Stakes are higher for Maigh Cuilinn than Corofin in Galway’s showpiece

IT might seem a strange thing to suggest, but there is more on the line for Maigh Cuilinn than title holders Corofin in Sunday’s county senior final at Tuam Stadium – the first time since 2019 that Galway’s football showpiece event won’t be staged in Salthill.

Maigh Cuilinn, champions in 2020 – a historic triumph – and 2022, are appearing in their fourth final in five years; have built up a wealth of experience; and possess star players in the Kelly brothers, Peter Cooke, David Wynne, Owen Gallagher, Conor Corcoran, and Dessie Conneely among others.

And having lost to Corofin 12 months ago (1-11 to 1-9), they won’t be lacking motivation for Sunday’s showdown. That scoreline gives the impression that it was a close encounter, but Kevin Johnson’s team led by seven points before Maigh Cuilinn had a late 1-2 salvo, including a goal from Johnny Maloney.

In mitigation, they were without Seán Kelly, who was only a bit player in their 2023 campaign due to persistent injuries, but the Galway captain was motoring well in their semi-final win over Tuam Stars on a day Neil Mulcahy’s goal midway through the second-half proved decisive.

The reality for Maigh Cuilinn, who have genuine injury concerns over Conneely, is that if they lose again to Corofin, their period of prominence in Galway club football will be threatened as a potential new era of dominance for the reigning champions kicks off.

Corofin are an incredible club. Seven-in-a-row county winners between 2013 and ’19, they also claimed four All-Ireland titles with their brand of positive and fluent football earning rave reviews. Teams both inside and outside the county could hardly lay a glove on them.

That couldn’t last forever, and though Corofin raged against the passage of time to reach the 2021 Galway final, they came up well short against Mountbellew-Moylough (1-12 to 0-9), leading to some anticipation (and maybe hope from their main local rivals) that the North Galway club was about to face a significant period in transition.

Pictured: Athenry captain Shane Quirke celebrates with the Reeves Cup after their County Senior B Hurling Final victory over Portumna at Duggan Park on Saturday evening.  Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy.