Not for the first time, a difficult decision involving the Irish National Football team and Galway GAA left me wondering.
And I wondered throughout May and June.
On the 2nd September, Ireland are due to play Georgia in a World Cup qualifier in Tbilisi. Having not travelled to an away game since the Euros of last summer, I was extremely eager to attend this qualifier. This was despite the fact Georgia is the back end of Europe and require at least 2 flights to get there. On the 3rd September, the 130th All-Ireland Hurling Final will take place in Croke Park. Galway have spent most of the summer as favourites to win their first title in 29 years. It’s a narrative that has progressed to a state of affairs of “This is the Year” amongst fans and experts alike. There was always a strong chance of them reaching the final but then again, this was Galway hurling I was talking about. They had a history of letting me down. I wanted to go to Tbilisi, but I had to consider the prospect of flying home the very next morning if the Tribesmen were to be playing hurling on the first Sunday of September.
I spent the month of July researching this prospect.
Was it feasible? Yes!
Was it arduous, expensive, ludicrous and insane? Absolutely.
Did this put me off? No!
Did I book the flights…….
It would cost me a mere €81 to fly out to Georgia on the 31st August. And I secured accommodation for €45 a night til the 3rd September, the day of the hurling final. In setting me up for a fall, getting home was where my heart was torn and hours were lost. Direct flights didn’t exist between Georgia to Ireland. Even my usual approach of getting a connecting flight was out of the question. It was possible to make it back to Dublin that day for a reasonable enough price, but not in time for a 3:30pm throw in. There were several early flights out of Germany to Dublin around 11am, only I had no way of getting to Germany from Tbilisi in time for them. After days of searching, having my hopes dashed time upon time and considering the prospect of flying to Dubai at least once, I managed to find a route home that worked. Tbilisi-Istanbul-Copenhagen-Dublin was a series of flights that would begin at 5am and have me in Dublin Airport at 2:40pm. All for €350 euro. I didn’t have the money at the time to book them. All that time, I reasoned with myself that I would wait until the final whistle of Galway’s semi-final encounter before I proceeded to book my way home.
And onto August…….
Everything was decided before Galway even knew their opponent for that semi-final. The GAA lords above decreed that I should break my ankle in a League game for Skerries Harps on the 27th July. A Weber C fracture along with two ruptured ligaments necessitated the need for immediate surgery. With plates and screws inserted in my leg, I would be spending six weeks minimum on crutches with further surgery to follow. As I hobbled out of the hospital on my crutches, I realised I would be in no fit state to fly to Georgia. That was made abundantly clear within minutes of not elevating my leg. Even going to Croke Park to watch Galway play Kerry in the Football Quarter Final the day after I was discharged was out of the question. As frustrating as it was to watch that from home (and see us squander goal chances galore), I could live with it. And I made peace with the fact I would not be travelling to Tbilisi, missing another away game, and ultimately missing out on another eventful trip home for an All-Ireland final. Truth be told, it saved me a lot of hassle and money, regardless of the fact I would not have hesitated going through with it.
This September, I will make it clear.
No amount of swelling, pain, doctor or family advice will stop me being in Croke Park for this years All-Ireland Hurling Final, crutches and all.
Mundy has July, Galway have August. Will we be dancing in September?
Even with one leg, I was jumping for joy and screaming my lungs out as Joe Canning scored a miracle point to win the semi-final showdown against reigning All-Ireland Champions Tipperary. The man for the big occasion, he travelled back to his own 35 yard line to take a free, confident he was going to score. As it fell short, he burst a gut to get into position to have another go. It was a stunning way to win the final and mirrored the dramatic semi-final finish of two years previous. The similarities end in that regard. Prior to our 0-22 to 1-18 semi-final win, it’s been an efficient if unexciting route to this year’s final. The hype machine was launched with a stunning League final over Tipp by 16 points in May. After that, comfortable wins over Dublin, Offaly and Wexford resulted in only our 2nd ever Leinster title and direct passage to the last four. The usual questions and doubts over Galway’s ability to win Liam McCarthy have been raised and one by one they are being answered. After winning the League final in emphatic fashion, Galway were propelled to the status of Championship favourites. It’s a position they have yet to relinquish or give tangible signs of reason not to be either.
Then there’s the history aspect of the hurling. It’s been 29 years since we last won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. I have been alive for 26 of them. Of the six finals we’ve lost since 1988, I vividly remember four of them. I’ve attended three finals involving Galway; the 2012 draw, its replay, and 2015. There’s probably a huge number who’ve attended each of the finals we’ve reached in those 29 years. For this decade alone, for all the positivity in the build-up, and moments during those finals when I thought “Holy Fuck we’re on a roll here”, Kilkenny managed to defy us each time. Two years ago, losing the final broke my soul. And all the controversy that followed with player mutiny and managers stepping aside, it was all turmoil that could have been avoided if the 2nd half had gone to plan. Galway hurling fans have been left to rue what might have been time and time again. If they had just defended the goal better in 1990. If the referee just played advantage and we got a third goal in 2001, if Hnery Shefflin just fucked off at half-time in 2012. And many more besides. It’s the closest thing to being from Mayo a Galway person can experience without living on the right side of Shrule and Ballindine. While year after year, a Galway football fan like myself can laugh at our neighbours misfortune, we’re no strangers to heartbreak in September. People have asked me all summer, are Galway going to win it? Anyone who says to me they’re going to do it is promptly dismissed for me to tell them “Don’t Jinx It”. For many Galway hurling fans, they’ll believe it when they see it. We’ve gone into too many finals confident in our own ability for it not to happen.
