says. “So you never get too high after you win and you're hoping that there is always going to be a game down the line if you end up losing, to move on from the defeat, and if you win to keep it going.
“It was just the fact we didn't get a chance to perform again, that was our bow for the summer. It was very disappointing, it definitely took a few days to sink in that you were out of the Championship. That is just the way it goes.”
During the remainder of 2019, Whelan and Colm Callanan were integral contributors as Kinvara won a competitive Galway Intermediate Championship. It brought pleasure.
“There was a bit of a silver lining, we went on a run with the club and ended up coming back up senior for the first time in six or seven years,” Whelan admits. “That was nice too, to be able to cap it off with that.
“We definitely got more time to spend with the club boys than we would previously. We were able to gel together, Colm and myself and the club guys. We went on a run and got a massive run of form. We built week on week, we were lucky enough in the final, but we got there in the end.”
Such a determined attitude is one of the reasons why Whelan remains an integral part of the Galway set-up, graduating to the role of vice captain for the current campaign.
On Sunday Galway proved too strong for a spirited Westmeath outfit, who were unable to cope following the dismissal of Aonghus Clarke.
New Galway hurling manager Shane O'Neill.
“It was the first day out in the League, you obviously are going to have lots of work ons afterwards,” Whelan remarks.
“Probably we struggled to get going for a while at the start and the sending off ultimately paved the way for a fairly substantial win in the end. I don't think the scoreline really reflected the performance, there is lots of areas to work on.”
O’Neill will continue to carry out experiements during the coming weeks ahead of the summer and that policy is important. Adding to the depth of the panel is one of the chief missions.
“I think every lad will get a chance at some stage,” Whelan replies. “All the lads who are getting a chance are full value for it. He isn't just going to hand out chances to people not performing in training.
“I think the League is about finding players and giving lads a chance. If lads can get a run of games and perform and if you perform throughout the League, that is going to reflect on the teamsheet in the Championship.”
The time watching the hurling summer unfold brought opportunity for reflection. Next weekend Galway travel to the LIT Gaelic Grounds for an interesting tussle against Limerick.
An appetite and willingness to work exists in the west according to Whelan. “You are eager to get back, like anything the longer you are out from something the more hungry you are to get back,” Whelan comments.
“Mid June is a very long time ago, especially in hurling terms. Obviously you train so much you are eager to play games and eager to test yourself against other teams to see where you are at. That is what the League is about really.”
