Sports
Anthony Cunningham resigns as Galway senior hurling manager
Galway senior hurling manager Anthony Cunningham has tonight released a statement through the Galway GAA saying that he and his management team have resigned from their positions with immediate effect.
The move comes ahead of a meeting tonight to discuss the impasse in Galway over the past number of weeks when, following Cunningham’s ratification as manager for 2016, the Galway senior panel said they had lost confidence in him and his management team.
Cunningham, who led Galway to two All-Ireland finals in his four years in charge, said in his statement he was stepping down “with the best interests of Galway hurling in mind” but he hit out at what he described as a “kangaroo court decision, led by a core group of players” to try and have him ousted.
His statement in full reads as follows:
I, Anthony Cunningham incumbent Senior Hurling Manager since 2012, hereby confirm the
following:
Despite the fact that I was unanimously ratified and supported by the Galway GAA Clubs, the County Hurling and Galway County Committees and having reviewed the current impasse in detail over the past month, it is with great sadness tonight that I and my Management Team announce our resignation from our positions. I do so with the best interests of Galway Hurling in mind and with the priority of best assisting Galway hurling to build on the achievement of 2015.
As a Management team we have exhausted all avenues with support from the clubs, their delegates, the hurling fraternity and County Committees in the past month to bring this impasse to a conclusion and protect Galway Hurling. Despite extensive attempts at genuine dialogue including Independent Arbitration, there were no reasonable explanations offered or given as to the issues that players felt they had.
I believe that the players are misguided in that they are not taking the views of their county on board. They, through their actions, have shown scant respect for, and loyalty to the goodwill shown them by supporters, clubs and County GAA Committees and Management. I contend it is unreasonable to express a lack of confidence in management – how else could we have reached a winning position in an All-lreland Final last September?
I consider this a kangaroo court decision, led by a core group of players orchestrated with the help of others outside Galway, motivated by a desire to unjustly extend their lifespan as inter-county players placing personal agendas above the greater good of Galway Hurling. This goes to the very core of what our Association stands for-there is a national danger now that the democratic and voluntary ethos of the GAA is being overrun by groups of players that wish to indulge in the selection and termination of management.
Galway Hurling is bigger than any one individual and given that this current impasse shows no immediate sign of abating, I reluctantly conclude that it best that I now step aside.
I hold a deep conviction that the current Galway management team is the one best positioned to deliver Galway hurling to the next level and bring All-lreland Senior success to our county. I thank my family, my management team colleagues and their families for their support and I am very sensitive the hurt they have endured in the very recent past. I salute the county officials and officers and numerous volunteers who have given me magnificent support over the last five years.
With Disappointment & Sincerity,
Anthony Cunningham
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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GALWAY United need to guard against any kind of complacency when they make the short hop down the M18 this Friday to take on Treaty United at the Markets Field (7.45pm).
The game is a meeting of the two form teams in the division, and as in previous meetings between the sides, will have an additional edge given the number of former United players in the home side’s ranks, and the pair of Limerick lads playing for United.
There might have been just the eight meetings between the sides since Treaty became the latest iteration to represent Limerick in the League of Ireland in 2021, and while United have yet to lose to the men in the candy-cane strips, there has never been more than a goal in four of their eight wins.
The most recent of those was back in February, when Rob Slevin scored the only goal of the game in Eamonn Deacy Park after a tough battle against a side who made a slow start to the season, before finally finding their groove in the past month.
Having taken just three points from their first six games before finally getting a win against Longford Town, they reverted to type with just one point from their next three games, but are now on a run of four wins on the spin, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.
Their most recent win was a 3-0 victory away to Longford Town last Saturday, and they could have won by double that against the only side to have beaten United this season. That in itself is a warning.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty
While the Salthill Devon men’s team might have lost their grip on the Connacht Junior Cup that they held for two seasons, the club’s women’s side have picked up the mantle and on Sunday last in Headford were crowned provincial champions with a 4-3 win over Manulla.
Following midweek wins for Maree/Oranmore and Knocknacarra, the stage is now almost set for the semi-finals of the Michael Byrne Cup with Salthill Devon meeting St Bernard’s on Sunday in an outstanding quarter-final, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Maree/Oranmore, while Colga will face Knocknacarra in the other last four contest.
Just one league issue remains to be decided, with the Championship runners-up position up for grabs, as Dynamo Blues have to win their two remaining games in order to overtake Colemanstown United who have finished their programme.
WOMEN’S CONNACHT CUP FINAL
Salthill Devon 4
Manulla 3
Ellerose O’Flaherty scored twice as Salthill Devon were crowned provincial champions with a win over a Mayo side who were losing in the final for the second year in succession.
Backboned by a number of players who previously had League of Ireland experience with Galway WFC, Devon suffered an early set back when Jess Nolan put Manulla ahead, before O’Flaherty levelled matters with a cracking finish on 20 minutes, which was quickly followed by a long-range free-kick from Aoife Walsh.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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