Date Published: 22-Jun-2011

Dublin 0-19

Galway 2-7

STEPHEN GLENNON

IN O’CONNOR PARK

IF the anger and hurt vented by supporters exiting O’Connor Park, Tullamore on Saturday evening is anything to go by, no matter what happens in the All-Ireland qualifiers, it could be years before confidence is restored in Galway hurling following this harrowing Leinster semi-final loss to Dublin.

And, in truth, that is the precipice Galway hurling stands over this week. Take the emotion out of it – the initial shock, not so much at the defeat but at the lacklustre performance – and Galway have not only lost ground on the likes of Tipperary and Kilkenny, but they have plummeted down the pecking order of top tier counties.

How far they have fallen, the qualifiers will tell, but at the moment they look an outfit devoid of ideas, devoid of heart, devoid of courage. In one fell 70-minute swoop, the perceived progress made in the previous two years under boss John McIntyre and his management set-up has been culled in the most unmerciful fashion.

The killer is, though, that it was not so much a case of Dublin sharpening the blade and pointing it in the right direction on Saturday, but more that Galway threw themselves upon their own sword. This was a meek, meek effort from the men in maroon and white. Mouse-like.

Of course, the management – too slow in making the changes – and, in particular, the players have come in for some severe criticism over the past few days. And rightly so. When a player pulls on the jersey, he does so not wholly for himself. That jersey represents something. It represents his club, his community. It represents tradition. It represents every single Galway supporter who made the journey to Tullamore and paid the admission fee and who DO have a God damn right to feel angry.

It means that you are part of something greater than yourself. It means that you are nothing more than a cog in a machine. It means that you shed every selfish fibre that exists in your body and what you do, you do together. That concept seemed to be well and truly lost on the Tribesmen on Saturday.

So, while the management and players may feel slighted by the ire directed at them this week – they may even feel it is unwarranted given the sacrifices they believe they make – in truth, it is nothing more than they deserve. And if they cannot accept it and understand it, then that arrogance – which is wholly unfounded without an All-Ireland senior medal in their back pocket – will ultimately define this current crop of players, no matter how honest or committed they may think they are.

In any event, after the disjointed, disorganised and shambolic championship displays against Westmeath and Dublin recently, it is time for Galway hurling to go into some sort of rehab and take stock of itself. Yes, let’s all have the pot at the management and players this week – bandy around words like ‘disgraceful’ and ‘embarrassing’ – but a larger issue exists in terms of Galway’s ability to compete in the championship arena.

Sometime, between the early ‘90s and present day, Galway hurling lost something of itself without really knowing it. In any event, Galway do not have the tools at the moment to challenge for honours and, for that, the clubs – indignant in the belief that they are being treated as second class citizens, particularly when it comes to fixtures – and, indeed, Galway Coaching & Games Development – which does do Trojan work in Galway – must take some responsibility for that. For they are at the coalface of Galway hurling.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.