When Galway came of age

Looked at in isolation, Galway’s feat in winning back-to-back All-Ireland titles in 1987-88 represented a major leap forward for a county more used to feeding off scraps from hurling’s elite.

But, look closer and you will see that three final defeats followed the breakthrough year of 1980, and there was yet another at the start of the next decade.

All the more reason, then, to celebrate the accomplishment of these two teams and honour them, as the GAA — and their own supporters — did on the field in Croke Park yesterday.