Galway minor captain Adam Nolan dedicates historic All-Ireland win to late clubmate

Galway captain Adam Nolan lifts the cup after the 2020 Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship win. Picture: Matt Browne/Sportsfile

Galway captain Adam Nolan dedicated their 14th All-Ireland minor hurling title to his Kilnadeema/Leitrim clubmate Mike Flanagan who died just over a week ago.

Flanagan, a brother-in-law of Dublin manager Mattie Kenny, served as a selector on several Galway minor teams over the years and was a stalwart player and official in the small Kilnadeema/Leitrim club near Loughrea.

“Any time you’d see him going down the road he would have a chat with you and he had such a role to play in so many Galway minor teams we said today we would do this for Mike. We had Mike in the back of our minds and we said we are going to push it on for Mike because we owed it to him,” said Nolan, outstanding in a Galway defence where Michael Walsh and Patrick Burke were also superb.

The win, Galway’s fifth in six years in this grade, saw them become the first team to capture four All-Ireland minor titles in a row, with corner-back Shane Morgan from Loughrea joining a small band which also includes Tipperary’s Jimmy Doyle and John Troy of Offaly to win three medals at this level.

A goal deep into stoppage time by Liam Collins sealed the win in this delayed 2020 decider and broke Kilkenny’s hearts after a great comeback, as they fell to their third successive final defeat. It’s only the second time in history a team has lost three minor finals in a row, with Kilkenny also losing out to the same opposition when they were defeated by Cork in 1937, ’38 and ’39.

Richie Mulrooney’s men did well to recover from a dreadful start at O'Moore Park which saw them fall 0-7 to 0-0 behind after 14 minutes as Galway used the breeze well with Collins and Colm Molloy shooting all their points.

Billy Drennan helped Kilkenny eventually settle and they turned around trailing by 0-10 to 0-6.

Gavin Lee pointed for Galway shortly after the restart but Kilkenny took over and hit the next three points, with wing-back Joe Fitzpatrick hitting two of them either side of a point by Harry Shine.

Drennan drew Kilkenny level after 53 minutes when he blasted home a penalty and then Cathal Beirne edged Kilkenny in front for the first time before Molloy cancelled with an equally fine point.

Kilkenny twice went back in front but were hauled back by Galway and then with extra-time imminent the impressive Liam Leen broke away, sub Darren Shaughnessy bore down on goal and his pass inside was flicked to the net by Collins to secure the title.

“I wouldn’t have had the bravery to catch it and put it in the net, not to mind flick it and put it in the back of the net like Liam did,” said Galway manager Brian Hanley.

“And to be thinking under pressure as the lads were in the build-up to the goal, when they were flat out tired, was incredible.”