That pessimism can take away from the build-up itself. Why immerse yourself in the excitement, it will only end in tears anyways? I never focus too much on the prospect of losing for any team I follow. Sure, there are many times where the team I support have the odds stacked against them. And taking a dose in reality in the build-up can temper expectations and help cope with any defeat when it happens. However, I’ve never let myself dismiss my team from having any chance whatsoever. It’s why, with the help of alcohol, I firmly believed we were going to take points off Spain at Euro 2012. I was wrong on that occasion. Then there are the times when hope pays off, when the unexpected happens before your eyes. When Shane Long struck the top corner in front of me and the South Stand in the Aviva exploded. When you witness a moment like, hope will never leave you. 99 times out of 100, it can be punctured and leak away with your optimism. That one time it delivers will instill a belief within you. A belief that no matter what the odds are, what the experts think, what the record books say, you will believe the impossible can happen. It’s a beautiful aspect of sport. It isn’t played on paper or in superlatives from the media. It’s what happens on the pitch.
It’s why after 58 years, every man woman and child in Waterford believes that their drought is the one that will end. After their League campaign ended in a quarter-final defeat to Galway, they would lose a Munster Quarter-final to Cork by five points. They responded by first hammering Offaly in the 1st round of the Qualifiers. Then they defeated Kilkenny for the first time since 1959 in the next qualifier round. While it is deemed that Kilkenny are not the force they once were, it was still a massive statement of intent from this Waterford team to get that elusive win. Wexford were swept aside after that before a rematch with Cork in the 2nd semi-final awaited them. Cork were often the team that broke Deise hearts a decade ago so in the build-up a lot was made of past encounters. Despite the loss of Tádgh de Búrca, an integral part of their team, Waterford exacted the perfect form of revenge with an 11 point victory, 4-19 to 0-20. They are proceeding to tear up history before them, they have defied experts who said their sweeper system will hold them back. And Galway are next in line.
History is something these two teams don’t have at this stage. They have never met in an All-Ireland Senior Hurling final. And it’s the first time since 1996 that the final will not involve one of Kilkenny, Cork or Tipperary. Neutrals across Ireland are spoilt for choice, given the fact that both counties have not won an All-Ireland final for a significant number of years. While Waterford have been waiting 58 years, (twice what Galway have endured) they have lost two finals in that time period. As I mentioned above, Galway have lost six finals and drawn one since they were last victorious. Since Waterford’s last title in 1959, Galway have lost eleven finals. A noticeable fact to add to the Tribesmen worries is that in ten meetings, Galway have never beaten Waterford in the Championship. From a ten point victory in 1998 All-Ireland quarter-final to narrow one point victories at the same stage in 2009 and 2011, the Deise hold a perfect record they’ll be hoping to continue this weekend. However, the last time these sides met was earlier on in the year in the League. After leading by eight points after 20 minutes, Waterford held off an initial comeback from the home side to lead by 2-19 to 1-15 points with 14 minutes left. However, Joe Canning (that man again) converted a penalty that inspired Galway to win by 2-22 to 2-19. That was April. On September history and past meetings could count for nothing by half 5 Sunday afternoon. Every game takes on a life of its own.
Galway's heroic performance against Tipperary was overshadowed days later by the sudden passing of Tony Keady. Keady, a two-time All-Ireland winner, All-Star and Hurler of the Year in 1988 was universally admired as one of the greatest players ever to play the game. His exemplary displays on the pitch were matched by his humble and well liked personality off the field. His death and the sudden nature of it left the GAA and Galway hurling community in mourning. Keady had been in Croke Park to witness the victory over Tipperary and would have no doubt been looking forward to the final this Sunday. His passing brought up many memories and stories from his playing days, not least “The Tony Keady Affair” where he was suspended for 12 months in 1989 for playing illegally in America. It meant he missed out on playing for Galway that year, a summer where we were going for 3 in a Row. In the build-up to this final, a lot has been made of the helmet grabbing incidents in both semi-finals from Adrian Tuohy and Austin Gleeson of Galway and Waterford respectively. Tuohy was cleared before the 2nd semi-final took place so therefore a lot of discussion preceded the decision over Gleesons availability for the final. Thankfully he will also be available to play the final and will receive no punishment. Sure enough, we might have a better chance if Waterford didn’t have Gleeson. However, in 1989 when voting on whether to rescind Keady’s ban, Tipperary; the county with the most to gain from his removal, voted to reinstate him. They figured it would be more appropriate to beat Galway full strength than to defeat them without Keady. It is only right and proper we apply the same logic this year.
And I hope on Sunday, we can honour the memory of Keady. I hope we can sing The Wests Awake in a manner befitting to that of Joe McDonagh who passed away last year and to all Galway people who may have passed in the intervening 29 years. May they lean over the bannisters of heaven (as Michael o'Muircheartaigh once said) and see David Burke lifting Liam McCarthy. On the day itself, I will let go of the rigidness and give myself to the frenzied nature of All-Ireland final day*. I will allow myself to be swept up in the carnivale and believe that today will be the day. An All-Ireland final is a magical experience if you are vested in the GAA. I've been lucky to see three of them, and although we lost all three, they are the days that just capture the imagination. It was why I was willing to spend three figures and travel across Europe to come home for it. The excitement and tension pre-game will result in roars of GAILLIMH ABÚ from the top of my lungs. I'll want it to echo across Croke Park, evoking passion and a level of ear drum damage not advisable to people nearby (apologies in advance to my beloved girlfriend Niamh who'll be there beside me). The only thing I can ask for is for Galway to win. To make the fourth that bit more special, I’m gonna be on crutches and will have to make my way up many steps to my seat. In the end, it will all be worth it. Following Galway always is.
* Not until I’ve said the rosary and had my breakfast that morning.
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