Cunningham bids to bring Midas touch to Galway

If the old axiom ‘success breeds success’ holds true, then new Galway manager Anthony Cunningham should be on the road to All-Ireland glory.

A former All-Ireland winning captain at both minor and U21 level with Galway, winner of two All-Ireland senior medals in the late 80s he also had the Midas touch in management.

First it was football. With St Brigid’s of Roscommon, where he has lived now for over two decades, he won three county titles in a row and a Connacht crown in 2006. He then transferred his skills to Garrycastle in Westmeath and another hat-trick of county titles followed. Again that was capped off with a provincial crown, Garrycastle winning Leinster last year and on March 17 they meet Crossmaglen of Armagh in the All-Ireland club senior football final.

Eventually hurling came. Roscommon first, at senior level, but then back to Galway and the U21s and more gold — an All-Ireland title last year against a hotly-fancied Limerick side.

Is he going to be the new Messiah then, the man to lead Galway back to the top and finally fulfil all the promise of the past two decades of frustration?

“There’s always huge expectation in Galway,” he laughed. “It’s a mad hurling county. We’ve had a lot of underage success and that piles on additional pressure, lads are wondering where all these players have gone to. The challenge is to get these guys to develop to a higher level, to senior level.”

Why has there been such consistent failure in Galway since the last senior success in 1988, despite all the underage All-Ireland titles?

“It’s a combination of many factors, hard to give one simple answer. Some of the players won at underage but didn’t push on with their own development to get to the next level.

“You don’t just walk off now from a minor and U21 panel straight into senior, you see the great Kilkenny players and they probably don’t get to the senior team until they’re 22 or 23, Richie Hogan being a case in point, the Fennellys likewise.

“It takes time to develop physically, it also takes time to develop your game. I think Galway lost a lot of guys over the years in failing to do that. Then you had some who maybe lacked a bit of pace, or a bit of size — a combination of many factors.”

Speaking of discarding players, one of his first acts was to cull almost a third of the 2011 panel. They’re gone, he says, but not necessarily forgotten.

“We would have met those guys, and in the early rounds of the leagues in Galway club hurling and championship, which kicks off in April, we’ll be watching those players.

“We wouldn’t be carrying them in the league because there’s only X amount of players you can see and there are only five matches so there’s no point in bringing them training from early on. But we’ll be looking at every player. The Damian Joyces, Shane Kavanaghs, John Lees and Ger Farraghers — we have eyes looking at players in the championship.”

In the meantime, it’s up to the new guys to take their opportunity. Already a massive effort has been put in, Anthony more aware than anyone that success is about 99% perspiration. The talent is there; his record would suggest this is the guy to put it in harness.