Galway legend Val Daly still on the search for success

Val Daly made his way up the old stand in Pearse Stadium to collect the Frank Fox Cup after guiding Mountbellew to victory in the Galway SFC in 1986. In 2020, he is still hungry for more success 

It was almost dark when Val Daly made his way up the old stand in Pearse Stadium to collect the Frank Fox Cup after guiding Mountbellew to victory over Milltown in the final of the Galway senior football championship in 1986 after a protracted campaign.

Daly is well accustomed to not doing things the easy way, whether it’s with his native Mountbellew or Galway, or other teams he has played for or managed.

That win in ’86 came in a replay over Milltown after drawing their quarter-final and semi-final clashes against Caherlistrane and Oughterard. Daly had been to the fore in Galway winning the Connacht championship that year, their All-Ireland dream ending when Tyrone beat them in the semi-final.

The Galway minors won the All-Ireland title that September and the series of draws in the knockout stages of the county championship meant that the replayed final took place in the middle of December, prompting Daly to wind up his acceptance speech by wishing everyone a happy Christmas!

That win by Mountbellew in 1986 suggested more success would follow. It was their fourth county title, the first two came during Galway’s All-Ireland three-in-a-row in the sixties, and edged them ahead of Corofin in the roll of honour in the county.

But since then Mountbellew-Moylough have endured nothing but heartbreak, while Corofin have gone on to add 18 titles. Four of them have been against Mountbellew-Moylough since 2019.

More than appropriate then that it should be Mountbellew-Moylough who brought Corofin’s 49-match unbeaten run in the county to an end, a result that was a surprise to everyone except those in the north-east club close to the Roscommon border.

Daly is back in charge of the club’s senior team but while he had a spell with Salthill-Knocknacarra, he also worked with Mountbellew-Moylough’s underage sides over the years, passing on the skills which made him twice an All Star and six times a Connacht winner with Galway, having initially arrived on the scene by guiding Carmelite College from Moate to Hogan Cup glory in 1980.

His only All-Ireland senior final appearance was the infamous showdown with Dublin in 1983, two years after making his championship debut, while he suffered five All-Ireland semi-final defeats. He featured under six managers and when the county found itself at a crossroads in 1997, he took over as player/manager for a year.

Mayo dumped them out of the championship in a Connacht quarter-final at Tuam Stadium, with Daly not only stepping down from his managerial role but also bringing the curtain down on his 16-year career with the Tribesmen.

That Galway team which lost by 1-16 to 0-15 that day in 1997 contained nine players who started the All-Ireland final win over Kildare the following year after John O’Mahony took charge.

Since then, apart from a spell in charge of Roscommon after Tommy Carr stepped down in 2005 and later as a selector with the Galway U-21s, Daly has concentrated on club management.

His sons John and Michael have become key players not only for Mountbellew-Moylough but also Galway, both possessing similar style to their father. A knee injury has ruled John out until 2021 but Michael will be a key figure on Sunday when they bid to lift their fifth title against a Maigh Cuilinn side looking for their maiden crown.

Val Daly will patrol the sideline, urging and cajoling the men in black and amber to go that extra yard in search of glory, with history having taught him that there is a very thin line between success and glory.

But set-backs have never dulled Daly’s appetite for the game.