Update of Galway GAA website’s history section stirs the memories

By John Fallon

THE photographs collected from all around the county to update the Galway GAA website has produced a treasure trove charting the people and teams who rose to distinction over the recent decades.

From Connacht rugby skipper John Muldoon as a wiry minor hurler for Portumna to former Galway hurling defender Tony Og Regan as mascot for Salthill footballers, from GAA president Joe McDonagh lining out for Ballinderreen with his son, to Joe Canning’s dad as a mainstay of a full-forward line that lifted a county junior title, this collection is compelling.

It’s the work of Galway PRO Seamus Finnerty, who has used the Covid-19 lockdown to great effect over the past few months updating the history section on the county’s GAA website.

The Annaghdown clubman has added almost 300 photographs covering the 1980 period to the current day, featuring all the county champions in the various grades. Over 6,000 names are included in the captions, often featuring players who went on to make a mark further down the line.

Eric Elwood, the former Ireland rugby out-half and Connacht coach, is featured as part of a Mervue football side which won the 1988 county intermediate title, a team captained by future Galway United striker Donnie Farragher.

Joe and Ollie Canning’s dad Sean was in a full-forward line which won the junior hurling title for Portumna in 1982. That got them promoted to intermediate which they won a decade later and that, in turn, got them into senior where they went on to win four All-Ireland and six Galway SHC titles.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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