Shane Walsh: No ‘fear factor’ about Croke Park for current Galway crop

Much was made of Galway’s dismal Croke Park record on the run into their Division 2 final against Kildare at the beginning of April. 

Stretching back to the summer of 2002, the westerners had played 11 games at GAA HQ. Victory eluded them on each visit.

Equally unimpressive is the county’s All-Ireland quarter-final history. Indeed, Galway’s terrible run at Croker started with the 2002 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Kerry (2-17 to 1-12). Twelve months earlier, John O’Mahony’s charges had overcome Roscommon by 0-14 to 1-5. That six-point win marks the sole occasion a Galway football team successfully negotiated the quarter-final hurdle.