John Commins: Time for a new era of Galway heroes to emerge

After the full Irish breakfast and early morning mass in their Dublin hotel, Cyril Farrell would insist on a quick trip out to the Phoenix Park to allow his Galway hurlers limber out.

It was an itinerary adhered to in the early 80s during Farrell’s first stint as Galway manager and was again implemented when he returned the county to the first of four consecutive September appearances in 1985.

On the morning of the 1987 decider, heavy rain put paid to their session in the Park. There was “no three sets of gear like they have nowadays”, remarks John Commins, and so the players weren’t going to risk arriving into Croke Park like a crowd of drowned rats for the sake of a couple of pucks.