Years of heartbreak give way to tears of joy as Galway’s camogie heroes end hoodoo at last

THEY travelled in their thousands to Croke Park on Sunday and they turned out in their droves to honour Galway’s camogie heroes around the county on their homecoming tour the following day. It was a fitting tribute to a remarkable feat.

No doubt, September 15, 2013 will be a date that will live forever in the minds and hearts of Galway camogie.

For it was not only the day that saw the county’s senior side claim the O’Duffy Cup for only the second time ever but it was also a day when the Galway intermediate outfit completed a remarkable double at GAA headquarters by winning the McGrath Cup.

The latter, having lost last year’s decider after a replay, had set the tone when defeating Limerick by 0-12 to 0-10 in the intermediate decider before the senior outfit showed true grit and character to banish their own demons when accounting for Kilkenny by 1-9 to 0-7 in the main event.

Interestingly, the man who spearheaded the extraordinary accomplishment of two All-Ireland wins on the same afternoon was the same person who managed Galway to their first senior victory back in 1996. That man was Sarsfields’ Tony Ward.

Already, his place in the pantheon of Galway camogie was secure following the ’96 victory but, surely now, he will enter local and, indeed, national folklore. “I don’t know about folklore but it is a great feeling,” laughed Ward afterwards.

 When asked how it equated to that historic win in ’96, he said it was difficult to draw comparisons. “It is different because ’96 was just pure disbelief that it could have happened.

A lot of the girls were so young in ’96 as well and if somebody told us that time that it would be 2013 before we would win the next one, it would have been very hard to believe.”

That said, for the long serving Therese Maher, who had already lost five All-Ireland finals in her 16-year senior career, her overriding sentiment would have mirrored her predecessors in ’96 – pure disbelief.

“I think, initially, it is very hard [to come back year after year] once you lose. But you put the gear bag away and then everyone else is getting it out again and going out training. This year, the management were very good I have to say. I did my own bit of training in the winter season and in March/April I started to get that feeling of ‘would the body be able for one more year?’

“When you enjoy it though and it is something you have played for almost all of your life and love, I am so glad I went back now. Today makes up for all of those [other defeats].”

See full coverage in news and sport in this week’s Connacht Tribune