HurlersÕ gut-wrenching exit is as bad as it gets

IT’S 6.34am on Monday morning as I try to gather my thoughts just a few hours after Galway’s exit from the All-Ireland hurling championship. The heart is heavy and the head is tormented to say the least. I am already at the Tribune’s office in Market Street, sitting at my desk, trying to come to terms with probably the most agonizing defeat I have ever suffered as a team manager.

Sleep was scarcely an option the previous night. Having watched a recording of The Sunday Game, I dragged myself to the bed around 1am where I tossed and turned for what seemed an eternity before finally escaping the sheets at 5.45am. Last year was desperate after losing by a point to Waterford in Thurles, but Sunday’s late heartbreak feels worse. We were almost there, only to again suffer late agony.

The easy thing would have been to call the office and take the week off, but I have never yet missed a day’s work due to sporting depression. Driving in the few miles to the Tribune from Rosshill on the outskirts of the city, I couldn’t stop thinking about the players and the management team. They were simply brilliant people to work with, individuals proud to carry the Galway hurling flag, individuals who would do anything for the cause.

Not surprisingly, the Galway dressingroom was a raw place in Croke Park on Sunday evening. Several of us broke down as we publically gave vent to our feelings. It was total devastation; everyone was grieving as the dream of the McCarthy Cup coming West had died for another year. Tears were shed as the camp struggled to come to terms with another big game loss. It could just so easily have been our triumph as Tipperary’s, but when the final whistle blew it was the blue and gold who were celebrating.

Doing a round of TV, Radio and Press interviews immediately after the game was torture. I can’t have been coherent, but I hope I paid due tribute to the players and graciously acknowledged Tipperary’s victory. I was very upset over Niall Healy not being awarded a close range free in the last incident of the match, but there is nothing we can do about it now.

Publically wingin about referees serves no useful purpose. They are out there on their own and have an invidious job. James Ownes certainly let the play go last Sunday but, on balance, I thought we fared slightly worse with the Wexford’s official’s calls. Had he awarded a free to Galway at the death and Joe Canning gone for and scored a match-winning goal, Tipperary would have been entitled to feel that the Gods were completely against them after Diarmuid Kirwan’s controversial decision in the closing stages of last year’s All-Ireland final.

We tend to see only our own side of things, the perceived miscarriages of justice which affect us. There are two teams out there, each chasing their own dreams, and when a titanic match is settled by a solitary point, the gulf in emotions is staggering. In the cold light of day, like 12 months ago, Galway had virtually the match won, but didn’t close the deal. Whose responsibility is that? . . . it’s hardly James Owens’. We have to live with the consequences of that.Both team captain Shane Kavanagh, what a match he had, and the long serving Ollie Canning, who sort of retired, gave full vent to their despair afterwards.

Listening to them, would tear your heart apart. I looked around the dressingroom and all I could see were men fumbling to keep their emotions intact. I failed that test spectacularly, but I have no regrets. If you don’t care, you shouldn’t be in there.

The team sponsor, Pat McDonagh, drew our attention to the fact that the Galway supporters had given the team a standing ovation trooping off the field. The players were heroic in defeat, had died with their boots on and it’s great to hear that the fans acknowledged that. It won’t make the pain go away, but it’s a small consolation. The Galway hurling team has won widespread respect after a year in which we won 12 and drawn one of our 16 competitive matches.

The Leinster final didn’t go well for us to put it mildly, but the players were determined to show their true colours against Tipperary. At different stages, we fell behind, at others, we went to the front. The outcome was on a tightrope for the virtual 73 minutes and, to be honest, I thought we were there until those late points from John O’Brien, Gearoid Ryan and Lar Corbett. If we had won the match in similar circumstances, we would have been in ecstasy. Tipperary, to their enormous credit, didn’t die. They will be all the stronger for it.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.