Sports
Young and old celebrate magnificent effort by Corofin
BACK in 1990, on the second Sunday of September, an image sticks in my mind of a fanatical Corofin supporter leaving the county final minutes before the end, with his club flag straddled across his shoulders in the hope of better days to come.
He had just witnessed his side taking a 4-12 to 2-3 hiding in the county final at the hands of Salthill and we all thought that we were watching a major sea change in the balance of Gaelic football in Galway . . . from country heartlands to more urban power centres.
A few days later, I was in conversation with the then Salthill manager Tony Regan, who while delighted with his own club’s success that day, cautioned me into drawing too many dramatic long term conclusions about the nature of the result.
“Country clubs like Corofin will come back stronger than ever. The football traditions is there and they’ll be back,” he said at the time, and how right he was.
Last Saturday in Tullamore right in the middle of the field, I met that same supporter who so forlornly walked out of Tuam Stadium on September 9, 1990, one of the club’s greatest fans over the years, one John Joe Forde from Myles Park in Corofin.
John Joe has seen off eight decades of life and last Saturday, he was there with his flag and smiling as happily as any seven-year-old going to his first match.
“Well, what did the Connacht Tribune think of that,” he asked, knowing full well that the reply was going to be his liking. “Brilliant, just brilliant,” I answered rather obediently. “Well it was,” he replied and “maybe even a bit better”. At that moment, John Joe wasn’t gone 80 – his face and mind was that of a 10-year-old.
His mood captured the sheer joy of Corofin’s success last Sunday as friends, girlfriends, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, congregated around their own hero. Everyone knew that one mighty obstacle had been overcome in the dream of winning a second club title – they’re not there yet, but they’re mightily close.
Gary Sice, Galway’s Gaelic football Sport Star of 2014, knew that one very difficult bridge had been crossed at Tullamore on Saturday, but typical of the Corofin attitude, there was to be no talk of celebration over the weekend.
“Today is a big day for us, but it’s still just another step along the way. We really put a massive effort, not only today, but since Christmas. A week of recovery is what we need now but there’ll be no talk of celebration,” said Sice.
He admitted to being ‘done’ at the end of the game: ‘done’ in the sense that he had nothing left to give and like the rest of his colleagues, every drop of sweat had been squeezed from his pores over the course of an intense hour’s play.
“It really was a very intense game of football – there was just no let up from start to finish. We never expected it to be any other way – St. Vincent’s were All-Ireland champions and hadn’t been beaten in over two years. We knew that a mighty effort was required,” said Sice.
Like many more of his team-mates, he was loud in his praise for Stephen Rochford and the meticulous preparation that went into this game, although the manager was quick to give the credit to the players.
“There’s a massive talent here in Corofin but that’s matched by a huge determination and honesty too. We didn’t fear St. Vincent’s today, but we did respect them: they had come through the landmine of the Dublin championship and had real quality through their ranks,” said Rochford.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GALWAY United need to guard against any kind of complacency when they make the short hop down the M18 this Friday to take on Treaty United at the Markets Field (7.45pm).
The game is a meeting of the two form teams in the division, and as in previous meetings between the sides, will have an additional edge given the number of former United players in the home side’s ranks, and the pair of Limerick lads playing for United.
There might have been just the eight meetings between the sides since Treaty became the latest iteration to represent Limerick in the League of Ireland in 2021, and while United have yet to lose to the men in the candy-cane strips, there has never been more than a goal in four of their eight wins.
The most recent of those was back in February, when Rob Slevin scored the only goal of the game in Eamonn Deacy Park after a tough battle against a side who made a slow start to the season, before finally finding their groove in the past month.
Having taken just three points from their first six games before finally getting a win against Longford Town, they reverted to type with just one point from their next three games, but are now on a run of four wins on the spin, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.
Their most recent win was a 3-0 victory away to Longford Town last Saturday, and they could have won by double that against the only side to have beaten United this season. That in itself is a warning.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty
While the Salthill Devon men’s team might have lost their grip on the Connacht Junior Cup that they held for two seasons, the club’s women’s side have picked up the mantle and on Sunday last in Headford were crowned provincial champions with a 4-3 win over Manulla.
Following midweek wins for Maree/Oranmore and Knocknacarra, the stage is now almost set for the semi-finals of the Michael Byrne Cup with Salthill Devon meeting St Bernard’s on Sunday in an outstanding quarter-final, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Maree/Oranmore, while Colga will face Knocknacarra in the other last four contest.
Just one league issue remains to be decided, with the Championship runners-up position up for grabs, as Dynamo Blues have to win their two remaining games in order to overtake Colemanstown United who have finished their programme.
WOMEN’S CONNACHT CUP FINAL
Salthill Devon 4
Manulla 3
Ellerose O’Flaherty scored twice as Salthill Devon were crowned provincial champions with a win over a Mayo side who were losing in the final for the second year in succession.
Backboned by a number of players who previously had League of Ireland experience with Galway WFC, Devon suffered an early set back when Jess Nolan put Manulla ahead, before O’Flaherty levelled matters with a cracking finish on 20 minutes, which was quickly followed by a long-range free-kick from Aoife Walsh.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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