Galway ladies on the right road with new manager

Date Published: 10-Jan-2013

GALWAY senior ladies football may have been on a managerial merry-go-round in recent years, but 2012 County Galway Sports Star Sinead Burke is optimistic that the season ahead can be a good one for the Tribeswomen.

For her part, Burke, who made her senior debut under Pat Costello in 2007, is about to begin the annual voyage under her sixth Galway manager following the appointment of former Cortoon Shamrocks and Caltra boss Barry Downey for 2013.

Six managers in seven years is an incredible statistic and Burke concedes – Gay O’Brien’s three-year tenure in this time aside – the lack of consistency in this area has had a damaging effect on the county’s drive for honours over the last decade.

“Aside from Gay, we haven’t nailed down one manager for any real length of time,” says Burke, who turns 23 next week. “So, that area has been a bit inconsistent. Almost every year, you are going into a new setting, getting to know people and that takes time, especially for a manager.”

Indeed, more often than not, the manager is not appointed or ratified until into the New Year, meaning the players usually miss out on a structured Winter programme. Consequently, it is up to the players themselves to keep themselves in shape until they are recalled. Burkes notes that by this time, Cork, who have won seven of the last eight All-Ireland titles, have already stolen a march.

In any event, Burke, who studied Arts at NUI Galway and is about to continue her studies at St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, has a positive outlook for the year ahead and she believes the Tribeswomen can built on 2012 – a year that began in turbulent fashion but finished with an incredible Connacht final victory over Mayo, an All-Ireland quarter-final win over Clare and a first semi-final appearance in seven years.

Although Galway began the 2012 National League with a heavy defeat to Mayo – and ended the group stage with a loss to Fermanagh – victories over Waterford, Clare, Kerry, Cavan and Tipperary secured them a place in the National League semi-final, where they, once again, overcame Clare on a scoreline of 3-6 to 1-10.

In the decider, they faced old rivals and near neighbours Mayo. The outing was not a success as the Tribeswomen suffered a damning 4-17 to 2-7 defeat. It was the clearest indication yet that Galway was losing significant ground on the leading counties.

The fall-out from that defeat was well-publicised. A number of players, included Burke, walked away from the panel leaving manager Con Moynihan’s position untenable. He subsequently stood down and Caltra’s Gabriel Naughton was appointed as caretaker manager for the remainder of the year.

“That [League final defeat to Mayo] knocked a lot of confidence. Things went downhill after that,” recalls Burke. “I suppose, there was a few players who didn’t join the team at the start of the year – for various reasons – but I felt we lacked a bit of experience in the team. I suppose we also didn’t get the best out of the team. There was more in us.

“I just got to the stage then where I wasn’t really enjoying it and I said if I ever reached that day, it just wasn’t worth going. It is not worth turning up to training if you are not going to have a good session. I decided I wasn’t happy with the way things were going, so I took a quick exit. There were four or five of us that weren’t happy,” says the Oughterard native, who plays her club football with Killanin.

However, with the appointment of Naughton, who had a proven track record with Caltra Cuans, the cogs in Galway ladies football began to turn again. As a result, Burke says she and others needed little convincing to return to the fold while experienced players, who had not been part of the process earlier in the year, made a welcome comeback. She notes that not only added extra impetus and motivation but also nurtured a change in attitude.

In addition, Burke says that after the managerial upheaval, the ladies also felt they had something to prove. “There were a lot of harsh comments like ‘these Galway girls are never happy and are hard to please’. So, to a certain extent, we had a point to prove. That we were not playing football just for the sake of doing it. We wanted to win something by the end of the year and, in that respect, it was great to win a Connacht final.”

That provincial showdown turned out to be one of the most incredible games in the history of ladies football. Heading into the final quarter, Galway were ten points down against a rampant Mayo side at McHale Park but three late goals from Geraldine Conneally, Eilis Gannon and substitute Gillian O’Connor turned the game on its head as Galway won out on a scoreline of 4-10 to 1-17.

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