Gearóid McInerney: All-Ireland win has lifted weight off Galway

Putting an end to the yawning 29-year wait for an All-Ireland title has lifted a weight of anxiety off Galway, believes All-Star centre-back Gearóid McInerney, who hopes the county will now hurl with greater freedom and confidence.

“It should. You feel that weight with every year. People were getting anxious for Galway to win one. Will we win it this year? Won’t we?

“With this off our back, we can probably express ourselves a bit more, go out and be ourselves. Hopefully, you’ll see a bit more confidence in the team, confidence among supporters, without that ‘oh will it be another year, another Galway story’. “That should be gone now. There’s no reason at all why we can’t start producing top quality teams. There are no guarantees of winning it but it would be great to be competitive at the business side of things, really give ourselves a chance.”