Claregalway primed for a big display in Connacht intermediate football final

CLAREGALWAY will bid to become the first Galway club since 2010 to secure the Connacht intermediate football championship title when they face Roscommon outfit, Michael Glaveys at Hyde Park on Sunday (2pm).

In all, five Galway clubs – Caherlistrane (2005), Moycullen (2007), St. Michael’s (2008), Naomh Anna, Leitir Moir (2009) and St. James’ (2010) – have won the provincial crown but, incredibly, no team from the county has been able to lay their hands on the Cup in the last six attempts.

Instead, Mayo have dominated this competition with five wins between 2011 and 2016 with St. Croan’s of Roscommon securing the only other trophy in 2014 when accounting for Killanin in that decider.

It has been a poor return in recent years for the county but Claregalway manager Paul Kilgannon puts little stock in this. “No, we don’t care what has happened in the past. We just want to go and have a cut at this,” he says.

“I suppose, Claregalway would feel we have the nucleus of a real team coming. A substantial adult senior football team that has been a long time in the making and has had a lot of false dawns. I think, for us, and I know it is a cliché, but we want to play to the best of our ability. We kind of fancy that if we do that, it will take a hell of a team to stop us.”

Undoubtedly, Claregalway have proved their mettle in this respect already in 2017 – by defeating Oughterard, Menlough and An Spidéal in the earlier rounds of the county championship before coming through an epic – drawn game and replay – against Kilkerrin/Clonberne in the county semi-final.

They subsequently defeated Williamstown 1-12 to 0-12 in the decider – Conor Kelly netting the all-important goal on 19 minutes – before, amazingly, they overcame St. John’s of Sligo by 1-12 to 1-10 in the Connacht semi-final in Markievicz Park just 24 hours later.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.